Running shoes and Sports shoes may look similar to you, but they actually have multiple differences in characteristics like design, material, cushioning, heel drop, sole etc. Many people wear their running and sports shoes interchangeably but it can increase the risk of injury and also reduce shoes durability.
Both Running Shoes and Sports Shoes are designed for different uses and to meet the requirements of specific sport like football, basketball, badminton etc. thats why their properties like design sole, cushioning etc. also different.
Why Running Shoes are important?
Running is the most popular sport in the world and not only professional players run daily although normal people, students, youngsters, kids and all age groups people also run.
During Running 200 muscles, 112 ligaments, 33 joints and 26 bones work together so to keep all these body parts safe and injury free you must wear high-quality running shoes.
Why specific sports shoes are required to play any particular sport?
Every sport rules and way of playing are different so the specific shoe requirement is also different to play the particular game let’s try to understand with the help of an example
- Sports like football require grooved studs while in other games low traction sole goes well and some sports like badminton require non-marking sole.
- Few sports require meshed upper while some other sports like football require sturdy leather upper to prevent the foot from injury so it all depends on which sport you are playing.
10 Key Difference between Sports Shoes and Running Shoes
(1) Goal/Functions: Running shoes are designed for a specific goal to improve the performance and speed of the athlete by ensuring better shock absorption with high cushioning and bouncy sole without increasing shoe weight while –
Sports shoes have multiple goals like High stability, flexibility, high mobility, better agility, strong grip, sturdy upper according to specific sport requirement.
Let’s try to understand with the help of an example:
- Running shoes sole grip is specially designed for fast forward movement while sports shoe sole grip is designed for quick multidirectional movement
- Sports shoes are designed to meet the demand of specific sports like badminton, basketball, football etc. while running shoes are obviously designed for running only.
(2) Design: Running shoes are designed to move you forward and reduce lateral movements while sports shoes allow lateral or multidirectional movement.
- Running shoes are designed for smooth heel-to-toe running movement and to support your feet during specific set of motion while sports shoes are designed for multiple different tasks and movements like movability, stability, agility, high traction and many other tasks according to particular sport.
(3) Shoe Type: Sports shoes are very wide term it include all sports-oriented shoes like Football shoes, badminton shoes. Basketball shoes, Volleyball shoes, Tennis shoes and many more while running shoes is a micro term and all running shoes design are almost similar. (Obviously quality and aesthetics vary according to Brand & Price)
(4) Feature/Charecteristics Difference: Running Shoe comes with major features like High breathability, Thick Cushioning for Shock absorption and Lightweight design to run faster while Sports shoe characteristics vary according to sports as exa.
- Football players require sturdy leather upper instead of the breathable meshed upper of running shoes.
- Badminton players require stable feet because badminton is a game of twisting and turning, landing and jumping on the other hand Running shoes thick cushioning can make player’s feet unstable or injure them.
- Running shoe requires good heel drop or shoe drop while football shoe comes with flat heel and no heel drop.
(5) Material: Running shoe upper is made with meshed moisture-wicking fabric with lightweight material and advanced cushioning incorporated with memory foam or gel to reduce the impact of shock during long run on the other hand sports shoes like football shoes are made with non mesh sturdy robust materials like leather or synthetic to ensure durability and support during intense gameplay and to kick the ball without getting injured.
That means Sports shoes are made with various material like leather, synthetic leather, synthetic material etc. according to specific game requirements.
(6) Breathability: Running shoe comes with high breathability to neutralize sweat produced by continuous running while in All sports shoes, breathable mesh is not possible as exa: In football shoes upper must be crafted with robust sturdy leather or sythetic material to kick or defend the ball without getting injured.
Note: Running shoes have maximum breathability to ensure sweat-free and smooth running experience while sports shoes breathability is less.
Why breathable mesh material is used in Running shoes?
While Running we burn an average 62 calories per km so as a result our feet release sweat because our feet have more than 2.5 lakh sweat glands so running shoe upper must be made with high moisture-wicking mesh material.
(7) Cushioning & Shock Absorption: In Running shoes thick cushioning is a must to absorb the shock impact of every new step encountered with the ground thats why Running shoes are crafted with soft cushioning & superior shock absorption technology on the other hand Sports shoes cushioning depends on specific sports requirement because thick cushioning can make feet bouncy & unstable and in Sport’s shoes, stability is very important.
Shoes Weight: Soft cushioned sole of running shoes makes shoe bouncy and lightweight to complement athlete’s speed and boost performance while Sports shoes might be a bit heavier than running shoes due to their sturdy build quality and synthetic or leather upper instead of lightweight mesh.
(8) Arch Support: Arch support plays a vital role in running shoes it can be beneficial for you, if you are struggling with foot pain on the other hand in Sports shoes arch support is not so important (with few exceptions) like football boots and Training Shoes comes with no arch support although it depends on specific sport.
Note: In simple words, Running shoes have more arch support and cushioning than Sports Shoes.
(9) HEEL Drop: In Running shoes high heel drop provides additional support by moving forward while sports shoe heel drop is very low or sports shoe heel is flatter than running shoes.
Heel-Toe Drop: is the difference between the height of a shoe’s heel and forefoot, for running shoes optimal Heel drop varies between 0.1mm to 0.10mm.
(10) Outsole/Grip Pattern: Running shoes grip pattern is simple to boost athlete speed and minimize friction loss or resistance on the other hand Sports shoes grip pattern is a bit complex to allow the shoes to grip the floor and keep the players safe while playing without affecting players quick multidirectional movement. exa:
- Some sports like Football specifically require grooved soles even studs like Rounded studs, Conical studs, Hybrid Studs etc. while Running shoes do not require that much sturdy or complex grip.
Also, some characteristics are commonly important in Both Running shoes and Sports shoes like Durability, Flexibility and obviously Price & Aesthetics also 🙂
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