[johnminter]

I suspect that the useful lifetime of running shoes depends upon the runner's weight. As a heavier runner/walker trying to control my weight, I found the 500 mi/pair to be reasonable when running.

I could walk longer in them w/o problems. I'm currently rehabbing a strained hip and walking 35-40 mi/week and need to replace shoes about every 750 mi. I suspect a lightweight runner could get a longer useful life from the same shoe. Like many others, I have found the uneven wear patterns on my shoes reflect issues with my foot strike that I have improved but not eliminated.

[notacoward]

Lighter is probably better, to be sure. Less mechanical stress per step. Faster generally means less steps per mile, and being lighter often means being faster too so it's a double bonus. Maybe I could wear shoes twice as long if I lost twenty pounds. But I think we all know by now that weight is more affected by diet than exercise, so there are a lot of us "Clydesdales" out there.

P.S. For any who don't know, "Clydesdale" is a real running term at least in the US. Many races let men over a certain weight (e.g. 185 pounds) register in that division instead of their normal age group, with its own leaderboard etc. "Athena" or "filly" are slightly less common equivalents for women.

[johnminter]

I'm definitely a Clydesdale. We just called it "old, fat, and slow" :)

[zimpenfish]

> As a heavier runner/walker

Same, though. Although I was reasonably light (~85-90kg) when I spent a year running on the same shoes. Currently on 1250km (mix of run/walk) for my Hoka Bondi and I've been considerably about 85kg for all of that.

It's all anecdata, really. Everyone is different.