September 2022 Round-Up at Doctors of Running

It's finally spooky season! For many runners, October doesn't just mean pumpkin carving and candy-eating season. The Fall Marathon season is upon us, with Berlin and today London in the books, the spotlight is moving West with New York, Chicago, and more gearing up in the weeks ahead. This month we explored a variety of content dedicated to the season, from footwear to hydration. Check out our start of marathon season coverage with a look back at September.

Ten Things To Check Out From September 2022
at Doctors of Running

1. Best Stable Distance Shoes for the Marathon

We get this question ALL the time at Doctors of Running, especially since releasing our Guide to Stability over a year ago. Fall marathon season is a big one for many runners, and finding the best to suit your needs can be a hard thing - especially if you don't have access to a very good run retail store nearby. Matt gathered his three favorites of the year, each fairly different from one another in how they function stability-wise, to help you sort out your training and racing decisions for race day.

2. Mizuno's Bid for the Future

There are many ways companies are slowly evolving towards a sustainable future. Some are integrating recycled materials here and there. Others have slowly done midsole blends. A few have taken bigger leaps by integrating new models altogether that seek to solve the issue of non-Earth friendly footwear with bold risks. Mizuno took two of those bold risks with the release of two future-forward thinking models: the Wave Sky Wind and Wave Sky Neo. These shoes integrate recycled and plant-based solutions throughout to help identify that shoes of the future can be made in this manner without sacrificing performance. We spoke with Tina Danforth and Stephen Pifer at Mizuno to learn more about these new shoes and the long term goals of the company in our latest edition of the DOR Sustainability Series.

Read our interview here: Performance Meet Sustainability with Mizuno's Wave Neo Collection

3. Sorting Out the Best Hydration for Your Needs

This month we launched the second part of our hydration/nutrition series! We covered over 10+ popular hydration products to talk about the properties of each to help break down which products may suit your needs best. Like running shoes, hydration can be very individualized. It was a great opportunity for us to not only explore the differences in these products to learn just how each works, but also how to manage intake of each product based on each of their designs.

Check it out here: https://www.doctorsofrunning.com/2022/09/ultimate-guide-to-hydration-products.html

4. It's Big Shoe Season

Big shoe season is finally upon us! From Triumph to Bondi to More, all the max cushion shoes of the season landed at our doorstep this past August and September. One of the things about max cushion shoes that is unique in today's market, is that though they share some qualities (big cushioning, some form of rocker), they all also have some unique ways of balancing themselves stability-wise and also different utilities. This year's theme though is distinctly weight-cutting: shoes have cut as much as a half to nearly full ounce off their predecessors, meaning the lightest cohort of max cushioned shoes yet.

Find All of Our Most Recent Max Cushion (non-plated) Reviews Here
Hoka Bondi 8
New Balance Fresh Foam More 4
Saucony Endorphin Shift 3
Mizuno Wave Neo Ultra
Brooks Glycerin 20

5. The Season of Newton

Newton Running has become known for two things: their unique Action/Reaction technology and their bold maneuver towards sustainability. Late Summer/Fall marks the launch of their 2022 line, including two of our new favorites from them this year: the Gravity+ and Motion+, two uptempo models that offer a lot of versatility and really exemplifies those two things we've mentioned that are hallmarks of their identity. We also checked out the Distance+, a super fun, even lower platform shoe meant for very fast workouts and short distance racing.

Read the Reviews:
Newton Motion+: A stability performance trainer with medial posting all the way into the forefoot, which is very unique in today's market.
Newton Gravity+: This neutral performance trainer does it all, and well. For those looking for a really low profile, but protective runner for a long distances, this should be top of your list.
Newton Distance+: A really fun, really aggressive shoe that you do a lot of fast workouts in along with some racing.

6. Lessons from the Retail World with Megan Searfoss

Finding the right shoe, whether it's your first or your fifth, can be daunting. Matt & Andrea were joined by Megan Searfoss, owner of Ridgefield and Darien Running Company, to give a store-owner's perspective on finding the best shoe for you. Megan also shares wisdom from years of running experience and dozens of races including Ironmans and marathons.

Watch the conversation above, or listen on the run:
Apple: https://apple.co/3fmwkxs
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3SjMh5z

7. Learning How to Manage a Potential Injury,
with Brodie Sharpe

Injuries large & small plague almost every runner throughout their career. Detecting early signs of injury and stopping them before they turn into something serious will help us keep running consistently. This month we were grateful to be joined by Physical Therapist, founder of the Run Smarter series, and author Brodie Sharpe, who specializes in injury prevention and rehabilitation. We sat down with Brodie to look at the nature of injury risk, how to reduce it, strategies & tools for rehabbing, and much more.

Listen to the full podcast on the run here. Follow us on Apple, Spotify, or Anchor to keep up with our weekly podcast!

8. Current Shoe Deals at Running Warehouse

Our friends at Running Warehouse have some really cool deals going on right now for folks looking for everything daily trainers to their next racing shoe. Here are a few of our favorites we've spotted. Note: the following are affiliate links that support Doctors of Running.

Nike Pegasus 39
Deal: $89.97 (men) | Shop Women | Review

A phenomenal deal for anyone looking for a simple do-it-all to get their running started, or a shoe that can fill a lot of gaps in a running rotation.

Adidas SL20
Deal: $74.88 | Shop Women | Review

Everything we said above, but from Adidas. Don't forget to size up a half size!

Asics Novablast 2
Deal: $99.99 | Review

For folks who are getting serious about their running and want a more complex daily trainer with lots of cushion, this is a great deal. (Not the most stable, but for neutral runners a good bargain)

For more, visit our new affordable shoe guide, updated monthly!

9. Recover on a Budget | Running Gadget of the Month

Bob and Brad's Q2 Mini Massage Gun
Price: $89.99 on Amazon
10% OFF Discount Code: BobBrad16

This month's gadget goes to Bob and Brad's mini massage gun, a simple, but effective little massager that's great for grabbing on the go. It's well-priced for under $100, taking care of some basic routine rehab. We like the mini version for it's portability and ease of use. Check out David's video for his full thoughts. Interested in purchasing? Use the discount code provided to save an additional 10% off.

10. Underrated

There's no super foam, no super stack height, or extremities of any kind. The Asics Fuji Lite 3 is an easy shoe to overlook, but for anyone looking to get trail miles down, this is going to be one of those shoes we quietly recommend over and over again for anyone who wants a nimble little trainer. It's got great traction, and the upper is super protective. One of the trail shoes this year you can slip on and just launch yourself anywhere.

Read our review here: https://www.doctorsofrunning.com/2022/09/asics-fuji-lite-3-review-2022.html

Coming Soon at DOR

With marathon season coming stateside, we're going to learn a little more and cover some other facets of the marathon to check out. Additionally, just as you thought we were done with super shoe season, more are coming in to make life your shoe buying decision that much harder. Lots of fun stuff ahead as we go into Fall and Winter, along with lots of new apparel round-ups from the team and a big project in the works for year's end. (!!!)

Have questions? Send us an email at doctorsofrunning@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!

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