Picking the Best Footwear for Bunions

Audio Transcript

Sinead: Hey everyone, Coach Sinead here with you today. Today, we have a great question from Eliza.

Eliza: Hi! My name’s Eliza. I was calling in after listening to your recent podcast, talking with Jonathan Beverly about the importance of mixing up your shoes, mixing up your terrain and finding your natural stride out there.

I am a marathon runner and a yoga instructor and fortunately I haven’t been plagued by any injuries and I would love to mix up my shoes.

My only problem is I have bunions on my feet.

I’m currently running in Saucony’s ISO feet shoe and I have been for probably three years now, because I’ve had a hard time trying to find mixing outs that really accommodates this type of foot deformity or bump on the side of your foot.

Are there any shoes that you could recommend that would be comparable to Saucony and that have a little bit wider of a toe box? Thank you.

Sinead: This is a really great question and one to which a lot of runners can relate. Bunions are very, very common.

They are bony bumps that form on the joint, at the base of your big toe and it forms when your big toe pushes against your next toe, and this forces the joint of your big toe to get bigger and then stick out.

Obviously, this can become extremely painful depending on the severity of the bunion, but when it is rubbing against a narrow shoe, obviously that’s not going to feel very good.

So there are definitely a lot of options when it comes to wider toe boxes out there and I’ll get into that in a second.

First off, Eliza, I’m glad you enjoyed Jonathan Beverly’s interview. That was a great interview and I really enjoyed talking with him.

For those of our listeners that might have missed that interview, Jonathan Beverly is a long time runner and an expert in all things footwear.

He writes for Runner’s World and was the running Times editor for 15 years, but he had a lot of great information on how to perfect your individual optimal running stride.

Naturally, part of that had to do with our footwear, so if you missed that interview and you’re interested in checking it out, you can find it at runnersconnect.net/rc873.

The part of the interview Eliza’s referencing was on how mixing your footwear can help perfect your running stride.

This is because if you do too much of the same thing, whether it be running on the same terrain all the time or wearing the same shoes all the time, you can get stuck in a rut as Jonathan called it.

What this means is, you’re not able to work different muscle groups because you’re wearing the same shoes all the time, whether they be traditional shoes, motion control shoes, cushion shoes, or whatever the case may be.

Running in the same shoe, even the same brand all the time can get you into a rut and by consequence, your biomechanics can suffer.

As Eliza is saying, mixing your shoes can be very beneficial and what you can do is have two or three pairs of shoes, where one is a cushion shoe, and another one is a more minimalist shoe.

Just mix it up and alternate by day, by training session.

If you want to wear a more cushion shoe for a long run that’s great or maybe a more minimalist shoe for a track workout.

Each shoe will help you better achieve whatever the goal is of the particular training session and also help you keep your preferred movement path, which is your natural stride.

There are plenty of wide toe box shoes out there similar to the Saucony ISO you’re wearing currently.

Like Eliza said, if you suffer from bunions, you need to aim to buy wide toe box shoes because these are obviously going to leave plenty of room around your forefoot area, thus keeping any irritation at a minimum.

I’ll talk about three different types of shoes that have wide toe boxes and the first type of shoe is a neutral shoe, which can be good for runners with nicely arched neutral feet.

What this means is these runners have no tendency to over pronate or roll inward or on the other hand, supinate and roll outward.

If you have neutral feet and you suffer from bunions, a really great shoe for you would be the new balance fresh foam 1080 V6 running shoe.

This one has a very roomy toe box and it’s pretty lightweight as well, so it makes for a really good running shoe; perfect for the road, track and any terrain. It’s a great shoe all round, so that one’s a good one.

Again, it is the new balance fresh foam 1080 V6 running shoe, so if you’ve got a neutral foot Eliza try that one out that one’s a good one.

Another type of shoe is the stability shoe. If you’re a runner that has lower arched feet and you tend to roll inward, you might need a stability shoe.

