Buying running shoes for bunions: an updated list of recommendations

One of my most-viewed posts is one I did years ago about buying running shoes. This is a particularly hard task for runners who, like me, suffer from bunions. Since I wrote that post, new shoes have hit the market and new technologies are available to help us make the shoe choice, so here goes an update!

1. First and foremost, look for a wide toe box. The best new tool to help you find a shoe that fits nice and wide in the toe box is Shoefitr. It allows you to compare models, so if one model worked for you, you can find a similar fit in a different shoe. The technology is also used in shoe reviews; when I read Running Times' shoe reviews I always look for the nice "roomy" blue or green over the bunion area!

OUCH! This is the Adidas adiZero Aegis 2: super tight over the bunion! 

Brands that typically have wider toe boxes (please add comments to this - I'm always looking for truly wide toe boxes!):
- Brooks, especially Pure Project
- Saucony: consistently wider forefoot styles
- Mizuno: Some styles
2. Find a shoe with a mesh or soft fabric upper and minimal overlay at the bunion area. This is key. You want only material that can stretch and conform to your foot's shape over the bunion. Any stiff or non-stretchy fabric or plastic there will create prohibitive rigidity. There have been some fantastic additions to the market with flexible uppers with minimal overlay.

Altra Instinct: minimal overlay; the strip near the bunion doesn't cross over the foot so doesn't cause narrowing.

Karhu still makes some of the best shoes if you want no overlays: this is the  Flow trainer

The Hoka One One...it's debatable for many reasons but it does limit overlay in the bunion

Mizuno Evo Cursoris: wide open!

Even the Mizuno Wave Rider keeps the widest area of the toe box free from overlay

Saucony's type A isn't overlaid; it's printed.

The Saucony spectrum, if you don't want a racing flat

The Sketchers GOrun doesn't have overlay, but the stitching might pose a problem

Obviously there are plenty of other shoes out there to choose from and I'm not endorsing any of these shoes: just using them for demonstration.
3. Go for men's styles if you're a lady. I've been wearing a men's 8.5 for years now and it's the only way I can find a shoe wide enough. Just lace up all the way to make the ankles snug enough.
4. Try a larger size. Maybe you need to go up a half-size. As long as you are not over a thumb-nail length from the front of the shoe, you should be ok and it's worth a try for a wider fit. You can also wear a larger size, and lace it carefully for a better fit: leave the laces loose at the toe, so the shoe can conform to your foot, and tighten as you go up.

Tight to loose

5. Look for depth. Even shoes with wide toe boxes can be restrictive if they are not deep enough. After the 2012 Olympics, everyone wanted a pair of Nike Flyknits on their feet. Not me: look at how shallow that forefoot is! Deep shoes give you more wiggle room and more flexibility. Plus, although we tend to think of feet with bunions as just being wider, the bunion also extends down lower than the rest of your foot, so you need a deeper shoe (If you have bunions, look at the profile of your foot and notice how the first MTP joint extends lower than any other part of your foot).

Look how little depth at the toe! 

6. Buy the right kind of cushioning to protect your bunions. If you have bunions, chances are good that they either hit the ground first as you strike (mid or forefoot strike) or as you transition to toe-off (heel strike). Basically, you are running with the whole weight of your body on one joint! Ease the pressure with a well-cushioned shoe. In my experience, foam seems to be best for this, since your swollen joint can sink down into it: something it can't do in, say, a grid. A word of caution here regarding minimalist shoes: if you want to go zero drop, it's probably best to still buy a shoe with enough cushion. Otherwise, you are slamming an inflamed, painful joint into the ground over and over again with every run.
7. Consider a shoe that promotes a mid-foot strike. In my opinion, going from heel-to-toe is tougher on the bunion than going from mid-foot-to-toe. If you land on your mid-foot, yeah, your bunion probably still strikes first, but then the rest of your forefoot makes contact with the ground, providing a stable base to absorb impact and sharing the work of push-off. When you heel strike you transition from heel to forefoot (your larger bunion striking first, of course) then immediately toe off, putting the full force of that action on your bunion alone. Just a thought. Don't change your form lightly though!
8. Pick the right sock. Everyone's got their favorite sock, and my particular favorite is a lightly padded cotton sock. I don't want any thick terry cloth socks to add bulk to the bunion area!
9. Avoid shoes with pointed toes. The shape not only promotes bunion formation/continuation, it places undue stress on the bunion as you strike and toe-off. Plus, the pointier the toe, the larger a size you'll have to buy to accomodate your width, and going too large can create other problems like black toenails and blisters.

