I am not normally an insole wearer as I like to believe that I have good anatomic orientation and bio-mechanical movements (interpretation – too cheap to buy a pair). But this season I had the opportunity to try a pair of currexSole RunPro’s. First, some verbage straight from a currex marketing contact as taken from “bigandysrunning” blog “currexSole is the most awarded insole brand in Europe, and their running specific RUNPRO features a dynamic and individual specific fit that is right in line with current footwear science and technology (zero mm drop so it won’t interfere with shoe construction and the insoles move with your feet vs restricting them).
With a fitting system based on foot type, body weight and leg/knee angles currexSole ensures that athletes get a proper fit for their body. Please note these aren’t designed to be like orthotics, but simply replace the cheap and ineffective liner already in your shoes with something actually fitted for your feet and bio-mechanics.”
Pretty impressive I’d say – they are German engineered, so the design and quality are top notch (and they have zero emissions unlike some other German product that we won’t mention here). The RunPro comes in three different profiles (high, medium and Low) to fit any foot arch (or lack thereof). Fitting was pretty straight forward – the Running Free sale associate (aka Jodi) watched me walk back and forth a few times to visual determine my arch height (the other method is to wet your feet and stand on a paper towel and observe the foot pattern – a lot of contact and you are a low (red) – moderate contact and you are medium (orange) – a bit of contact and you are a high (blue)) – I was a high.) The insoles have size ranges and you just cut to fit and them slip them in – as simple as that; I fit them to my road training shoe. The fit was very comfortable and right off the bat felt more supportive than the standard insoles that came with the shoes. I have been out about a dozen times with them over the summer (no, of course I ran more than that – I did mostly trail) and have only good things to say about them. The insole is a triple layer construction with a deep heel cup to keep your foot well seated and secured, a nylon composite arch support and fore and aft rebound cushions. They are designed with a zero mm drop so as not to change the natural offset of the shoe – this works well for the minimalist runner. I normally max out my runs at 10km and start to feel a bit of foot discomfort at that point – I have not felt it while using the insoles. After running in them for a while you start to wonder if they are actually doing anything for you, so I pulled the insoles out for a run or two and was immediately reminded of that lack of extra cushioning and support that the currexSole RunPro has. Like any other piece of running gear – it is a personal preference. You won’t die without them and you may not run a PB with them – they do what they advertise very well and the price at $50, while a little more expensive than the completion, is not totally out of line. Like always – Christmas and Boxing Day sales are just around the corner – if you can’t hint yourself into a pair, just go out and buy them.
Toodles
