Running Shoes, Cleats, Turfs, and Trails - OH MY! PART 1 - Running Shoes

Shoes!  Running shoes, performance shoes, trail shoes, turfs, cleats, soft ground, hard grounds!  So many different options for referees nowadays.  Each piece of foot-ware, providing different dynamics for the foot, yet so many people still confused on which ones to wear for training or matches and then even more confused on which ones to wear for games. 

You are in luck because today I am going to be discussing Part 1 - Running shoes. 

During the early 2010s to mid 2010s there seemed to be a unique referee foot-ware trend occurring at the higher levels.  Referees were now wearing running shoes and trail running shoes in the middle of their matches!   Even some assistant referees got in on the trend! 

The idea behind wearing these shoes was to eliminate a lot of the jarring on the joints and muscles of the body and be able to save the knee, hips, and backs.  However, these officials were making a sacrifice of comfort for traction.  You see at the higher levels, the fields get watered down before kickoff and then again at half-time.  Which can make for some unfavorable field conditions if you are wearing running shoes and even some trial runners.  But how did this trend even get started?  Well perhaps one can look at a referee’s fitness training.  The majority of elite and high-level officials complete weekly training schedules that include High Intensity Interval Running, Long Distance Runs, and Tempo Runs.  The majority of the runs are done wearing running shoes on a track or concrete/asphalt when fields of artificial grass and natural grass are unavailable. The thought became if I could wear these running shoes or trial runners during my training and they feel great on my joints, why can’t I just wear them in a match.  The AH HA! Moment of running/trail shoes in a match. 

After speaking with many doctors and podiatrists, they have concluded that cleats are essentially one of the worst pieces of footwear to have on your feet for extended periods of time. Also looking at the mileage for officials in these matches ranging anywhere from 6 to 10 miles, my feet hurt just thinking about it! Cleats provide great traction and push off power when needing to make sharp cuts, turns, or change of direction. However, they provide limited support for cushioning of the joints and feet. This can lead to soft tissue injures, plantar fasciitis and achilles issues. 

So, what do we do? Well, if you have noticed in the last few years – more and more high-level referees are now switching back into the cleats? And some are even doing all their running training on natural grass fields. Most officials are now wearing them because cleats are more practical for games. You don’t see players running around with just regular running shoes, do you? I didn’t think so. 

Right now, the running community is very hot with the “SUPER-SHOES” and everyone has jumped on the trend, myself included. They really do make a huge difference in your training and your times.  But what exactly is a super-shoe?   Most super-shoes will consist of a reactive foam or plush cushioning in the midsole, surrounded of course by the one and only carbon fiber plate.  Carbon fiber has been around a very long time, however it is has gone more mainstream in the running world and running gurus alike, for the last 4-5 years. Mainly because of Nike’s new shoe innovation and the documentary “Breaking 2.”  Breaking 2 was a documentary where Nike gathered the 3 best marathon runners put them in a prototype shoe they constructed and see if it was humanly possible to run a marathon in less than 2 hours.  Spoiler alert, it didn’t happen on that documentary although a year later a newer prototype was used and the marathon was run in less than 2 hours. 

Some of the supers-shoes on the market:

Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next % 2

Adidas Adios Pro 3

Altra Vanish Carbon

Asics MetaSpeed Sky

Hoka One One Carbonrocket

All of these will have a carbon fiber plate

Each of these companies have their own unique special running shoe teams that consist of experienced runner, bio mechanical engineers, shoe design gurus, etc. Pretty much everything you could ever want to construct a super-shoe, each company has an elite team for that. 

The idea behind each of these shoes is to provide a certain amount of softness in the foam or plushness, reactiveness in the foam, reactiveness from the carbon fiber plate, faster cadence, more or less muscle activation. The star of the show is ultimately the carbon fiber plate. The carbon fiber plate is a stiff yet flexible plate that propels the foot forward at a faster more powerful rate that will in turn create a faster cadence time or foot turnover, which in turn helps with faster times and less muscle activation. Meaning that the carbon fiber plate will provide help for the runner with less work done by the runner.  These shoes have shown some of the fastest times in marathons, half marathons, 5ks, etc.  Even help with referees training for matches and fitness tests. 

Now let me say this, these shoes will not do the work for you and leave you feeling completely fresh, you still need to go out and put the feet to pavement and do the work, however they can be used as a great tool for increasing force production, faster times, faster training sprints, and overall faster number in almost anything.

Now the real big question is which one is the best? Well in my personal opinion what Nike has been doing with the super shoes has been amazing and a lot of the data has held up over the last 3-4 years.  The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2, the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next % 2 and the Altra Vanish Carbon are the best in terms of cushion responsiveness and great overall feel.  All the other shoes are great options as well, it will all come down to personal preference.  I would not recommend wearing these shoes to referee a soccer match as they all have limited traction on the field and aren’t meant for non-linear running. These shoes I would recommend more for High Intensity Runs, Tempo Runs, Long Endurance Runs, and Sprint Training. 

Another side note about most of these shoes will be the heel drop and toe boxes.  Most of these shoes will range from an 4mm to 10mm heel drop.  Now, I know you are asking, what does heel drop mean. The heel drop is how high the heel portion of the shoe sits up from the fore foot.  For the longest time it was thought that the heel should have more cushion, since most people are heel-toe strikers; meaning their heel strikes the ground first then the toe when they come through the running gait.  As we know more now, the more natural foot strike is either with the forefoot or mid foot, followed by the heel coming down and then recycling that pattern. The Altra Vanish Carbon is the only shoe on this list that will have a 0mm heel drop.  Which in my opinion is the best shoe that is natural to walking barefoot and is the best training shoe for running when transitioning into a soccer cleat for a match.

Also, Altra Vanish Carbon, will have a widened toe box, which in turn allow your toes to spread out and splay when running; which is the natural way people should be running.  For years the narrow toe boxes in other shoes end up causing your feet to get pushed together, which causes bones, tendons, and ligaments to adapt to different positions they don’t want to be in, which in turn makes them weak. Then when we walk barefoot or put less supportive shoes on, we engage all these muscles again that are very weak and they can’t handle the work load we are giving them.  This will in turn cause inflammation, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, bunions, achilles issues. 

If you would like the best zero heel drop shoes with the widened toe box, Altra makes a lot of great shoes not just the performance ones and highly recommend them; especially if you have had foot or achilles pain in the past.

This will end part 1 of the shoe blog! Subscribe to our mailing list to find out when part 2 - cleats, turfs, and trails is dropping!