Hoka Running Shoes

[Dannywayoflife]

Well ive taken the plunge and i have bought a pair of Hoka's nearly new from ebay. Looking to slowly ease back in to running again. I aim to first off run around my block which will be the furthest ive run since 2010 at .5 miles. I'd like to work up to be able to run 2-3 miles a couple of times a week to help drop  some pounds off my frame as normal cardio doesnt seem to move it even high intensity intervals but running always carved weight off me!

So fingers crossed and ill keep you posted and no doubt ask the advice of the serious runners on here 

[HowieF-16]

Keep us posted on your progress. I was a avid runner before my hip problems began and would love to get back into it. Like you, running was the only way to keep the pounds off.

[Dannywayoflife]

Will do mate i tried the hokas on last night and WOW its like having a cloud on each foot!!!! theres just so little impact that seems to make igts way throught to your joints its incredible. I was planning on running the .5 mile loop around my block tomorrow but that now depends on my knee, i poped it last night at judo and its a tad sore today!!!

[Dannywayoflife]

Well I went out today and very very very slowly jogged about half a mile. That's the furthest since July 2010! The bhr felt fine. Some muscle weakness was apparent but to be expected. I'm going to build up really slowly to be able to run a 5k that's the aim

[Dannywayoflife]

Been out for the 3rd time today. Jogged and walked about .6 of a mile. But at times I opened my legs ever so slightly. The hoka's are great you can really feel them soaking up the shock. I aim to just keep adding a tiny bit more distance each week.

[hernanu]

Sounds good, Danny - making me consider getting them for some slight running.

[Dannywayoflife]

Honestly mate when I first herd about them I thought it was just hype! But now I have a bhr I wouldn't try to run in anything else mate. There's just so so much more impact reduction in them

They are dam expensive but I've read they last more miles than regular trainers and I bought mine nearly new on eBay

[toby]

Hi Danny,
Glad to hear that all is well and that you are building the running slowly and surely. I'll be very interested to see how the Hoka's work out. You may remember my problems are now mainly related to my achilles tendon surgeries/reconstruction. I too am now very slowly attempting to get back into running. I hear what you say about shock absorption but  so much research in recent years has pointed towards minimal shoes, developing ones own soft tissue foot structures. Also, the Hoka's I've seen are quite wedged and I feel slightly afraid of my feet being so out touch with the surface.
I'd appreciate any comments.
Regards
Toby

[Dannywayoflife]

I know what you mean about the minimalist shoes, but really doubt that any of the research involved people with hip replacements.

The soles of the hoka's are very thick but they are like running on clouds. They are also shaped to encourage a circular rocking motion when you run which again reduces shock. I'm sold on them mate

[23109VC]

ok... so after reading this thread I decided to get a pair of Hokas....  I picked up a pair of last years Bondi.. the Bondi 3.  I scored a great deal.. $87! 

first of all, wow are these shoes comfortable.  i feel like i am walking on marshmallows...

i also noticed that i am taller..    also nice.    i swear i feel like i am an inch taller in these things...

as to whether they helped with running..  not so sure.. maybe a bit.

when I run, I feel like I can go about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile .. sometimes af ull mile..but usually by 3/4 of a mile i feel a soreness in my hip.  if I keep running it starts to relaly hurt..and i want to stop.

then as soon as a stop...the pain quickly goes away.. and I can run again.  the pain will literaly be gone in like 15-30 seconds...

i noticed with the hoka shoes that when I take a break and then resume running after a 30 second break..I think I can run longer before the soreness kicks back in.

what I tend to do is run for about 1/2 mile..then i stop and take a 30 second break.  i will stretch myleg during the break.  resume running.

even with this..by one mile i get soreness in the operated hip.

i will usualy walk for 30 seconds or so..then resume running..

with teh hoka shoes i feel like I am able to go a bit further..but not a ton.

today i went 2 miles.  I proably ran 1.5 miles of tthat and walke 1/2 mile...  it took about 25 minutes.. I probably average about 11-12 minutes for the mile.. fifgure that at least 1 minute of that time is my resting/stretching... so really i'm probably running a 10 minute mile.. slow i know.

i am going to try and keep running and see how much faster I can get. i signed up for a 5k in may...

i'll keep you posted.

on a side note..the hokas are reallyh comfortable.. i could see using them as a daily shoe for someone like us with hip issues.  it really is a comfortable shoe..it realy provides a lot of cushion... if I was going to go to disneyland..or a long hike..events where i'd spend along day of lots of wlaking..even though it was not "jogging" i think i'd take these...