Altras with flat, broad toes.

In case you are wondering, I am currently wearing Saucony Kinvaras and Mizuno Mushas. Both fit my bunions well, although the Kinvaras always split over the area after about 500 miles. What shoe do you wear?

What's on your feet?

Lately, these.

I love the Saucony Kinvara's I bought for $39 (last year's model). They're light, wide enough (I got men's), and allow natural foot movement. I'm a little concerned about their durability since the outsole is so minimal, but so far I'm quite happy with them. (The oustsole is black rubber. Can't see any in the pic above? That's 'cause it's only on small areas of the forefoot and heel.)
Of course I'm still loyal to Karhu.

New in Box, woo hoo!

I still have this shoe, the Karhu Fast Ride, in green (I ran my last marathon in them) but they're showing age so I replaced them with these bright red bargains - just $30 on Ebay. I also went up half a size. My feet have grown (or have my arches fallen?) since last year and I've been buying larger shoes. Right now when I wear my green Fast Ride's I have to wear my thinnest socks and it's still kind of rough.

So how about you? What's on your feet these days? 

Buying running shoes for bunions

*Note: this post was updated here - click to read some newer thoughts and suggestions!*

Confession: I have revolting, ugly, weird feet. They are not even shaped like feet. I have long feet, high arches with a bony bump on top, with a super wide forefoot including bunions. There are bunions on either side, and the weirdest part is that the outer bunions (known as bunionettes) are lower down compared to the inner bunion. This is because clearly my pinky toe is evolving out.

Please note that my pinky toes appear to be affecting an escape.

So buying running shoes is a huge, huge challenge. It's hard enough to run with bunions, let alone find a shoe that fits! By now, though, I think I've got it. Here are my tips:
1. Find styles with wide toe boxes. Obviously. I find that Saucony and Brooks tend to have wider toe boxes, but New Balance has veered toward the narrow last unfortunately.

Notice how these Adidas are barely wider at the toe versus the heel - not good.

2. Choose shoes with mesh uppers and avoid support fabric along the bunion area. Really, you should avoid any overlay on the toe box, since you need the toe box to be able to completely mold itself to your weird foot. Here are a few good examples of shoes that do not have restrictive plastic or fabric near the bunion.

Saucony Kinvaras - Mesh overlay with minimal fabric support (and none over the bunion area)

Karhu flats with mesh toe

Saucony Triumph (men's) with some plastic and fabric support, but a lot of flexibility in the bunion area

Karhu Fast Ride with a perfectly mesh upper and just a small clear plastic strip around the toe for support.

And here are some examples of what not to wear.

Nike Lunar Eclipse with absolutely no flexibility near the bunion

Brooks Switch - although wide, there's plastic all around the toe box.

These Karhu's failed me: although the top is entirely mesh, the sides of the toe box have a support strip that doesn't let the mesh conform to the shape of my bunion.

3. Ladies, consider buying men's styles. They tend to have wider toe boxes. Of course you can also try wide sizes, but wides tend to have a lot of variability in size and structure, so try them on first. A men's shoe will have a larger toe proportionately.
4. Go up a half size and get longer laces. When you select a flexible mesh upper, you are allowing the shoe to conform a little to your foot. You might be able to go up a half size, then lace your shoes to allow for bunion room. In the example below, you can see I've left lots of slack in the laces near the toe, but pulled them tighter closer to the ankle. I find that with every run the shoes feels funny when I start, but molds to my foot as I run.

