These are the best running shoes for beginners in 2024. Beginner

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RUNNING SHOE LIST:
Saucony Kinvara: https://amzn.to/4bpSAza
Hoka Rincon: https://amzn.to/3ujZSna
Hoka Clifton: https://amzn.to/3uh1ONp
Asics Noosa Tri: https://amzn.to/3SJZbNq
Nike Air Zoom Pegasus: https://amzn.to/3HJcTdd
New Balance Fresh Foam 1080: https://amzn.to/3HLFwX5
Brooks Ghost: https://amzn.to/3vZbRqF

TAGS
running,runner,run,running shoes,runners,best running shoes,2024,best running shoes for beginners,beginner running,beginner running shoes,best runners,best shoes for beginner runners,asics,hoka,brooks,nike,saucony,kinvara,pegasus,ghost

Beginner runners aren’t like typical runners. Beginner runners need a very specific running shoe to be able to learn to run with good technique with a lower chance of injury. Fortunately, science has found exactly what that running shoe is that those beginner runners should look for.

We’re going to talk about what the aspects are of beginner running shoes that you should be looking for if you’re looking at getting your first proper pair of running shoes, or if maybe you’ve already been running and you felt like your feet are a little a bit more beat up than you’d like.

We’ll provide you with a number of running shoes that check all the boxes of what beginner runners should be looking for, and finally, how to select which of those running shoes you should actually get for yourself. What’s up, motivators? My name is Taramu. When ordinary people want to accomplish something extraordinary in endurance

Sports, they choose our totally free mode of training plans. You’re ready to take on that next big endurance challenge? Let’s do it. So there are four things that need to happen for a beginner runner. And ideally, what we’re looking for in a shoe that is specifically designed for beginner runners

Is a shoe that’s going to allow you to move in your natural range of motion. Whereas seasoned runners have already built up the lower leg strength to be able to have a bunch of different shoes that are maybe adjusting how the foot and the lower leg moves for them.

But beginner runners should be moving in their natural range of motion so their body can find its own uniquely efficient running stride and build up the muscles in the lower leg in such a way that it’s natural for us to be able to run. Once you get past about the first year

Of running, you can move on to all different other types of running shoes. But at the start, you want a shoe that is set up to allow you to move in your natural range of motion. And to get that, there are four things

That we need to look for in a shoe for beginner runners. Right here, we have two very common running shoes that we can compare. This is a very structured running shoe, and this is what you might think of when you think about a beginner running shoe.

This is a much less structured running shoe. And what we’re looking for in a shoe for beginner runners is more along the lines of this shoe. The first thing that we’re looking for in a shoe for beginner runners is it should ideally be fairly neutral. So historically,

People would go into a running store, and the running shoe store clerk would say, walk back and forth, and they go, you need stability shoes. Well, most beginner runners would actually do better in more neutral shoes, and studies have shown this.

Females might need a little bit more of a stability shoe because their hips tend to be a little bit wider, so there’s a little bit more pronation. But we’ll talk in a little bit about how you can find out what shoe you actually need. Most people should go towards a more

Neutral shoe as opposed to a more built up shoe like this. The second thing that people should be looking for is a lighter shoe, and that tends to coincide with a more neutral shoe. So a more neutral shoe, a less structured shoe will tend to be

In the seven to 10 ounce range, whereas a more structured shoe is going to have a little bit more heft, a fair bit more material to it. So it’s going to be more in the nine to 12 ounce range. We want to stick in that more seven to 10 ounce range.

And the final thing that we want is less than seven millimeters of heel to toe drop. And you can see that very clearly comparing these two shoes. If you look at this ultra here on the side of the shoe, you can see that the buildup of the heel is basically as thick as

The buildup on the forefoot, and that is a zero heel to toe drop. It’s perfectly flat. Whereas with this New Balance Fresh Foam, which this is actually a very good shoe, you can see that the heel is built up a fair bit more than what’s on the forefoot.

When we start getting over that seven millimeters of heel to toe drop, people will tend to scuff or land on their heel and develop up a pattern of heel striking, which isn’t a very efficient way to run. So that’s the three things that you should be looking for.