[shoraztri]

Hi all,

Ive had a pair of Hoka "Clifton" shoes for about 9 months now , and have been using them alot since I was 6 months Post Op, which was in January 2015. I do all of my running on grass with them also. Mostly is soccer fields etc. I am really sold on them , as they give me plenty of cushioning, and very little impact is felt with them.
Lately I have increased my Run to about 5km @ 05:45pkm pace , and find that I have no problems at all. I may Run once more of about 3km in the same week. There are no problems or issues with my Hip , and it feels "magic" as for a number of years , I have been in serious pain.
In July this year , I will be 12 months Post Op. , so are keen to increase to about 3 run sessions per week. Probably do a 5km , 4km and 3km , but will see how everything scrubs up , so to speak.
At this point in time , I am sticking with Hoka , but may reveiw the situation in September of this year, when I aim to get more serious with my Run .
Cheers,
 Kiwi Boy.

[Dannywayoflife]

I did several 5k runs in my hoka's and found them excellent! Very little joint impact I will never run in anything else now

[23109VC]

i have run with the Hokas quite a few times.  my consensus is that whatever is causing me to have pain in the hip after running about a mile is not being corrected simply by new shoes. 

i think i can probably go a tad further before the pain sets in... but i still get the ache in my operated hip by about the one mile mark.  i then slow down to a walk...walk for maybe .2 of a mile, then start running again.  i can alternate between running and walking and go almost 3-4 miles. 

at some point I start to walk longer..instead of walking .2 miles, I might walk .5 miles..then resume running.

if I try to run too far and not take the .2 - .5 mile walk break, the pain finally gets substantial by about the 3 mile mark.

i ran almost every day for 4-5 days in a row...felt great and then the last day I felt pain in my hip.  it's been a week or so and the pain is still there.  i had this exact sensation early on in my recover when I over did it and walked too far..the pain went away gradually.

i have no doubt what i'm feeling is similar..and i'm not worried about the hip.. it's like overuse pain...it will get better...but it does nag me that i can't run like some of you guys.

the last time i ran was a 5k with my wife..i wanted to finish it and at about the 3 mile mark my hip was done... i walked the rest of the way..

i guess if I never run more than mile or two... i won't be an unhappy guy... i can do SO MUCH..and before surgery I couldn't do jack squat...i was incapable of running 10'...i limped everywhere.. now I can full on sprint full speed...and run a good mile at a solid pace...

i guess i just got greedy and wanted "it all"...   i'll take what I have...but it will be interesting to figure out eventually why some of us have hips that don't like to run.

i tried drinking water as was suggested...i can't say for certain it helped..but i did drink a TON of water at variosu fountains along the way when I jogged at a park near my house...  i will keep at it and alternate with drinking lots of water and NOT..and see if I observe a difference over time.

thanks again for the info.

[Dannywayoflife]

Unfortunately I have said this before no matter how great a resurfacing is it will never be as good as your once healthy hip was. It is a engineered piece of kit not something that has been part of you since birth. I know mine has limitations but luckily they turn out to be doing things I pretty much never do. Enjoy what you can do with no pain is my advice.

Danny

[toby]

Hi Danny, Shorazi and Sean, I've been following this topic (indeed I see that I posted myself last April) and I'm sure that there is also a related topic re-pain on running (but can't find at the moment. Well just to say that I'm 'experimenting' with my running at the moment as I've had some ups and downs.  Quick resume -after my resurf Jan 2010 I waited a year and picked up the running-initially had some discomfort but through gradual steps building up walk/runs combined with stretching and strengthening eventually managed 3 mile runs at 8 min mile pace without discomfort and could also break into a sprint. Although several years before my severe OA and resurface I ran half marathons at 1.18 mins (6 min mile pace), I was delighted to be able to run again and with my improving pace-I never had ambitions to do distance runs again anyway-but wanted to complete a Triathlon. But as some may remember 20 months post resurface hip was so brilliant I returned to squash after long lay off and then DISASTER!  Ruptured my achilles tendon. Then following surgery had deep wound infection-NIGHTMARE-section of tendon eaten away-fighting to save life/leg etc long story short-had surgeries to reconstruct tendon (7 surgeries in total). Hence, I do not have a proper tendon-mine is constructed from scar tissue. OK so I'm lucky to even walk but my last year once again with gradual steps I completed a Sprint Triathlon- in the build up got the hip discomfort but worked with a physio and this was definitely due to the stress going up the hip from biochemical issues caused by not having the spring from a proper tendon. So now once again back last week after a few month lay off (work/calf tear/severe flu)  I'm experimenting with what helped before to build up to sprint tri in May/June.
1.Learning from Chi Running technique.
2.Building slowly and gradually increasing the speed and distance.
3. Walking to warm up and combining running and fast walking-even stretching out hip flexors-half way-currently I'm out for 50 min in total. Starting with 4x4 min runs-2 min walking (yesterday mild discomfort on last run-last week on 2nd of the 4 runs!)
4.Playing around with speed to see how it effects discomfort
5.Starting with 2 runs a week and building up
6.Trying out different shoes (Asics Gel Nimbus-heavily cushioned and Nike Vomero-lighter shoes) and keeping a log of which prove most comfortable.
7. Getting back to a more disciplined stretching and strengthening routine.
Sorry for such a lengthy post-just trying to share ideas.
Best
Toby

