Air Force veteran of 21.5 years. I used to run in basketball shoes for fitness tests until I attended college AFROTC in Texas.
I visited a store in California called Fleet Feet. They looked at my feet and how I run. I was told I am flat footed and that I need a show with thicker cushion and Brooks has a special shoe for me. I never looked back and running in those shoes specifically meant for my feet were amazing.
I believe NOT buying the proper running shoes for most of my career helped contribute to my herniated disc issue.
Having flat feet is directly related to knee and back problems though. There are plenty of basketball shoes with great cushion. They are just slightly heavier then running shoes.
I herniated my disc in 2007 from pilot training. Someone’s car went off into a ditch because the Navy base we were on for training flooded. So my pilot training classmates and I helped push the car out of the ditch. That caused my right side back issue. It wasn’t running.
The Air Force was trying to make everyone switch to a specific “color” of running shoe per our fitness testing rules. Nobody ever follows those rules because people lack knowledge about running like you.
The shoes you train in should be the same shoes you run in for fitness testing. You run the risk of injuring yourself trying to train in one shoe, but switch to another just to take a fitness test. Running shoes are bright colors for a reason. Because people like me who used to train run early in the morning or late evening. Those bright shoes allow you to be seen. Whomever in the Air Force who was trying to enforce the shoe rules obviously didn’t train often. In the end, those rules were never enforced because there was major backlash.
Most low ranking military personnel are not going to spend $100+ on running shoes. Why? Because they don’t know any better and money is typically tight.
Air Force veteran of 21.5 years. I used to run in basketball shoes for fitness tests until I attended college AFROTC in Texas.
I visited a store in California called Fleet Feet. They looked at my feet and how I run. I was told I am flat footed and that I need a show with thicker cushion and Brooks has a special shoe for me. I never looked back and running in those shoes specifically meant for my feet were amazing.
I believe NOT buying the proper running shoes for most of my career helped contribute to my herniated disc issue.
Having flat feet is directly related to knee and back problems though. There are plenty of basketball shoes with great cushion. They are just slightly heavier then running shoes.
I herniated my disc in 2007 from pilot training. Someone’s car went off into a ditch because the Navy base we were on for training flooded. So my pilot training classmates and I helped push the car out of the ditch. That caused my right side back issue. It wasn’t running.
The Air Force was trying to make everyone switch to a specific “color” of running shoe per our fitness testing rules. Nobody ever follows those rules because people lack knowledge about running like you.
The shoes you train in should be the same shoes you run in for fitness testing. You run the risk of injuring yourself trying to train in one shoe, but switch to another just to take a fitness test. Running shoes are bright colors for a reason. Because people like me who used to train run early in the morning or late evening. Those bright shoes allow you to be seen. Whomever in the Air Force who was trying to enforce the shoe rules obviously didn’t train often. In the end, those rules were never enforced because there was major backlash.
Most low ranking military personnel are not going to spend $100+ on running shoes. Why? Because they don’t know any better and money is typically tight.