How to choose running insoles: what to look for before you run

An hour of steady running means several thousand separate landings, and every one of them loads the same structures in more or less the same way. That repetition is the reason small details inside your footwear end up mattering so much, and it is why a lot of runners eventually wonder whether running insoles are worth adding to their kit. This guide covers what a cushioning insole can realistically do, what it is not designed for, and how to work out whether one belongs in your running shoes.

In this article

1. What happens to your foot on every stride
2. Cushioning insoles and corrective insoles are not the same thing
3. What to check before you fit them in your trainers
4. When a running insole makes the most sense
5. Common mistakes runners make with insoles
6. If the discomfort does not settle

What happens to your foot on every stride

Running is a sequence of single-leg landings. Your foot meets the ground, the load travels up through the heel or the midfoot depending on how you run, spreads across the sole, and is then passed on to the ankle, the knee, the hip and the lower back before the foot pushes off again. On its own, one landing is unremarkable. The point is that you repeat it continuously for the length of the session.

Two things follow. The load is cumulative, so a 40-minute run and a two-hour run are not the same demand even at the same pace. And the surface decides how much of it your body has to deal with: tarmac and pavement give almost nothing back, so more of each impact travels up the chain than it would on a soft trail.

Fatigue is the third factor. Towards the end of a long session, technique tends to drift, the stride gets heavier and landings become less controlled. That is usually when runners notice discomfort in the feet, around the knees or low in the back, and it is the moment when the amount of cushioning between foot and ground is most noticeable.

The shoe handles part of this, which is why it is always the first decision. An insole works on the layer underneath your foot: how pressure is spread across the sole, and how much of each impact is absorbed before it travels upwards.

Cushioning insoles and corrective insoles are not the same thing

This is the distinction worth being clear about before choosing anything, because the two products answer different questions.

A corrective insole

A corrective or prescribed insole is made after an assessment by a healthcare professional, often based on how your foot behaves when you walk and run. Its purpose is to act on that movement in a specific way, and it is normally made or adapted for one person and one set of findings. If someone has recommended that route for you, that recommendation is the one to follow.

A cushioning insole

A cushioning insole has a simpler job: absorbing impact and spreading pressure more evenly across the sole so that running feels more comfortable, particularly when the session is long or the surface is hard. Footgel's sports range, including Footgel Running, sits in this second group. They are high-cushioning insoles designed to absorb the repeated impact of each stride and reduce strain on feet, knees and lower back, and they return part of the energy from each step to aid propulsion.

Put plainly: Footgel insoles are cushioning insoles, not orthotic devices and not prescribed correctors. They are there for comfort and impact absorption. They are not a substitute for an assessment if you have a persistent problem, and they are not meant to change how your foot moves.

Cushioning that lasts the whole run

Footgel Running absorbs the repeated impact of each stride, reduces strain on feet, knees and lower back, and returns part of the energy from each step to aid propulsion.

• Tested by UMANA Biomecánica
• Made in Spain

View Footgel Running

What to check before you fit them in your trainers

Most disappointing experiences with insoles come down to fit rather than the insole itself. Four checks cover nearly all of it.

Is there room for it?

An insole occupies space that was already spoken for. Before anything else, take out the insole the shoe came with; almost every running shoe has one, and leaving it in is the quickest way to end up with a shoe that feels a size too small. Some racing shoes and very low-volume models are tight enough that any additional layer will be noticeable, so they are worth testing carefully.

Does it change the volume too much?

Lace the shoe up as you normally would and stand on both feet. The instep should feel held, not squeezed. If you have to slacken the laces noticeably to get the same feel as before, the combination of that shoe and that insole is not the right one, however good either part is on its own.

Does it compress your toes?

Check the front of the shoe specifically. Your toes should still be able to spread on landing and you should still have clearance at the end of the shoe. If the insole has pushed your foot forward or upward enough to take that space away, you will feel it on long runs and on descents long before you feel it in the first ten minutes.

Does it stay where it should?

The insole has to sit flat against the footbed and stay there. Any sliding, curling at the heel or bunching under the arch will show up as a hot spot sooner or later. Footgel insoles are supplied by EU size and are trimmed to your footwear following the cutting guide, so take your time with that step: cut a little at a time, put the insole back in the shoe and check it, and only then cut again.

When a running insole makes the most sense

A cushioning insole is not equally useful in every situation. These are the cases where runners tend to notice it most:

• Running on tarmac and pavement. Hard, uniform surfaces return a lot of each impact, and that is exactly what a cushioning layer is designed to take the edge off.
• Long runs. Discomfort that never appears in a 30-minute session can turn up in the second hour, when the load has been adding up and the stride has lost some of its spring.
• Coming back after a break. After weeks off, your feet and legs are not yet used to the volume, and the first few weeks back are when most people feel the return of load most sharply.
• Treadmill sessions. The surface is consistent and so is your stride, so the same points take the same load over and over, with none of the small variations that outdoor running provides.
• Weeks with several sessions close together. When there is little recovery time between runs, comfort in each one matters more than it does in an isolated session.

If you split your week between running and other activities, it is worth looking at the rest of the sports insoles range as well, since each model is designed around the demands of its own sport rather than being a general-purpose insert.

Common mistakes runners make with insoles

Using them for the first time on race day

Anything new inside the shoe changes how the shoe feels, and race day is the worst possible moment to find that out. Put the insole in for a few easy runs first, then for a longer session, and only take it into a race once you have genuinely forgotten it is there.

Putting them in a worn-out shoe

An insole works on top of what the shoe provides. If the outsole is smooth, the upper has given way at the sides or the shoe has clearly lost its shape, the honest answer is that the shoe has reached the end of its useful life, and no insole is going to reverse that.

Assuming an insole will fix technique

Cushioning changes what reaches your foot; it does not change how you run, how quickly you have increased your mileage or how much recovery you have had. If discomfort follows a jump in training volume, the training is the thing to look at first.

Carrying on through pain that keeps coming back

Normal post-session tiredness settles within a day or so. Pain that returns every time you run, or that is there with your first steps in the morning, is a different matter, and adding cushioning is not the answer to it.

If the discomfort does not settle

If pain persists, keeps coming back or is getting worse, the sensible step is to speak to a healthcare professional who can look at your case properly. That is particularly true of heel pain that is sharpest with your first steps of the day, which is a common pattern in plantar fasciitis and often responds to simple measures and a consistent routine of stretches and exercises.

In short: choose the shoe first, use the insole for what it is good at, fit it properly, break it in before it matters, and treat persistent pain as a reason to get advice rather than a reason to add another layer.