Doctors of Running Podcast

"I asked her friend, what do you do for Nike? He said he was a footwear designer and I was like whoa, whoa, whoa wait how did you do that? Did you study fashion...? There was just not the knowledge I think there is today. After I heard his job and what he did I was like wait this is the perfect job. I'm a runner. I love art and design. Why can't I put these two things together?"   This week we had the honor of speaking with Valerie Weilert, a footwear designer in the running industry. We go into her beginnings in the footwear industry and talk about thoughts on super shoes and racing flats. A lot of good information on shoe design here for those interested in how the process works. Special thanks to Val for speaking with us and sharing her story!   Chapter Preview 00:00 - Intro, Val's background in running and footwear design 7:19 - What is the normal day of a footwear designer?/Design process   13:23 - Evolution of a shoe design 14:47 - Developing shoes/spikes for athletes to consumers 30:36 - Super Shoe thoughts 44:43 - The classic racing flat, and finding the right shoe for you 56:00 - World Athletic impacts on shoe designing, and thoughts on popular track shoes today 1:01:50 - COVID impact on professional training   1:06:24 - Coffee or tea?

Today we had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with Coach Dave Ames of Ame For It Run Coaching. Dave addresses many audiences including prospective run coaches, new run coaches, and then people seeking a run coach. Listen to find out what makes a someone a good run coach and what to look for if you're trying to find your own run coach. We also dive into where Physical Therapy and Run Coaching merge together and how their unique, divergent skill sets should be utilized. Spoiler: this is a team sport. Finally we talk about optimal training and common training errors that lead to injury. 

We sat down with Lenn Hann to dig into the research he has done regarding the new shoe he is finding via Kickstarter. We go into sample sizes, methods, and outcomes of what his research looked like.

Matt, David, and Nathan break down their favorite race memories. A pleasant trip down memory lane.

We had the pleasure of sitting down the Jordan Kinley of Karhu. He brings us through the long and rich history of the brand and the technological developments that have been happening within the brand for a long time. He also give a look into what is in store for 2021 in Karhu. Oh, and if you didn't know...they have a kickin' lifestyle line of shoes and clothes.

Today we dissect our testing experience of the new Saucony Freedom 4, which is the first non-plated shoe to sport their PWRUN PB midsole that was found in the Endorphin Pro and Speed. We also dive into how Saucony managed to stabilize such a bouncy and softer foam. We also take a lot of time to compare to the Kinvara 12, it's older and more traditional cousin. Both great options -- just depends what you are looking for. Take a listen for all the details!

The Carbon X2 was designed to help break the 100K world record. We dive into our testing experience and then the science behind this shoe...and there is a lot of it. Also find out which childhood snack this shoe reminds us of.

The beloved Kinvara gets a big update! Check our our team’s thoughts on this lightweight trainer and speed day shoe!

The roundtable today is all about the premium stability trainer by Saucony -- the Hurricane 23. For lovers of the bouncy but heavy PWRUN+ foam who like some moderate-maximal stability, this may be a great option. Plus find out which National Park this shoe reminds us of.

Time for 2021! In this episode we recap 2020 for DOR and some personal goals that we met. We then shift to our hopes for 2021. Next we transition to some long term reviews for shoes we have over 100 miles in. And finally we dig into the “hierarchy of evidence” and how that informs how we make, and how you should interpret, our recommendations.