Insole replacements for sneakers

In the course of examining the construction of a new pair of sneakers I recently purchased, I was surprised to find the stock insole was easily removed by prying under the heel and lifting it upwards. For some reason, I was under the notion the insoles were glued into the shoe and would require a fair amount of work to remove them. Once removed, the insoles appear to be made of a thin compressed cardboard-like material.

Spenco, Sorbothane, and SofSole are some of the more popular manufacturers of athletic replacement insoles. All of these insole replacements cost somewhere between $20 and $45 on the internet. I opted to purchase a pair of $11.95 Dr. Scholl's Gel Sport replacement insoles at our local Wal-Mart.

Inserting these new insoles into your sneakers is very easy. While the colorful side of the insole is displayed within the packaging while in the store, this side gets placed face down within the shoe. What you see as you look down into your sneakers is a neutral gray color which will match any pair of sneakers.

The male insoles fit any size shoe between sizes 8 and 13. I had to trim mine for a size 11. To trim the insole you merely cut along the appropriate shoe size line on the toe side of the insole (as opposed to the heel side) and discard the excess. The insoles are stamped with left and right indicators as they are not interchangeable.

I will be running the York White Rose five mile run tomorrow in my orange Mizuno Ronin 2's with a new pair of these insoles. While I don't believe I will run any faster with these new insoles, I do hope it will reduce the wear and tear on my feet to a degree and serve to lessen my run recovery time.