By Dave Harkin

Have you ever seen the “x” on a map and wondered how you got there or even where “there” is? Buying the right walking shoe is no different. Treat your shoe-buying experience like a journey. The more you know about where you are, the easier it is to get to where you are going. When walking, what is your motivation? Is it weight loss, body structure, fitness, speed, or even competition? Have you done an organized event and felt competitive impulses? When you see a fellow walker, do you smile and say “hello” or do you speed up, pass, and hold your breath to make it appear that you are not working hard at all?

It is important to have reasonable goals that match your current fitness level and to follow a moderate and focused regimen. Even if you are simply walking to stay healthy, keeping track of your weekly mileage and approximate duration of exercise is always recommended. These markers are essential to finding the appropriate walking shoe for you.

The following categories have been structured to assist you with the vast array of walking shoes:
Recreation: You walk two to three times per week with little attention paid to apparel, speed, or distance
Fitness/Speed: Walk non-competitively or semi-competitively and enjoy different distances, routes, and speeds. You keep a routine that includes three to five days per week.
Race: You implement form variations in order to speed up including hip positions and movements as well as arm swing and foot-strike. Average five days or more per week.

Did You Pick One?
Caution! Beginners are oftentimes the most susceptible to injuries and yet seek “entry level” footwear. Never buy an inexpensive shoe based on some beginner status. If you have had chronic injuries or have experienced injuries from other activities like running or contact sports, it is important to acknowledge that although walking is a great low-impact activity, you are still using your legs and feet for propulsion, shock absorption, and overall carriage. Good walking shoes reside in the $85 to $100 price range. You can certainly go above $100 but almost everyone should be able to find a comfortable, supportive shoe within this price range.

Need Cushioning
Your body column moves in multi-directional planes. It moves in rotations and swivels, and spirals and parabolas, not just up and down. So, in order to provide the maximum cushioning, you have to find a shoe that exhibits “soft” or cushioned characteristics without being sloppy or squirrelly. Gel, Air, Hydroflow, adiPrene, Absorbz, and Grid tell only part of the story. A trained eye can ascertain your mechanical tendencies and match you with appropriate cushioning.

Need Durability
Tires can last 60,000 miles so what about shoes? Well, we want them to feel a certain way and most of those “feel” elements reduce a shoe’s durability. Shoes should be used for no more than 400 to 500 miles.

Need Stability
Stability, though not as glamorous as cushioning, plays the most significant role in shoe choice. Shoes can actually match up with your specific gait. That is, once a professional shoe expert has evaluated your biomechanics, established current walking status, and listened to your goals, that expert will be able to match level of activity, biomechanics, and you to the best combination of support and cushioning for your specific needs. The following list represents my top choices in three stability categories based on feel, performance, fit, and overall appeal.

Dave Harkin, co-owner of Portland Running & Walking Company, has two locations on 11355 SW Scholls Ferry Rd. in Beaverton, 503-524-7570 and on the corner of SE Grand and SE Morrison in Portland, 503-232-8077.

It’s Not the Feet It’s the Motion
By Peter Stolpe

There are three walking motions and every person has a different way of moving their system in athletic activity. The key ingredient to finding the right shoe is to make sure the shoe complements the motion rather than working against it. Running/walking store employees are trained to analyze these motions.

Pronation means that as the foot strikes at the heel, the midpoint or footbridge has a tendency to roll inwards over the inside of the arch. During this settling of the foot phase, the foot balances the weight distribution by pronating, and then leads itself into the toe-off phase. Translation: Pronation is healthy and natural. If we did not pronate, we would have rigid walking and running styles. Normal ranges of pronation are between 5% to15% from the straight line of the Achilles when viewed from behind the person in motion.

Neutral is when a walker or runner lands right under the heel, and stays in the middle of their foot through pronation and into the toe-off phase. The foot does not move left or right, it just stays in the middle.

Supination is when a person strikes at the heel, and instead of the motion of the foot moving to the center, it stays on the outside edge of the foot. This motion continues all the way into the toe-off phase.

Peter Stolpe has been involved in walking starting San Diego, CA and now in Portland, OR. Peter is a racewalker who learned from Philip Dunn, two-time Olympian.