[shoraztri]

Hi Toby,
Thanks for that very interesting and informative post. I am sticking with my Hoka shoes , at present and for the next few months as well . My Massage man , who is very experienced in shoe types etc ., does hold some concern about the Hoka shoes. This is due to their "thickish" sole , and for me , this may aggravate a calf issue ,?? that I have had for a few years.
Later down the track [no pun] , I will experiment with different shoes , to see if I can actually Run better etc , in another brand.
Presently for me , my Tri season here in NZ was a no-goer ,due to my LHBR in July ,2014.] I want to do the full 12 months re-hab , before "ripping back into it " [ Triathlon.]I am now just on 38 weeks Post Op., and everything is just fine and dandy. I could not have wished for a better re-hab. THANKS to my WIFE !!!! , and the constant massage/stretching programme from my Massage Therapist. Cheers to All. Kiwi Boy.

[petemeads]

I bought a pair of Brooks Cascadia trail shoes a few weeks ago with a view to getting back on the hills with more cushioning than my old Walsh racers. They worked well on a 20+ mile walk around the Edale Skyline with my elder son and surprisingly they turned out to be very comfortable for parkrun (5k) as well, lots of cushioning and stability.
They are certainly heavier than my previous shoes but I shall stick with them for the next few weeks at least.
Only running once a week, and only 5k, but no problems at all and down to 25:10 already...

[shoraztri]

Hi Pete,
Hey mate , that super nice work on what you can achieve already . I see that our ages are close , Im the youngster at 63. Those times are nice and "slick " and my 5km is sitting around 27:30 to 28:00. Feel good after with a small ache of say 2/10 pain wise . Has all gone by next morning. Have done a 8.0km run at 48:00 with no real issues. Run sometimes twice a week at present.
Thanks for the input on Shoe brands. Cheers . Kiwi Boy.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Dan,  I'm glad that you are out running.  We all have to thank Hip'n'Hop for introducing us to Hoka's.  He talked them up and then went and did Ironman with them.  I tried them and I've been sold ever since.  I where the Stinsein Trail and I've gotten then for as low at $56!  I buy them when I see them on sale online and I stockpile them.  I get at least a year out of a pair running 4 or 5 days a week.  I even wore my original, 3 year old pair this weekend for a 5 mile trail race that I thought would be muddy.  They felt just fine.

I also have a pair of  the Mafate Speed's waiting to be tried our.  They have the most cush of all the Hoka's.  I can't wait!

Good luck with you running.  Keep it going!

[Arrojo]

i have run with the Hokas quite a few times.  my consensus is that whatever is causing me to have pain in the hip after running about a mile is not being corrected simply by new shoes. 

i think i can probably go a tad further before the pain sets in... but i still get the ache in my operated hip by about the one mile mark.  i then slow down to a walk...walk for maybe .2 of a mile, then start running again.  i can alternate between running and walking and go almost 3-4 miles. 

at some point I start to walk longer..instead of walking .2 miles, I might walk .5 miles..then resume running.

if I try to run too far and not take the .2 - .5 mile walk break, the pain finally gets substantial by about the 3 mile mark.

i ran almost every day for 4-5 days in a row...felt great and then the last day I felt pain in my hip.  it's been a week or so and the pain is still there.  i had this exact sensation early on in my recover when I over did it and walked too far..the pain went away gradually.

i have no doubt what i'm feeling is similar..and i'm not worried about the hip.. it's like overuse pain...it will get better...but it does nag me that i can't run like some of you guys.

the last time i ran was a 5k with my wife..i wanted to finish it and at about the 3 mile mark my hip was done... i walked the rest of the way..

i guess if I never run more than mile or two... i won't be an unhappy guy... i can do SO MUCH..and before surgery I couldn't do jack squat...i was incapable of running 10'...i limped everywhere.. now I can full on sprint full speed...and run a good mile at a solid pace...

It sounds to me like you have scar tissue buildup in your hip.  No running shoes in the world can cure that.  Instead, you need to break up that scar tissue.  There are a few different ways to do that.  Personally, the best way I have found is to use Active Release Technique.  I swear by this - it helped me run the Boston Marathon a year ago and finish 11th at Nationals in the 60 meter dash a month ago.

Deep tissue massage can also help a bit, you should really look into A.R.T.