Patrick said:Trying to get back into running after a 20 year break. Thanks to some notes on this newsgroup, I
recently bought some shoes for the "heavy runner". I haven't used them on the road yet, but think
they will really do the trick for me. Back when I used to run a lot, I used to run on trails as
much as I could. These days, I need ankle support a lot. I have good hiking boots for hiking, but
would like to find some running shoes which are "high-top" like hiking boots.... Any ideas?
Thoughts from my experience which may or may not be relevant to your needs.
1. Strengthening exercises. I spend a lot of time in the field during the summer with high top (8
in, I think) hiking boots - but relatively flexible top. I run trails almost exclusively now.
About 1.5 yr ago I went to a PT for a running gait analysis, and he discovered some things that
were causing my excessive overpronation and tendency to develop AT. Among other things, he gave
me some exercises to improve foot and ankle function (strengthened ankles). That has helped.
I've found the boots used in field work against me to some extent, since the ankle doesn't have
to do as much work. They were flexible enough that I could roll an ankle in an appropriate
situation though.
2. Taping. You might also try taping your ankles. I think it's Johnson & Johnson Coach Athletic
tape. Doug describes this better, but it's basically a circle of tape around ankle to anchor
strips. Then take tape down under arch and up the other side. Then finish it off with another
circle around the top to anchor the ends. A few strips like that create lateral support. I've
used this on long or poor-footing trails as a safety precaution. It's flexible enough that it
allows for reasonable ankle function, esp. for dorsi/plantar flexing, but acts as sideboards for
ankle rolls / twists. But I only use it when needed and allow my ankles to strengthen on the
other runs rather than using it as a crutch all the time.
3. Commercial ankle support. Google turned up this
outside.away.com20020705.htmlOpen ↗ which reminded me that one guy
in my cross-training group does wear ankle supports while we're barefoot running although I'm not
sure what kind.
FWIW, I think I may have seen a trail shoe with a little higher top on the internet and was
surprised that anybody made something like that. But I don't remember where I saw it. It could also
be my memory playing tricks.
Hope that helps.
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