Loose at the toe, tight at the ankle

5. Go for depth. Take a look at the depth of the shoe from arch to sole. A deeper shoe, again, allows for more wiggle room.

Trail shoes (this one by Asic) are often deeper to accommodate bulkier socks.

6. Think about cushioning.A softer sole will let your bunion sink down without putting all the stress of landing on one joint (bunions cause the big toe joint to hit the ground before the rest of the forefoot). Therefore, you'll do better with foam cushioning compared to grid, wave, or gel. Just something to think about, of course. Not a hard and fast rule.
7. Consider a minimalist style. Shoes with large heel to toe differential guide you to a heel strike. When you heel strike, you firmly "heel-toe", so you push off hard with your toe. The problem is that if you have bunions, you will almost certainly push off with your metatarsophalangeal (MTP joint - where your big toe joins your foot) since it extends beneath the foot in its enlarged state. This will hurt and worsen your bunions. The Chi running style suggests landing midfoot and basically lifting your whole foot, rather than a push-off. I find this to be protective to the bunion area. A shoe with close to zero drop (Newtons, or many minimal styles) encourage this stride. But don't mess with your stride lightly. You can injure yourself in no time.

Newtons have a heel that is only slightly raised over the toe.

8. Buy skinny socks. This isn't a shoe tip, it's more like an "I give up tip". Still, slim fit, no terry socks just give you a few more millimeters width for your bunions.
9. Lastly, a shoe to avoid: Nike and Adidas both make shoes with "bunion windows" - little patches of telescoping rubber over the bunion area that are supposed to stretch out over the bunion. The problem is, they also shrink back as you move your foot - and the plastic can pinch. I bought a pair like this and I got blood blisters from them. Also they assume your bunion is in one exact place, and they don't consider bunionettes.

Vomeros with weird bunion thing

Shoes for a new runner

My sister in law just started running as a way to stay in-shape and healthy. Since she hears running horror stories from me all the time, I'm pretty sure I didn't influence her. (It seems like I only tell awful running stories. "And then my calf cramped and I was in agony!" "Sometimes I throw up when it's hot during a run." "The car practically ran me over!" "I lost another toenail." "Running gives you thunder thighs" "My shoes are all stinky from sweat dripping off my legs onto them!" "My hamstrings are so tight I can't straighten my right leg" etc. She probably thinks it's all torture).
However, now that she's running, I'm all over it! For her birthday we got her her first pair of running shoes. Before now she's been run-walking in Keds, but that's resulted in lots of blisters and blood blisters. Time to upgrade!

Knowing she's fashion-conscious, I was pretty concerned about the shoe's appearance - I knew she wouldn't want a big, heavy-soled, clompy shoe. And I would rather get her something lighter and more flexible anyway, so she won't develop an unnatural gait right off the bat. I settled on the Lunar Fly - it's attractive, it looks like a casual shoe, it's flexible yet has some support ("dynamic support"), it's a light 7.6 ounce shoe, and it's Nike plus compatible - which I think she'll like. I have two problems with the shoe: One, they're Nikes, and I despise Nikes. But she prefers Nikes so I sucked that up. Two, they're anything but "drop zero" and have a big at cushy heel. I'm worried about her transitioning from Keds (totally flat) to this near-wedge.
Oh and we also got her these clearance Christmas running socks 'cause we're classy like that.

What are your thoughts on shoes for new runners? What would you suggest as a first-time running shoe?

Karhu Fluid Fulcrum Ride

Last year I bought my first pair of Karhu's because they were on clearance at Sierra Trading Post. This year, as all my shoes uselessly wear out at the same time, I bought another pair. On clearance. From Sierra Trading Post. With this kind of creativity I should write for SNL.