But I said that there are four things. Ideally, the beginner running shoes should be under about $160. Because you’re just starting out, we don’t need the absolute top-of-the-line running shoe. We need an affordable shoe that checks all the boxes. And here are several shoes that actually do that.

So Sokony Kinvara is probably the very first running shoe that I would recommend to most people. This has been a favorite of for decades. You can see that it’s gone through 14 different iterations, and the Sokony Kinvara hasn’t really changed a lot because they figured it out a long time ago.

You can also see that it’s only $120. But if we look into the specs of the shoe, you’ll see why I like it. So we can see the weight is 7.3 ounces in that seven to 10 ounce range. The heel stack and the forefoot stack are only 4 millimeters different.

So there’s just 4 millimeters of heel to toe drop. Like I said, the This is a neutral shoe that has medium cushioning, so it’s like the middle of the road for everything. It’s very inexpensive, checks all the boxes. And when we go through it,

Something that I really like is it has a little bit of outsole material. That black, thicker rubber is going to last a fair bit longer than the under layer here, the midsole. What I don’t necessarily like about it is because midsole is exposed to save that little bit of weight,

You are going to give up a little bit on the durability quality. But this shoe is so inexpensive at $120, and you can find it for sale a lot of the time for less than $100. Your dollar per mile in the shoe is

Actually pretty good, even if you still have to buy more shoes than you would with something that had a fully built out sole. I’ve actually never ran the Sokony Kinvara. I’ve never actually felt that it’s right for me. I’ve always wanted to like it because frankly, it is the shoe that most people

Out there, if they can only choose one shoe, tend to go with the Sookody Kinvara. The next shoe that I’ll be looking at, and this would be for somebody that feels like they get beat up really badly by running, I would be looking at the line

Of Hoka shoes, and there are two shoes that I would look at. The first one would be the Hoka Clifton 9. This is actually a shoe that I own. And one of the reasons that I like this is it’s a little bit beefier. You can see that the outsole material

Covers basically the entire bottom of the shoe. And then when we go down to the specs of it, again, it’s neutral. There There is a lot more cushioning to it. So I wouldn’t say that everyone should have this type of built up shoe. This should really only be for somebody

That feels very, very beat up from running, maybe a heavier athlete. And when we look at the specs, it’s nine ounces and only a five millimeter heel to toe drop. So the Hoka Clifton, phenomenal shoe. A second shoe from Hoka that I really like is the Hoka Rincón.

Now, the Hoka Rincón is very, very much like that Clifton, but it It has a little bit less material, still has quite a bit of material on the outsole. It still has that really nice, squishy, soft feeling that Hoka has. But where it’s different is it’s a neutral shoe with just medium cushioning.

Personally, I actually find that this is probably the shoe that is middle of the road for everything. This is really comparable to the Sockony Kinvara. It has a heel to toe drop of 5 millimeters, and it’s 7.3 ounces, and And this is on sale here for $100. So very comparable to the Kinbara.

If you like that little bit softer feel that Hoka is known for, I would go with this shoe. The next shoe that I’d be looking at from Asics is the Asics Nucet Tri-15. Now, this is a $130 shoe. It is very out there.

There’s a lot going on with this shoe, but it’s fairly inexpensive. Clicking through, you see that there’s a lot of outsole material, so it’s going to be fairly durable. At the same price as the Kinvara, basically, it’s going to be much more durable on the sole.

And going down to the specs, again, we see that it’s neutral with medium cushioning. There is 7.8 ounces, and there’s a five millimeter heel to toe drop. So it checks all the boxes that we’re looking for with a fairly in your face, loud shoe, if that’s what you like.

I’ve also never ran in an ASIC shoe before, but some people swear by it. All depends on what fits really well for you. Now, the next shoe is by Nike, and this is probably one of my favorite shoes of all time.

If I could only select one pair of shoes, it would be a Nike Pegasus shoe. It was just an all-around, really good shoe. It had a little bit of spring, a little bit of pop to it, but not a ton of Squishiness like the Hoka shoes.

I could do speed work on it and run really fast, but I could also do long runs on it, and it lasted a long time. You can see that it has a ton of outsole material. It’s only $130. It is neutral. It has medium cushioning.

It is a little bit heavier, coming in at 9.4 ounces. And in my case, I had already been running for about seven years when I tried the Pegasus. So that bit extra heel to toe offset of 10 millimeters, I really like.

