walking shoes vs running shoes

[hungrygreenhippo]

After years of coming back to my Disney hotel room at night with tired legs and sore feet, I finally decided it was time to put fashion aside and focus more on my shoes. I bought a pair of Brooks PureFlows that I figured I'd use for walking and then transition into running in them later when I was ready to try a more minimal running shoe. I faithfully spent the whole trip wearing the PureFlows and while they were more comfortable, my feet were still pretty sore at the end of the day. I figured that when spending 8+ hour days on my feet maybe that was just to be expected and there was no way to completely avoid any lingering effects of walking the parks.

Then I recently read something about preparing for a trip to WDW and it mentioned something about getting actual walking shoes and not just wearing running shoes. I think the reason was along the lines of how running and walking use different mechanics so walking shoes provide better support. That makes sense to me, but I'm wondering how much of a difference walking shoes would really make? For example, like I'm guessing many others do, I use my old running shoes for the gym. I asked my physical therapist once if I should be getting different gym shoes because I'd read that running shoes are designed for forward motion and aren't ideal for classes where you move side to side. He said it wasn't worth getting a different pair of shoes just for that. Is it the same where walking shoes might be slightly better but not necessarily worth the cost? Or is this something that varies from person to person and I just have to try for myself?

 

[cewait]

I think walking shoes in the end would be a more comfortable shoe for 8 hours in the park. They tend to have a heel design that is more conducive to a walking gait than a set of runners. However, I do not think any shoe will keep your feet from hurting and feeling tired after being in the park for a day. That is unless you are on your feet hours a day normally. The muscles and tendons are working over-time the first few days of walking in a park.

I think I would focus more on cushioned liners than the expense of a set of shoes for the parks. If the liners take up so much room that your runners are too tight, then I would look at a set of walkers in addition.