UKH

I was just reading a thread and a user made a comment about replacing shoes every 200 or so miles, is this normal? A few others seemed to agree. I'm running 1000 miles a year and probably replace my shoes once a year, if that. Until today I had never really thought about putting a mileage on them but it seems absurd to rotate shoes after just 200 miles.

Am I really the only one? What mileage do you get out of your shoes? 

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

Varies really. I get around 500 out of road shoes, (Nike) but only get around 250 to 300 out of fell/trail shoes before they drop to bits (inov8, salomon).

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I was religious about retiring them at around ~400 mile mark. I was also pushing the mileage a wee bit, so wanted to play safe. The shoes I retired felt fine, so I am hoping to push at least a pair to the limits and see what the worn out foam actually feels like.

I already racked up 1.4k+ miles this year. It's costly when you would be replacing shoes every 5~7 weeks. I did stock up with few pairs before the lockdown. I have enough in rotation so that I can pick and choose. That's more important for trails though. 

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

Racing flats probably just a couple of hundred miles. Regular road shoes, probably 4-500 miles. Trail and fell shoes are quite variable, often it is the uppers that go first as the cushioning is less critical.

In reply to The New NickB:

Oh, and if you fancy some of Next%, even less...

In reply to PPP:

I hear less than 100 miles. I have bought some Saucony Endorphin Pro, they are a wonder, but they will only be used for speed work and races (eventually), I have been monitoring the testers who have done decent miles in them. It looks like they might last longer than the Nike carbon models. 

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

Road 450-500 with a heavier shoe, but depends on the shoe as Ridge says. Lighter racing shoes probably 250-300. 

But I have many (5-10 easily) pairs on the go and mix them depending on what I'm running. Older pairs will just be used for easy runs with the dog. 

Trail shoes will be less but depends on the trails you are running, rocky, peat, wet etc.

These are the one's I currently have on shelving at my front door. My wife gets annoyed with me (I'm a Salming Ambassador)

Salming Elements

Salming Trail 6

Salming Trail 3

Salming Ispike 

Salming Greyhounds (yellow)

Salming Greyhounds (white)

Salming EnRoutes

Saucony Peregrines 10

Nike Pegasus Turbo 2

Sketchers Go Run Ride 8

Skechers Go Run Razor 3

Nike Track Spikes

In reply to Alex_Handhold:You can do things to make them last longer.  If you run in mud a lot put them thro' the washing machine before grit or peat destroy the uppers.  Rotate them so the foam recovers a bit - two pairs of shoes is a very nice luxury, and especially in the winter as you 'never' need  to run in wet shoes (cold, and water soaked foam doesn't cushion very well) .  If you're unsure of the condition feel inside the show where your toes make an  imprint to guage how the midsole's holding up.  

Worst shoes I ever had were a pair of Brooks Blast that made maybe 35 miles before the midsole was destroyed although 26 of those miles were a marathon.

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I think my record for retiring a pair of Inov-8s was <90km - fell to pieces.  Were replaced....then they fell to pieces! The green/black Mudclaws they had issues with a few years back.  Generally never had that issues with Inov-8 over all, normally retire them as the sole is worn down.

Generally about 400km for me on fell shoes. But very dependant on the shoe, my VJ iRocks are coming up to the 400km mark and I'll not be retiring them any time soon. MY Hoka Torrents I got just before lockdown...250km in the dry and they are looking quite close to being done in. 

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I've never really done the mileage (<400 miles/year) to justify having more than one shoe on the go at the same time.

My road shoes (some easy trail if dry) last about 450 miles. It's always the sole that wears out, usually a competition between the toes and the outside of the heel.

My shoe choice has been ASICS gt-1000 for the last few pairs but it's always been at that sort of "level". I used to reckon on 10p/mile but that's probably more like 15p/mile nowadays.

I've never (in 30+ years of running) had the uppers go first.