More linoleum for your viewing pleasure

This time I got the Fluid Fulcrum Ride, a cushioned trainer. It's not my first choice  - I'd prefer to wear a racing shoe for every run. But since Karhu's are so light to begin with, their heaviest neutral shoe is just 8.9 ounces! (the men's is 10.7 ounces). I still have a pair of racing flats (which I decided I don't like because of their stiff arch area), barefoot shoes, and my Karhu Fast Fulcrum's, so I needed a more general purpose shoe. This fits the bill, and using the coupon code ALAPRIL1 from Sierra I got them for $42, including shipping. Can't beat that!
So why did I buy another pair of Karhu's, you ask? Is it because it's fun to say their name? Or because they're Finish, which vaguely reminds me that I shouldn't quit mid-marathon and go back to bed? Or maybe because they keep redesigning them and I keep scoring clearance pairs?*
None of the above! I really like the squishy soft ride, the light weight, the flexible sole, and the whole fulcrum thing. Remember I don't like things that mess with your stride - this doesn't; it just reduces unnecessary (non-stride) movements that waste energy and slow you down. By the way the website doesn't explain it that well...it's an updated site; the old one was better.
Not very many places carry Karhu's (the link to the nearest dealer in my area directed me to Boulder, Colorado), so they can be difficult to buy since you can't try them on. You can refer to my first post for fit details, but I will mention that the more current styles have a shorter toe box. The early styles had a longer toe box, which wearers complained about.
Sizing is basically identical to other running shoes - I went up a size from regular shoes, and got the same size as all my other running shoes. If you haven't tried Karhu's, I would suggest first trying to find your size on sale just to see if they fit you well - then if you love them, you can buy a pair at full price.


Does anyone else out there wear Karhu's? If not, what shoe brand are you loyal to?

* This may be the real reason.

The Somnio Nada: a "barefoot" shoe review

Somnio sent me a pair of the new Nadas, free-for-nothin' (as my father in law says), and here, my friends, is my review.
First of all, about the Nadas: I thought the name was cleverly Spanish. You know, nada = nothing. But actually it's a pun on "not a shoe". Ah! I like puns! These are very, very, light shoes with very, very little stability or padding. They are a minimalist, "barefoot" type shoe. They only weight 3.5 ounces, which I love!
So, the looks: Pretty cute. But they're meant to be unisex and I daresay guys would be offended by the glitter laces.

The fit: The nada runs large as running shoes go, which means you should order the size you actually wear in a regular shoe. My pair are size 8.5-9 womens/7-7.5 men's. In regular shoes, I wear a women's 8.5-9; in running shoes I wear a women's 9.5 or a men's 8.5. The Nada's toe box is wide (which you will need as you will be spreading your toes as you land) and the shoe features diagonal stitching and a seamless upper for an easily adjustable fit. 

Compared to Saucony Triumph (men's)

The function: You will definitely run like you're barefoot in this shoe because there is minimal sole and a "zero drop" (ie, the heel isn't elevated). However, the sole is actually very durable and protects the foot well.  I consider it a good thing that I had to keep reminding myself to think about the shoe when I was running: I kept forgetting about them, and isn't that what you want in a minimalist shoe?

After about 30 miles

There are two things I like about this particular barefoot-type shoe:
1. Because it actually has a normal sole, it is possible to spread your landing across the midfoot. Since I have a high arch, my plain old bare foot couldn't land in the middle, so more stress was concentrated on the forefoot.
2. The fit is much easier, simpler, and more comfortable than other barefoot shoes. By this I mean Vibrams. The Vibram toe-shoe fit is complicated (sizing varies based on style and is unrelated to any other sizing pattern) and if you're feet aren't actually shaped like pizza slices with perfectly spaced toes, you won't get a good fit. My feet are weird.

Please don't laugh at my feet. I am illustrating that with my deformed pinky toe Vibrams do not fit.

