As soon as you determine which type of foot motion that you display while running, then you can begin the decision-making process as to which shoe will benefit you the most. Most running shoes will fit smaller than the size marked on the shoe’s tongue.

There seems to be an endless variety of cross country running shoes available on the market. But we can simplify the selection process once we realize that there are basically three categories of shoe, because they relate to the following three types of foot motion.

Three Types of Foot Motion

• Neutral: Foot turns slightly inward as it hits the ground. This is the normal type of pronation, which is most resistant to injury.
• Over-pronation: The most common foot strike. Foot rolls inward too far, the arch collapses and provides less support. Often has a flat or low arch.
• Supination: Foot rolls outward instead of inward. Often occurs with a high, rigid arch that absorbs shock poorly.

Three Categories of Shoes

• Neutral: For runners with a neutral footstrike, or for supinators.
• Support: For runners who display low to moderate over-pronation.
• Motion Control: For runners who display severe over-pronation, or those who train at high mileage, or those having a larger body frame

Neutral Shoes

Neutral shoes are made for neutral runners, and also for supinators. Runners with neutral foot motion can wear most types of shoe, but only up to a certain point. It’s better for them to avoid shoes with a lot of movement control features, because those features might guide the foot along the wrong path. That’s why neutral shoes have a simpler design and fewer fancy features.

• High flexibility
• Single-density, midsoles are soft to medium soft
• Low to medium torsion rigidity ( how easily it twists when turned toward the big toe while holding the heel)
• Curved or partly-curved shape (when viewing the sole)

Support Shoes

Support shoes are made for runners who over-pronate (to a low or moderate degree). However, since there are varying degrees of over-pronation, support shoes are made to provide different degrees of stability.

Low Support

• High flexibility
• Only small portions of midsole have higher density
• Midsoles are soft to moderately firm
• Low to medium torsion rigidity
• Shape is curved or semi-curved

Moderate Support

• Moderate to high flexibility
• More portions of midsole have higher density
• Soft to medium firm midsole
• Medium torsion rigidity
• Shape is curved to semi-curved

Maximum Support

• Low to moderate flexibility
• Very large sections of midsole have higher density
• Firm to moderately firm midsole
• Medium to high torsion rigidity
• Shape is semi-straight to semi-curved

Motion Control Shoes

Motion control shoes are usually made for severely over-pronating runners. However, runners with a larger frame, and those training at high mileage, can also benefit from motion control.

Moderate Motion Control

Moderate motion control shoes are made for severe over-pronators running low to moderate mileage (10-20 miles per week), or beginning runners who severely over-pronate, or larger-framed runners displaying moderate over-pronation.

• Low to moderate flexibility
• Very large sections of midsole have higher density
• Firm midsole
• Medium to high torsion rigidity
• Shape is straight to semi-straight

Maximum Motion Control

Maximum motion control shoes are made for larger-framed runners (men 190lbs+ , women 150lbs+) who severely over-pronate, or for runners training at high mileage (25+ miles per week).

• Low flexibility
• Largest amount of  high-density midsole
• Firm midsole
• High torsion rigidity
• Shape is straight to semi-straight

What about Cushioning?

Cushioning doesn’t relate to how soft or plush the shoe feels. Instead, it refers to how long the shoe provides effective shock absoption before breaking down. Cushioning also relates to the size of a runner’s body frame. For example, a well-cushioned shoe is heavier than a less-cushioned shoe, so a smaller runner may feel that the shoe is too heavy. On the other hand, a larger runner will quickly break down a lightly cushioned shoe, causing it to wear out faster.

Minimum Cushioning

• Smallest amount of cushioning
• Made for fast-pace training, racing, or runners with a small body frame

Moderate Cushioning

• Medium-sized cushioning material
• Mix of midsole materials
• Made for most training volumes and body frame sizes

Maximum Cushioning

• Largest cushioning devices
• Midsole materials are compression-resistant
• Made for large-framed and high-mileage runners

Should You Wear a Racing Flat?

The primary feature of racing flats is their minimal cushioning and very light weight.  Racing flats provide the most benefit to the following runners:

• Those with a smaller body frame. (Fast-racing larger runners may wear racing flats, but should not expect them to last long.)
• Women racing under 7:00 per mile pace
• Men racing under 6:00 per mile pace

What About a Trail Shoe?

Cross country running shoes and trail shoes are made to provide better traction and stability than road shoes. You should consider a trail shoe if you do more than half of your running off-road or on trails. Once you get off the beaten path, consider running with a GPS running watch, which safely keeps track of your location and even lets you map your route.

Other trail shoe features include:

• Quick-dry materials and water resistance
• Long-lasting outsoles with lug patterns for traction
• Protective uppers and low profiles

Other Footwear

Unless you want to eat, sleep, and bathe in your running shoes, sometimes you need to wear something else on your feet! For a change of pace, check out these other types of fun footwear:

• How about some colorful customized flip flops?
• Here are some fun dinosaur shoes especially for kids of all ages.

Go back to Cross Country Running Shoes 101 home.