In reply to The New NickB:

I’ve got some 4% and I’ve lost count of the miles of done in them.  Well over 100 but probably less than 2.  While they look like they’ll go for a good few miles yet they’ve definitely lost their edge.  I think the super shoes have very limited mileage for the purpose they were bought and then get relegated.

Loads of good reviews of the Sauconys, saying they’re better than the Nikes.

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

750Km for road or dry trail shoes.

500Km for fell shoes.

I got 750Km out of my Roclite 315s and now have the 275s (less durable upper, but the Graphene sole does seem to be wearing less quickly... and they are super sticky, especially noticeable in the dry. Not far off 5.10 rubber).

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I wear my fell shoes into the ground. its always the sides that split but you can still use them for a while even when that happens. Inov8s wear out relatively quickly but I'd still expect to get at least 500 miles out of them.  My La Sportiva Mutants last a heck of a long time in a degraded condition - up to about 1200 miles, but the studs wear out a long time before that so are not good on mud and scree once the studs are worn down.

In reply to Roadrunner6:

What do you race in (on the road)? I've never tried or owned a pair of Salming (I'd never even heard of them until I saw you mention that you were an ambassador on another thread) - you like them because they fit your foot well? I've very recently bought a pair of Hoka Clifton 6 for racking up miles. Ace for downhills but the grip on the bottom has worn rapidly. They've done 130miles or so and I'm already wearing through some of the rubber. My Asics Gel Kayano's on the other hand have done 400 miles and although feel slippy on slick wet canal bricks are still relatively grippy.

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I get anything from 200 to 1000 miles from shoes, occasionally even more if I like a pair and it holds up, like the Salming Miles I have just retired.

I have several pairs on the go at any one time, but don't rotate them as much as I probably should. I just wear the pairs I like best most of the time.

It's always the uppers that limit the life of a shoe for me.

I also find that, unless a shoe goes by getting a really long slit along the side, like my TopoFlyLytes, I can usually still use it with holes in for quite a while, and might use it as a walking shoe before I finally stop using it. A very old pair of Roclites are my allotment wear for when it is muddy, and an old pair of Adrenalines are my painting and decorating shoes.

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I've used running shoes for the last 20 or so years. I hate running but was advised to use supportive running shoes instead of everyday shoes by a foot surgeon (to combat foot pain due to over flexible feet). It solved the problem. I do use them until the tread is badly worn, especially the heels, so must do huge mileages. I think I probably get poor support as they age and probably exacerbate this by occasional use of the washing machine which isn't recommended by manufacturers. FWIW I currently have Mizuno Wave Inspire 13 and 15.

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

Best recently 800 miles from a pair of Roclites, worst 120 from xc spikes. Generally about 4-600 before my fat feet burst out of the sides. Winter is harder in the filth and a lazy cleaning schedule

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I usually have 2 road and 2 trail runners on the go at any time. Road prob does about 1000 miles, trail less so. Then they get demoted to gardening shoes or casual walking duty.

In reply to Alex_Handhold:

I retire at about 5-550 miles by which time the rubber tread on the outside  of each foot at the heel is wearing through to the spongy layer underneath. At least they do with my preferred option, Brooks Ghost.

They dont get binned though. Over a lifetime they probably see 1500plus or so miles as they then get used for dog walking, general knocking about and gardening.

In reply to JayK:

My cliftons split, the early models last forever.

technically I should only race in Salmings but I love the Nike Turbo 2s. They are the zoom material but not carbon plate, not quite a racing shoe but nice and light.

Salming  are well made and last forever, The greyhounds are an odd wire like mesh, I’ll probably get 700 miles out of them, but they are heavier. They are just neat, cheap simple shoes. 

In reply to JayK:

Just to add. My Clifton 6's have now done 200 miles. The rubber is peeling off the left heel (nearly all gone) leaving the white foam completely exposed. Highly doubt they're going to last 400-500. I did worry that the rubber would wear through as it's super thin - but wasn't expecting it to essentially fall off. Still rate them for comfort but pretty poor durability (for a first pair).