It's quite easy to adjust the laces on the Nadas to get a pretty snug fit no matter the width of your foot...or the weirdness of your toes.
The Nadas come with a kind of funny dvd of foot and leg exercises meant to prepare one for barefoot running, but I'll just tell you that you should start slow and be prepared for sore calves.
The value: Price is comparable to other minimalist shoes ($80). The shoe may appear flimsy because there is NO stitching on the upper at all, just bonding, but they're tough. I attempted to beat them up and failed.Well-constructed.
The bad: The bright red insole of the Nadas bleeds. I've worn them about ten times and all my socks turned pink. Just FYI.
The summary: I'd buy them over other minimalist shoes. They're a shoe you don't have to think about - they protect your sole and that's about all. When you're trying to run more naturally, you don't want your shoes to be a distraction (weird stitching, funny fit, shoes is falling off, toes feel like they're in a torture device...etc). The Nada's won't be. You'll think you're barefoot.
***Editor's note: I drafted this post several weeks ago but I've gotten more use out of the shoes since then. I found that if I simply ignored my gait and ran like I always do I felt the best. The furthest I've worn these shoes for is 8 miles, and I promise I actually felt great afterward. Definitely work up to that distance, though. Bottom line is, the more I wear the Nadas the more I love them, and I will definitely be buying another pair when these die. ***

Using Shoe Goo to repair running shoes

I go through my running shoes rather quickly, since I like lightweight (thin-soled) shoes and I wear the insides first thanks to my funky feet and bunions. In order to save some shoe-money,  I decided to try to extend the life of my nearly-dead New Balance shoes by using Shoe Goo. A trail runner I know uses it on all his shoes, but kind of preemptively. I wasn't sure how to go about saving a pair of shoes with it.
You can buy Shoe Goo online or at a hardware store. I walked to the True Value on Oak street, where I accidentally wandered onto a movie set and got yelled at. *sigh* Hollywood South, y'all! The Goo costs about $5.

The Goo

My shoes were pretty worn when I started:

You can actually see white foam THROUGH the gray outsole, it's so worn!

Try #1: I spread a thin layer of Goo on the worn areas with a plastic knife. Then I started hallucinating about purple ducks until I had the bright idea to put the shoes outside. This stuff is stinky! You have to spread the goo quickly as it starts to set immediately. After two days of drying (to be on the safe side), I took my shoes out for a 9-miler.
Results? Not good. Everything I applied was worn off or peeling!

The toe area wore off; the heels peeled.

Try #2. I realized that the layer of Goo I'd used was too thin to make up for the severe wearing on my shoes. I peeled off any remaining shreds of goo and tried again. This time around, first I roughed up to surface with a serrated knife since I was out of sandpaper and was too scared to venture back to Oak street. Then I squeezed lots of Goo onto the area, spreading it as I went. The Goo starts to set in just a few minutes, so once the surface was set I pressed in indentations where the treads used to be.

Thick Goo layer

I waited a day to be sure the Goo was completely dry before I wore the shoes for several runs. After about 40 miles they look like this:

After use, the Goo gets opaque. Notice no more white foam showing through!

The Goo is obviously taking some pressure, but it's holding for now. There is some lifting at the edges.  As for feel, I really didn't notice that there was anything different about the sole. The shoes didn't feel brand-new, but they also aren't continuing to wear.One thing I should mention is that the dried Goo makes horribly squeaky soles, so I sound like a one-man high school basketball game when I walk on my wood floors. Also I would estimate you can treat two pairs of shoes from one tube of Goo, so it costs $2.50 a pair. Or $1.25 a shoe...
So, my recommendation? Apply it sooner rather than later and you can probably get a few more months out of your shoes. For $5 it's worth it, but don't expect miracles. I'll use it on my shoes, but I will also rotate Goo'd shoes with newer pairs.
Have you ever used Shoe Goo? Would you try it, or are you skittish about messing with your running treads?

Shoe Evolution: Adapting to a Minimalist Shoe

Just a little over a year ago, I was hobbling around nearly lame from excruciating knee pain. Simple runner's knee had progressed to a major injury, and I ran my first marathon so injured that my patella strap popped off mid-race because my knee had swollen so much. Less than six months later I was running pain-free and getting faster with every race. How did I heal?
Simple.
I wore less shoe.
Take a look at my shoe progression.

