Whether you’re a casual walker, dedicated runner, or someone striving for a healthier lifestyle, foot support can make all the difference. While a good pair of shoes is crucial, adding quality insoles or over-the-counter orthotics can elevate your performance, prevent injuries, and enhance overall comfort. Here’s why investing in insoles is often a game-changer for running, walking, and beyond.
Why Insoles Matter for Runners
Runners rely heavily on their feet and lower body to endure long-distance and high-impact activity. While the basics of running requires minimal gear, your shoes and their support system are essential. Adding insoles to your running shoes can be like upgrading the interior of a vehicle, or even the suspension and engine—transforming a simple ride into a smooth and luxurious journey or faster, more powerful machine.
Key Benefits of Running Insoles
- Improved Fit and Comfort: Insoles help your running shoes contour to your feet better, providing a snug and secure fit.
- Reduced Foot Fatigue: By distributing pressure evenly, or away from problem areas, insoles reduce strain on your feet, helping you go the extra mile.
- Enhanced Performance: With proper support, you can optimize your stride and reduce energy loss with every step.
- Injury Prevention: Insoles help prevent common issues like plantar fasciitis, shin splints, and tendonitis.
- Shock Absorption: Quality insoles cushion the impact forces of running, reducing stress on your joints, spine, and muscles.
How Insoles Work to Support Your Stride
When running, your legs and spine absorb forces up to five times your body weight with each step. Over time, this impact can lead to muscle fatigue, joint pain, and even stress fractures. Here’s how insoles help mitigate these challenges:
- Cushioning Impact Forces: The proper insoles can significantly reduce ground impact, as shown in studies by the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association.*
- Guiding Natural Foot Mechanics: Insoles with special padding and support designed for your foot anatomy encourage a proper gait cycle - basically, how you run - improving the roll from heel to toe.
- Boosting Stability: Many insoles feature advanced designs, without the steep price of custom orthotics, such as a plastic or carbon shell to contour your arch and enhance balance, or a deep heel cup to add heel support and activate foot muscles properly.
Reducing Fatigue and Preventing Injuries
Muscle fatigue is an inevitable part of running or walking, but insoles can alleviate the burden on your feet and legs. By providing additional support, they reduce the stabilizing work required from your muscles, minimizing the risk of injuries. For example:
- Plantar Fasciitis: A supportive or contoured arch and a deep, cushioned heel that cups your foot properly prevents strain on the plantar fascia. Sometimes, an elevated or lifted heel in an insole shortens the Achilles tendon and calf muscles, reducing further strain in those areas directly linked to plantar fasciitis.
- Runner’s Knee: By stabilizing your feet and ankles, supportive and cushioned insoles promote a balanced load across the lower body. When your feet and lower limbs are sharing the work appropriately, this helps offset muscle imbalances and reduces stress on your knees. Cushion specifically also reduces impact from the ground you’re running on. Think of insoles as a 2-for-1 in alleviating runner’s knee.
- Shin Splints: Proper arch support can alleviate the pressure that contributes to shin pain, whether from a lack of support and stability in your foot, ankle, and lower leg muscles, or overuse - doing too much exercise and not recovering enough in too short a time.
Walking Your Way to Health with the Proper Insoles
There is a lot of overlap between running and walking insoles, however, there are some running insoles that are specifically engineered for high-impact activities, and some walking insoles that are perfect for those looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle at a more leisurely pace. Typically, most high quality insoles can be used somewhat interchangeably, as long as you are properly fitted for them. Whether you’re walking to stay active or embarking on long hikes, insoles improve foot alignment, add extra cushioning for extended periods of walking, and prevent common aches like heel pain and arch discomfort. The right fit experts can help you determine what’s best for your healthy lifestyle.
Choosing the Right Insoles
With so many options available, finding the perfect pair can feel overwhelming. Here’s a simple guide:
- Assess Your Shoe Fit: Do your shoes feel tight, loose, or just right? Insoles come in various thicknesses to match your needs.
- Understand Your Activity: Choose insoles tailored to running, walking, or everyday wear.
- Pick Your Underfoot Experience: Some prefer a firmer feel for responsiveness, while others opt for soft, cushioned insoles for comfort.
- Size Matters: Properly fitted insoles are crucial for effective support. Look for options available in a range of sizes for different arch placements and contours.
- Material Quality: Avoid mass-produced, overly flexible inserts and invest in durable, high-performance materials designed for your activity level.
In Review: Insoles = A Must-Have for a Healthy Lifestyle & Worth the Fitting Process
Insoles are more than an accessory—they’re an investment in your comfort, performance, and long-term health. Whether you’re running a marathon, walking to stay fit, or simply trying to prevent aches during daily activities, insoles provide a foundation of support that benefits your entire body. Two brands incorporating these structural elements and benefits are Superfeet and Currex. Both brands offer a range of arch heights and cushioning levels alongside well-contoured and stabilizing materials in the arch and heel to properly support your foot and lower body with every step of the way.
So, take a step forward in comfort and performance. Stop into Goodmiles Running Company to experience our complimentary foot scan and fitting process to determine which insoles are right for you today. Your feet—and the rest of your body—will thank you!
Meet our Guest Writer & Fit Expert: John Labisch
With 14 years of experience in run specialty, I specialize in biomechanics and injury prevention. My foundational training in gait analysis, alignment, and proper footwear fitting comes from lower-leg specialists and athletic trainers with decades of experience—both coaching and running themselves.
I’m passionate about helping people find comfortable footwear and insoles, but what I love most is guiding runners to overcome and prevent injuries. Whether you're training for a race, recovering from an injury, or just looking for the perfect fit, I’m here to help.
Visit me at Goodmiles Running Company in Brookfield, or schedule a fitting—I’ll make sure you have the right gear to support your training, lifestyle, and goals!