Running Shoes Choice for Chinese (Specific!) Runne

  Looking for a proper running shoes has been a frequently asked question for newbie runners. When a new runner starts his/her regular running plan, one of the first things to do is to find a pair running shoes that are suitable for his/her personal characteristics as well as the road condition. My personal story is: When I first start running as an exercise, I did not know anything about professional running shoes and just wore a pair of cheap sport shoes. In the second week, I felt pain on my right knee and the pain become more severe when I continue running. Then I searched website about running and finally realized the importance of having a proper running shoes: The force on knee while running could equal to 3-5 times of runner's body weight that needs to be absorbed by cartilage in knees. And professional running shoes are critical in protecting runners' knees during the process. In order to achieve this goal, running shoes features shock absorber structure and thus the choice of running shoes is actually choosing the appropriate shock absorber structure.

  As the shock force of running is highly related to the road condition (asphalt, concrete, dirt, plastic, etc.), the choice of running shoes depend on the roads you would run on. In urban environment of China, dirt road usually exist in very few green spaces and not many runners have easy access to. And asphalt road is relatively uncommon compared with US while asphalt surface produce least shock force among other roads. In other words, in most of the times runners in China have to run on concrete road, which is the worst condition for knees. As a result, it is important to find a pair of running shoes with good support and shock absorber for most Chinese runners. Weight is another important factor. The heavier a runner is, the larger force is produced for the knees. So it is important to choose shoes based on the weight.

  Running is still a new form of sport in China so most attendants in retailer do not know much about how to choose proper running shoes. So it is even significant to know what kind of shoes is proper for yourself. Here are some recommendations of mainstream brand of running shoes.

  ASICS：nimbus (heavy weight); culmbus (light weight)

ASICS might be the most notable brand of running shoes. His running shoes do not have huge difference between heavy weight ones and light weight ones.

  MIZUNO: creation (heavy weight); rider (light weight)

Creation series of MIZUNO provide tense support for runners and thus are not suitable for light-weighted runners.

  NEW BALANCE:

Shoes of New Balance generally suite heavy runners best.