When you're a long distance runner, you need to be able to trust your shoes. If you're training for an event, or just trying to keep fit, the last thing you want is injury cropping up and ruining your ability to keep up the routine. Saucony have got a lot of followers right now, and with good reason. Here are some of the aspects that have pleased their users.
Saucony made waves with their minimalist designs. This seems like it was a long time coming really, with lots of talk on the internet and amongst experts on whether running shoes were actually damaging our legs. The argument was split into two main camps. People that go along with the Asics line prefer highly developed shoes which correct the pronation of the runner, and cushion the heel so as to allow for heavy tread on each step. Opponents to this pointed to how unnatural it is for us to run this way. Barefoot running uses the flat of the foot, rather than a heel strike style, and it was argued that this would be less likely to cause injury over time.
Being a bare foot runner is really hard work though. Going from developed shoes to nothing feels strange; your pace slows dramatically when you have to run flat foot style, and unless you're fortunate enough to have lots of soft ground nearby you're likely to find it's quite painful too. Saucony have hit upon this growing demand with their minimalist range, starting with the brilliant Hattori shoe. This design has what they call 'zero-drop' on the heel, meaning basically that the shoe is flat on the sole. You're protected from the road, but you're also able to run naturally without support.
This is just one aspect of Saucony's design genius though. When it comes to well developed shoes they've also got a lot to offer against front runners such as Asics. They've developed their own flexion plates which act like min springs in the sole of the shoe. By having a hard heel, springy sole, and bendy forefoot area, they give you the chance to really fly.
Basically they're a joy to run in, and it's no surprise that so many runners are favouring these over other brands at the moment.
Saucony made waves with their minimalist designs. This seems like it was a long time coming really, with lots of talk on the internet and amongst experts on whether running shoes were actually damaging our legs. The argument was split into two main camps. People that go along with the Asics line prefer highly developed shoes which correct the pronation of the runner, and cushion the heel so as to allow for heavy tread on each step. Opponents to this pointed to how unnatural it is for us to run this way. Barefoot running uses the flat of the foot, rather than a heel strike style, and it was argued that this would be less likely to cause injury over time.
Being a bare foot runner is really hard work though. Going from developed shoes to nothing feels strange; your pace slows dramatically when you have to run flat foot style, and unless you're fortunate enough to have lots of soft ground nearby you're likely to find it's quite painful too. Saucony have hit upon this growing demand with their minimalist range, starting with the brilliant Hattori shoe. This design has what they call 'zero-drop' on the heel, meaning basically that the shoe is flat on the sole. You're protected from the road, but you're also able to run naturally without support.
This is just one aspect of Saucony's design genius though. When it comes to well developed shoes they've also got a lot to offer against front runners such as Asics. They've developed their own flexion plates which act like min springs in the sole of the shoe. By having a hard heel, springy sole, and bendy forefoot area, they give you the chance to really fly.
Basically they're a joy to run in, and it's no surprise that so many runners are favouring these over other brands at the moment.
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