Runners Morphologies

Morphologies and styles of runners

Overpronation
Pronation is natural, and this rolling from the lateral to the medial side of the foot is one of the body's ways of absorbing shock. Overpronation refers to a foot that rolls excessively to the medial side. Footwear makers are keen to provide medial support for their overpronators. Medial posts, described above, are used to increase the firmness and support through the medial area of the shoe. That denser EVA in the medial side of the midsole—as in the dual density EVA in a shoe like the Brooks Adrenaline pictured—is an example of medial posting. There are also unique and proprietary methods used to create medial support, such as Mizuno's Wave, and you'll read about them in our footwear reviews.

Supination
This is the opposite of pronation. It's an outward rolling of the forefoot that naturally occurs during the stride cycle at toe-off. Supination—synonymous wtih underpronation—occurs when the foot remains on its outside edge after heel strike. A true supinating foot underpronates or does not pronate at all, so it doesn't absorb shock well. It is a rare condition occurring in a small fraction of the running population.

The shoes of supinators show outsole wear on the lateral side not just at the heel but all the way up to the forefoot (most runners will find their shoes wear on the lateral side at the heel, and the medial side in the forefoot). Typically, underpronators tend to break down the heel counters of their shoes on the lateral side. Supinators should consider running shoes from the "cushioning" and "neutral" categories.
Categories of shoes

With the above as a backdrop, let's use this knowledge to see if we can divine why some shoes are categorized as they are, and what these categories mean.

Motion Control
What do we know of "straight lasted" shoes? They offer support, robustness, durability. What sort of runner might need a shoe like this? Maybe a heavier runner, or an overpronator, or one who is both. A motion control shoe buttresses against overpronation. They are usually the most expensive, heaviest and protective shoes because they employ the most control and stability features. Their downside is weight, and lack of flexibility and suppleness.

Stability
Inside of this category are shoes preferred or required by the broadest swathe of runners. Stability shoes usually have a two-density midsole and a stable base of support to reduce overpronation. Inside of this category is the shoe featured in the image, the Brooks Adrenaline, the shoe I've most often worn for training over the past several years. If you marry a "motion control" shoe to a "neutral" shoe, and they mate and have babies, stability shoes are what will pop out.

Cushioned or Neutral or Lightweight Trainer
"Cushioned" is the traditional name for this category, but it is increasingly being replaced by "neutral," because a shoe can wander over into the stability category and still have reasonable cushion. Nevertheless, you're likely to get a softer ride here than in any shoe category, because these shoes are free of the need for any medial or rearfoot stability devices. Cushioned or neutral shoes are preferred by runners who have a good footfall. Here at Slowtwitch, we often refer to them as "lightweight trainers."

Racing flats
These are the lightest, most flexible running shoes. Some racing shoes are half the weight of typical training shoes, but offer much reduced cushioning, protection and durability. Generally, only runners racing at 7-minute pace or faster; who are relatively light; and who have good footfalls (they don't overpronate!) should consider racing flats.

All that established, sometimes it's hard to categorize a shoe. Note that our footwear editors-at-large, Jeroen van Geelen and Peter Beauregard, each review the Brooks Racer ST, even though they were reviewing "neutral" and "racing flat" categories, respectively. Mr. Beauregard notes that this is the "heaviest flat" in his review of racing shoes made by three footwear manufacturers, "weighing in at 8.7 ounces." Mr. van Geelen reviews this shoe as well but, while acknowledging that Brooks considers it a racer, "considering the weight (8.7 oz.), I would say this is more a lightweight trainer. This shoe also runs more like a lightweight trainer."