Women's Sneakers

Tenis for running and tenis for the street:

they look alike in a photo, but do different jobs. A road running shoe is mostly midsole: a thick wedge of foam under a light mesh upper. Neutral running shoes simply cushion, while stability shoes such as the Asics Kayano or Brooks Adrenaline add firmer foam or a guide on the inner side for runners whose ankles roll in. A trail shoe has deep lugs that grip on gravel and mud and wear down fast on pavement. Court and lifestyle pairs such as a white Air Force 1 or an adidas Samba are about the look: fine for years of walking, punishing for anyone who runs in them. The leggings and sports bras that go with them are under women’s sportswear, and heels, sandals and boots under women’s shoes.

The run from Ochomogo down to Tibás:

the Clásica San Juan, the oldest road race still run in Costa Rica, drops from the Ochomogo hill into Tibás. Downhill kilometres land hard on the heel, so a woman training for it wants generous cushioning at the back rather than a thin racing flat. Women’s versions of the main running models are built on a narrower heel and a lower-volume upper than the men’s, which is why a man’s pair passed on in the same size often slips at the back. Fashion lines such as Jordan also come in grade-school sizes, which cost less and fit many women, so a listing should say which scale the size is on. Whatever the label says, the heel should not lift and there should be a thumb’s width in front of the longest toe.

What a season of training takes out of an Asics:

a mainstream cushioned running shoe from Asics, Brooks or Nike costs roughly ₡85,000 to ₡110,000 new, and most of that money is the foam, which is spent somewhere between 500 and 800 kilometres. A pair bought for one race and run in for a few weeks still has most of that life left, and fair money for it sits around ₡35,000 to ₡50,000. A pair that has done a full season of training is worth far less however clean the upper looks, because the part you would be paying for has gone flat. Court and lifestyle pairs hold their value better, since nobody has been wearing out a running midsole in them.

Creased midsoles and “AAA” Jordans:

turn the shoe over first. Outsole rubber worn through to the foam at the heel or under the big toe means the pair has done real distance. On the side of the midsole, deep creases that stay when the shoe is off the foot mean compressed foam. Press a thumb into the heel counter: if it folds easily, or the lining has worn into holes, the heel will not hold you. Fashion pairs carry a different risk. Copies are offered openly in Costa Rica as “AAA” or “1.1”, and they go after Jordans, Dunks and Air Force 1s far more than running shoes. Glue showing along the join between upper and sole, an insole logo that rubs off under a thumb on a pair sold as new, or a toe box shaped differently from the brand’s own photos are reasons to walk away.

The outsole photo that sells a pair of sneakers:

a buyer can judge most of a running shoe from underneath, so photograph the outsole flat in daylight, the side of the midsole, the heel from behind and the size label inside the tongue. Say roughly how far the pair has been run, on road, treadmill or trail, and whether it went through a washing machine. For fashion pairs, the box and the receipt do more than any promise that they are genuine. Many good pairs come from runners who switched brands after a few weeks, and saying so explains the low mileage. A runner coming over from Pérez Zeledón to collect will want to try them on in her own running socks, so suggest she brings them.