I recently retired three pairs of Brooks Adrenaline running shoes. I acquired these circa 2013. Yup, nearly a decade ago. Given I rotated through each (and two additional pairs that had been cycled out) through the years. Also confession: there were gaps of time on which I was not habitually running.
But even at the end of the decade, I knew I had to retire my 2013 models. I took the move as an excuse to not bring the three pairs of muddy sneakers back to the states. I ordered a pair of 2022 Adrenaline running shoes to one of my besties who volunteered to drive us and our baggage from touch down at Dulles to our hotel in the district. They were waiting for me at shot gun!
The next morning, when I took them out for a Barry’s class, running on the Woodway treadmill felt like running on a cloud.
This got me thinking. What is the appropriate mileage to retire running shoes? Is it an amount of time? A number of miles? And were my old running shoes just completely shot? (Yes.)
when to retire running shoes
- ASICS cited 300 to 500 miles.
- Fleet Feet cited 300 to 500 miles.
- REI cited 300 to 500 miles.
- Runner’s World cited 300 to 500 miles.
- Women’s Running cited 350 to 500 miles but break down could start at 200
.
Yes, I know some of these are shoe brands and as such, they have a vested interest in selling shoes and likely cite a lower number of miles in order to facilitate retiring more shoes sooner. However, because the brands are so consistent with Runner’s World and Women’s Health advice, unless either publication is being paid off (advertorial, anyone?), the range does not seem too suspect.
Track your shoe miles in your running app, I’m telling you.
