Walking is a motion that distributes your body weight

Walking Shoes – Running Shoes

At first blush you may think walking shoes are just like jogging shoes.

But that is most certainly not the case when you look at them more closely Just how are they different?

They differ because the motion of walking and the action of running put totally different demands on your feet. This means you have to choose your footwear carefully in each case.

Design and Styling

The more obvious differences are in the style and appearance of the shoe depending on whether it is going to be used for walking or running.

This is because the mechanics of walking are different from the mechanics of running.

Each activity puts different demands on body motion and muscle activity such that the shoe for that activity has to have features to handle those differing demands.

Walking

Walking is a motion that distributes your body weight more uniformly through the body with a more fluid foot movement.

In walking you roll your foot from heel to toe through the ball of the foot and your weight and compression are more evenly distributed over a longer period of time than in running.

There is certainly less intensity of compression and a smoother distribution of your weight through the entire cycle.

This calls for a shoe with different heel and sole design for walking than that of a running shoe where the heel, arch and ball need to take more compression and pressure from the full weight of the running motion.

In walking, the rocking movement of the walking cycle means your feet absorb the shock of only one to two times your body weight with each step.

Also in walking, you split you weight load since both your feet are on the ground during the walking cycle. This means your bodyweight is more evenly distributed and the compression on the feet is not as intense as it is when running.

Running

Running is a different story altogether.

With running you are placing pressure equals to two to three times the body weight on one foot. Also in running neither foot is solidly planted on the ground so the compression on feet and joints is far more intense than walking.

Your outer heel has to absorb the total compression of the landing before it distributes the body weight through your foot in an S motion through the ball to the toes.

This difference in motion and impact distribution between walking and running requires a different design and manufacture of the shoe.

Walking Shoes

The design of the walking shoe calls for a flat heel to absorb the initial contact. The angle of the heel is lower in walking than running so compression is not as high and it is distributed evenly in the roll through to the ball and in the natural motion of moving heel to toe.

This means that walking shoes need to be more flexible from the ball of the foot to give you more range of motion for the roll to the forefoot.

The heel must be flat with no flair compared to the running heel. This creates a better strike and compression distribution for the walker than he or she would get from a running shoe.

The heel of a running shoe is higher and has more support and padding to absorb the significant impact of a more violent and rapid landing of the running .

Running shoes have less protection through the ball of the foot considering the rapid roll through  less pressure than the slower walking motion does on the ball and toes.

Conclusion

Walking shoes as you can see have distinct demands to meet to ensure foot support and comfort than their running counter parts.

One should know those distinctions when choosing footwear for walking or running.