The Long Run

Triathlon is a different sport than running, and requires different equipment. This is true even on the elite level. When I was fitting wetsuits to the world's best triathletes, I discovered that 75% of them weighed 160 lbs. (+/- 5 lbs.). This typical weight is a considerable amount more than the 125 lbs. your garden variety elite-level male runner will weigh. So yes, a Kenyan or Moroccan who runs 27 minutes for 10k can get by with very little shoe on his foot, because the force applied to his structure is scant compared to the mass conspiring to collapse Dave Scott's ankles and arches with every step he takes.

Therefore, even the world's elite male pro triathletes require a more robust racing flat than those given to top runners by Reebok, Adidas, Nike, Fila, et al. Add this—the legs of elite male pro triathletes will be less road-weary after 6, 13, or 26 miles than your legs—and you can see that you need to be careful when choosing racing flats.

I'll grant you that most short-course specialists can get away with a racing flat of some sort, but I'm not sure for how long, that is, their arches and ankles might not be in desirable condition by the age of thirty-five. Most top Ironman athletes are racing in shoes that you'll find in the "stability" or "cushioned" categories (it makes Dave Scott's 2:40 Ironmans in Kona all the more remarkable when you consider that he ran them in Asics Gel Lite Trainers and shoes of that ilk).

Likewise, your racing flats for an Ironman distance race ought to be no less robust than those the top athletes use, and even for sprint and Olympic distances, a racing flat as so described in the shoe catalogs are not recommended. What ought you to look for in a racing shoe? This depends on how you answer the following questions:

1. How long is the distance of the run portion of your race?
2. What sorts of running-mechanics-related issues do you have going on with your feet?
3. What appliances (i.e., orthotics), if any, must your shoes support?
4. How leg-sore do you tend to get?

I'll give you an example from my own racing. I'm 170 lbs., and I've got over-pronating feet and ankles that have put up with more than 30 years of running abuse. I can race a 5k in a shoe without orthotics, but if I do I'll pay a price for the next several days. The solution, for me, is twofold: find an orthotic that was lightweight, flexible and yet sufficiently stable, and which could be reproduced relatively cheaply, because such a light, pliable orthotic was certainly going to have limited use; second, to find the lightest, most nimble running shoe that was still strong enough to hold up my orthotic.

My "solution" changes annually, because shoe models change annually. This year it's been, for the most part, the Adidas Rotterdam (above left). Mind you, last year an Adidas model was my training "solution," but this year they've so munged that shoe up that my feet have had to find another home. So I've moved largely over to Brooks this year for my training shoes, while Adidas came out with a shoe that on paper fits into the "cushioned" category, but is also a bang-up racing flat. Cid Cardoso of Inside Out Sports turned me onto this shoe and it's been a find. Keep in mind, though, that this is highly individual. If you outweigh me by 10 pounds, or your pronation is more severe than mine, maybe this shoe is just not robust enough (it's barely strong enough for me).

One of my parameters above is the degree of leg soreness to which you're susceptible. I tend to get leg-sore after about 6 or 8 miles, and it feels like I'm running on a pair of two-by-fours. Therefore, I require a pretty soft shoe, especially one that's soft in the forefoot. For some reason, shoe makers tend toward wedging their shoes high in the heel and low in the forefoot. I hate this. If I wanted my shoes built this way I'd buy pumps. One reason why the Rotterdam works for me is that its forefoot midsole is sufficiently thick. This makes the forefoot comfy, and keeps my achilles tendons sufficiently elongated.

Other examples of shoes in this category are the Brooks Burn, the New Balance 833, and the new Saucony Grid Azura I. All these shoes are in the 10oz category, as opposed to the 12oz shoes you're training in and the 6oz-8oz shoes most of the "racing flats" weigh (and of course these are way too light for most triathletes).

There are a few additional concerns you'll have. If you're short-course racing (anything below 3 hours) and you're getting to the point where podium spots are at issue for you, seconds really do count. Socks must eventually become a liability of war. Therefore, you can't have a shoe that has a weird stitching thing going on. Make sure, if socklessness is in your racing future, that your racing shoe isn't going to cut you to shreds.

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