But if you want to stick right to all of the requirements that we look for in a beginner running shoe, you probably don’t want the Nike Pegasus. This next shoe that I really liked is the New Balance Fresh Foam X1080. It’s a little bit more expensive.

It’s $165, but some people really like that fresh foam. So New Balance Fresh Foam is that nice smooth ride. It’s not quite as squishy as a Hoka, but it’s just a really nice all-around shoe. I found it to be very similar to a Nike Pegasus.

Now, also, when you’re clicking through this, you see that this is going to be a shoe that lasts a long time because there’s a lot of outsole material. It has become a little a little bit more built up over the years. So instead of neutral and medium, you’ve got neutral and high cushioning.

But you do have a 6 millimeter heel to toe drop. So it’s within the range that we like, is a little bit heavier at 9.3 ounces. So the fresh foam, some people really like that. I found that to be some of the best

Balance between a nice smooth ride while still giving some cushioning and not overpowering the feeling of being connected to the ground. And the final shoe that checks all those boxes is the Brooks Ghost 15, which is just $140. This is your workhorse of a shoe. I’ve personally never ran in Brooks.

I just think that they don’t look great. They are built for utility and purpose, not flashiness, sometimes not even comfort. This is going to last a really long time. In talking with people that like Brooks shoes, they tend to get a lot of mileage out of them.

So even though it’s a little bit more expensive than some of the shoes that we’ve listed, this is probably one of the best banks for your buck because it’s going to last a really long time. It just doesn’t look too fancy. But going down to the specs, we have neutral.

There’s less cushioning in this. This is probably not for a heavier athlete. And then when we look at the weight, Brooks is known for having a little bit more bulky shoes, so it’s 9.6 ounces. And then this is the 12 millimeters of heel to toe drop.

So it absolutely doesn’t check the box of that neutral low drop shoe. But some people love that more built up, structured feeling. And this is one of the most popular shoes out there in the world. So I would be doing you a disservice if I

Didn’t at least throw it into all of the shoes that you should try. So I’ve given you here a number of shoes, and which one is right for you depends on a lot of things. You might ask, why have I actually gone

Out of all of the checkboxes that we want to look for in a shoe? Well, it’s because what fits one person isn’t what’s going to fit another person. These are the guidelines of what will probably get you into the right shoe for you. But the best way to actually find out what

Shoe is right for you is go to a running shoe store, start within these guidelines that we’ve given you, start within even these shoes as a potential, and you want to be able to try the shoes on a treadmill in the store.

And when you have a shoe that is right for you, it’s just going to feel right. It’s going to feel comfortable. And regardless of what your friend uses or what the person in the running shoe store recommends, the most important thing is that you feel good running on that shoe.

So you have to develop a relationship with a running shoe store that has a treadmill or allows you to run outside and you can feel if it’s right for you. And with all of those guidelines, with all of the shoes that are potential

For you and that guideline of how to select the right running shoe for you, you should be able to get the right running shoe for you. Hopefully, that helps. And if you want a training plan that helps you train for any running race that you have, anywhere from 5K all the way up

To ultra marathon, you can get a free training plan at mymotiv. Com. Check it out. We love if you stuck around, and like the app, and later, motivators.

9 Comments

  1. Really just got into running in the past few months. The clifton has become my workhorse shoe. Love it.

    Thinking of picking up the 1080 after watching this.

  2. In your example of a neutral shoe, you showed an Altra. Why wasn't one of those in your actual sample/suggested shoes? I'm a huge Altra fan because I love the big toe box they have along with the 0mm drop. Which model you choose simple changes how much overall build up there is in the sole. Personally, the Elantra is the right amount of cushioning for me. 🙂

  3. Have you ever tried the Antepes Muscle Runners for training and injury prevention? I'm training for my first marathon and I've found them to be very helpful building up important muscles.

  4. I've been wanting to get back in to running. Ran through college and am now 31 and havent ran in 10 years. so I consider myself new again.

    Issue I have is plantar fasciitis and I don't know what route I should take.

  5. I have my Ghost 11. They’re solid to me. Not as cushioned as others might be but it doesn’t bother me too much.

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