!44: Half Marathon Training - What's the Difference Between Men's and Women's Running Shoes?

!±8± Half Marathon Training - What's the Difference Between Men's and Women's Running Shoes?

Whether you are just starting to run or if looking for your next pair of running shoes you might be wondering if there is a difference between men's and women's running shoes. If you plan to just wear them around the house or just as a comfortable shoe there are basically no differences. But, if you are going to use them for running and training like you would when you are training to run a half marathon then there are major differences and you should get a shoe made specifically for women.

There are three main differences between men's and women's running shoes. Women's running shoes need motion control, more flexibility and don't need as much cushioning. This is based on physiological factors and is not a marketing ploy.

One of the main reasons that women need a different type of shoe is that they tend to have wider hips than men. Since women's hips are wider their legs slant inward from their hips to their ankles causing more of an angle on their feet as they run. The angle causes inward pronation on every step. Because of this pronation many women need motion control shoes to compensate for the problem. As a rule men's hip are normally not as wide and they usually don't have this issue and although it can be an issue for men and they should check for pronation before buying a pair of shoes just as the women should, most shoe manufacturers are aware of the situation with women and take it into consideration when designing running shoes for women.

Another factor that makes women's running shoes different than men's is the fact that body mass on males is more than on females. Because of the difference in body mass the same size shoe would need less cushioning for a women than for a man. Although there are great advances in materials for cushioning and support, more cushioning means more weight and more stiffness. By needing less cushioning women's shoes are lighter and less stiff - which is nice. With this in mind manufacturers make women's shoes with less cushioning and a lot more flexible. That is one of the reasons that when you compare men's running shoes to women's they seem a lot lighter and seem to have less cushioning.

So when you look for your next set of women's running shoes, you still have a lot of choices on brands and styles and you have a lot of research to do, but hopefully you'll at least understand why you need to look for shoes specifically for women.