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do running shoes lose their effectiveness in storage?
I was told by a physical therapist that running shoes lose their
effectiveness over time, even if not being used.
QUESTION:do running shoes lose their effectiveness in storage?
I was told by a physical therapist that running shoes lose their
effectiveness over time, even if not being used.
If that is true, how do you know how "fresh" a running shoes are when buying
from a store? Do manufacturers date-stamp shoes?
Does that mean it's a bad idea to buy last year's models on closeout sale?
ANSWER: In my experience, last year's model is usually fine. Probably you could learn
the manufacturer date if you had access to arcane lot numbering tables from a
maker, but you're not going to find a "good until May 2003" label to my
knowledge. Wouldn't be in the maker's or retailer's interest.
Depending on where you live and the enviroronmental conditions in which the
shoes have been stored before sale--and are stored by you after purchase--there
may be some degrading of performance over time even without running miles in
them....but I'd just avoid buying shoes more than a model-year old and not worry
about it.
Example: having found in mid-to-late 2001 a model that worked well for me (New
Balance 763), in the middle of the following model year (NB764), I found and
bought two extra pairs of 763s and started using them. I still am using both
pairs in rotation for training and racing and they seem fine. Tread wear and
interior cushioning loss will end their use for running after this spring but
that's from running, not how many months since manufactured, I think. I'm
guessing it has probably been two full years since they were created,
considering supply chains, etc.
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