When is the right time to buy new shoes and after how much mileage? If you were to ask several different people, you’d get several different answers. The commonly accepted rule of thumb is to change your running shoes after every 200-300 miles but if, like me, you’ve never really kept track of which shoes you wear and how far you’ve gone, what are you going to do? Trail shoes potentially have a longer lifespan than road shoes because they’re generally used on softer, less abrasive surfaces. Your weight, gait and running style will also affect the wear and tear on your shoes. For example, in the last 10 years, I’ve gone through two pairs of Hunter wellies because of the amount of walking I’ve done, my stride and my weight while my wife, who has probably done a similar amount of mileage, is still on her first pair.

My personal method of knowing when I need new shoes is by the feel of the shoe when I wear it and to examine the shoe itself. So, if you’ll pardon the smell, let’s have a look and see what we can see!
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