A really great stability shoe with a wide toe box would be the A6 Gel-Kayano23.

The roomy toe box again helps to mitigate any irritation you might suffer from if you have bunions, and it also has a nice structured arch for stability control.

If you’re a runner that needs a stability shoe, that’s a really good one as well.

The last type of shoe I’ll talk about is a motion control shoe. These are particularly good for runners that have flat feet and usually need a running shoe with maximum arch support.

Often, if you have flat feet due to the fallen arche, your foot tends to be a little bit wider anyway, so if you have bunions on top of that, this is where getting more of a motion control shoe might be a good idea for you.

A really good one, in particular, is the Brooks women’s addiction 12 and this one is great because it has a maximum arch support and gives your toes some room to breathe if you have bunions.

It really helps to again lower any irritation you might suffer from.

Those are the three types of shoes and my three suggestions for you Eliza, and anyone else that might be looking for some different types of shoes, is to mix it up a little bit.

I did say that each type of shoe might suit different feet better, so it’s always important to try shoes on at the shoe store and as you might have heard in Jonathan Beverly’s interview, run around the parking lot a little bit, and try out some different paces in the parking lot.

Make sure that the shoe is comfortable if you’re jogging and make sure that it’s comfortable , if you’re doing even a stride.

You want a shoe that doesn’t feel like you’re working too hard to run in and if you have bunions, you also want a shoe that obviously doesn’t irritate the area.

A couple more tips I’ll give you Eliza and anyone else that might have bunions, is to invest in some moleskin and you can buy these at any pharmacy.

Eliza, you may already be using these, but if not, these are great for reducing friction and they’re like a thick band aid that you can put over your bunion and help especially on workout days, where there’s a little bit more friction because you’re obviously running faster.

These are great to invest in. If you want to try one out on a easy day or workout day, either is fine.

Whenever I get blisters, I use them and they work like a charm. They really help to prevent the shoe from rubbing on the area and irritating it further.

If you aren’t using them already, moleskins are definitely worth investing in. One more thing I will suggest to you, is make sure that you are lacing your shoes, so that on the one hand your toe box is as wide as it can be, but your shoe still stays firmly on your foot.

There’s a way to lace your shoes if you have bunions and it’s called the “bunion step over technique.”

You can find it on YouTube; there’s a video on how to do this bunion step over technique and what it does is, it reduces the pressure off the bunion and allows you to run pain free.

It really helps to make that toe box area as wide as it can be.

Thank you so much Eliza for submitting that question, a great question that again a lot of runners can relate to.

A great question Eliza and thanks so much for submitting that.

Again, if you have a question you would like answered by one of our coaches in an upcoming episode, please feel free to submit it at runnersconnect.net/daily.

You can ask anything to do with running, nutrition, racing or anything in between. We’re always happy to help and would love to hear from you.

Finally, a word from our sponsors.

Sometimes it can be really nice to take in your surroundings and be left to your own thoughts on a long quiet run, sometimes it can be pure agony.

I started running with music about a year ago and well it helped me get out the door and made solo runs more enjoyable, even music can get old, especially when you’re exhausting your playlist every third run.

Podcasts like this one definitely helps spice things up, but it’s hard to beat a good book when you’re logging mile after mile training for a marathon.

That’s why I chose to give Audible a try and I’m so glad I did.

It’s got a huge selection of running and non-running related books to keep your mind off the run and add some comedic relief during those inevitable rough patches, and expose you to new insights on training, nutrition and mental game.

I’m currently listening to Something Rich and Strange by Ron Rash and it really gets me pumped to go for a run even when I’m tired, because it means I finally get to listen to the next few chapters.

Not just that, but Audible has a free 30 day trial to test it out and see if it’s for you. Check out Audible’s extensive running selection and start your free 30 day trial at runnersconnect.net/audible.

That’s it guys. Have a great day.