Brooks Ariels, Saucony Triumph, New Balance, Karhu Fast, Saucony flats

1. I started out with Brooks Ariels, a massive shoe with heavy, solid arches that absolutely prevents any kind of pronation. The shoe weighs an incredible 12.3 ounces, and is about as flexible as a cinder block.Worst of all, I wore these with stiff orthotics! The result? Heavy, unnatural gait and severe knee injury that led me to the doctor.
2. Next came Nike Craptastics, a pair of shoes so cheap and poorly made that I got blood blisters from deteriorating insoles. I bought these from the same running store, as my doctor (typically) recommended new shoes for a knee injury. They felt all right on - wide toe box, good fit - but all wrong when I ran. They were also a stability shoe and my joints felt jarred with every step. My runner's knee was compounded by a gigantic black and blue bursa injury.

This is the only picture I could find of my Nikes (L) because they are no more.

3. The light! All at once I bought three pairs of shoes in my quest to replace my dying Nikes. About this time I started researching running gaits and knee injury, and I concluded two things: first, that pronation actually protects your knees, and second, that I do not overpronate. My shoes wear on the inside because I push off with my big toe joint. We call this, um, bunions. I settled on the Saucony Triumph, a men's shoe, because they seemed likely to stand up to many long runs. They are tough, but best of all they were a flexible neutral shoe. These were my first neutral shoes and in days my knee pain had subsided.
4. I moved on to a pair of now -discontinued New Balance shoes that are very lightweight, flexible shoes. I loved the lightness of this shoe and ran four marathons in it - however, I did not rely on it much in training because as you can see it has a very high heel. This cushy stacked heal makes me heel-strike, especially when I speed up, so I felt a little uncomfortable. I could tell that it was making me change my gait.
5. My beloved Karhu Fast Fulcrum shoes had been waiting in the wings all the while. I had been "saving" these shoes for shorter races because they have basically no outsole. But I love the nearly zero-drop heel and the superb flexibility. The "fulcrum" encourages mid-foot strike, which I like because I already mid-foot strike. I began a secret plan to train for and run the Mardi Gras marathon in these shoes, part of my move to more minimal shoes. I almost ditched the plan after I had a bruised toe following The Wall 30k, but I stuck with the plan and PR's at the marathon in the Karhus.
6. Because I have an addiction, I recently bought the Saucony Kilkenny flats. I like that they are basically no shoe at all, but the wells where the spikes would screw in decrease overall flexibility.

Compare the heels on my Brooks Ariels and my new Saucony flats. Geez.

During this past year of shoe experimentation, I came to a few conclusions.
1. Our bodies are smart. We do not need to retrain our bodies to do something we are designed to do and have been doing all of our lives. If you over-pronate, it's probably to compensate for some gait or structural anomaly. A more flexible shoe lets your body work the way it has learned to.
2. If it makes you change the way you run, don't wear it. Honestly, I am not a fan of altering your running gait. I know many people are advocating Chi running and barefoot running, but if you have to make major changes to your stride to adopt a new style you are begging for injury. Running should feel natural to you. When I run, I don't want to think about how I am running. I don't have "perfect form" (according to whom?) but I also ran five marathons in six months injury-free. When I bought the Nikes, the short and  wide toe box seemed ideal for me. And indeed, the shoes fit my feet well. But they forced an uncomfortable, unnatural landing that hurt every step. I felt back and neck stiffness after a long run. The Karhus claim to adjust your gait (that's what the fulcrum does) but it works for me because that already IS my gait.
3. If it isn't broken, don't attempt to fix it. Sorry, guys, I had to correct that old and wise phrase! Don't jump on every running bandwagon. Are you in pain? Injured? Slow? No? Then keep the shoes you've got.
4. Go slow. If you make shoe changes, do it gradually by working a new pair in. I did this with all my shoe changes and I still rotate shoes. Right now I am wearing mainly my Karhus, but I wear my New Balance a few times a week because I'm cheap and I'd like to get my money's worth. Once a week I work in my flats. My Saucony's seem stiff and heavy to me now, so I have relegated them to gym only.