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Comment by aaronbrethorst | Hacker News Reader

Go to a good shoe store that caters to runners, and try on a bunch of different pairs of shoes to find something that will fit your needs and physiology.

And then throw them away after 500 miles and get a new pair.

I have a suspicion that a big part of the reason that people are feeling better running in Hokas is that they waited too long to replace their last pair of shoes, and literally anything would have been an improvement by the time they switched.

And I say this as someone who recently switched to Hokas. They’re fine.

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> Go to a good shoe store that caters to runners

I did that and I even paid extra for the "running assessment" that they were offering to those interested in running the Berlin marathon. It took me ca. 4 years to recover from the damage those shoes did to my knees.

I would say "go to a doctor", but the first one I visited just googled "running shoes" on his computer and told me to get something like that. At least the second one actually knew what he was doing.

My point being: I would suggest everyone to try really hard to get a good recommendation instead of trusting someone blindly.

Can I ask what they suggested and what you ended up with eventually?

The guy at the store filmed my running, pointed out that (according to him) my feet bend inwards when running and recommended some Adidas shoes that (again, according to him) would "fix" the bending and make it fully vertical. I got instead terrible knee pain, to the point of barely being able to go up the stairs.

The second doctor told me to rip the insoles and replace them with some orthopedic, custom-made ones (my insurance covers a pair or two a year) and also prescribed me some knee pads with metal rods on the sides that I must wear whenever I run. He also sent me to physiotherapy for a month where I learned exercises to strengthen the knee and core muscles. Whenever my knees start to hurt (typically after not exercising for a while) these exercises make it go away.

Look up the nordic, and reverse nordic curls, and tibialis raises and TKE exercises. There is a youtuber who has popularized them (kneesovertoesguy). I've found they help me immensely when it comes to stiffness/soreness in my knee (had knee surgery a year ago). If I was better about it I would be more regular about doing these exercises regularly, but alas I am too lazy. (I also have flat foot issue and found "racing flats" with not too thick soles to be my ideal, even running marathons).

> my feet bend inwards

Sounds like pes planus aka flat foot. Yes, run of the mill Adidas would do nothing, you need a shoe with a good side support and custom insoles.

I love my Hokas, they have different models which cater to differently-shaped and differently used feet. Some people love minimalism, but if I push hard enough (which isn't hard at all), on hard surfaces and without much padding, I develop pain which I would categorize as tendon being stretched too much. I can get it also from just walking on tarmac sidewalks in hard shoes for long enough.

Doesn't happen in Hokas, at all. They basically allow me to run as much as I can, or have multiple-hour walks almost every evening. Another good ones, for me just for walking, are La Sportiva Raptor - seemingly one of few manufacturers that caters to sporty people with wide feet.

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