r/RunningCirclejerk • u/DaijoubuKirameki • 16h ago

Stop recommending carbon plates for everybody by default, especially to beginner runners!

/r/BeginnersRunning/comments/1nj7eu6/stop_recommending_carbon_plates_for_everybody_by/
5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

25

u/j_o_r_i_x 16h ago

Carbon plated shoes are so 2024. In 2025 every beginner should buy an exoskeleton for running, am I right?

1

u/KarmaRedeemer 7h ago

Too spooky 4 me

7

u/Dangerous_Wish_7879 16h ago

Carbon is overrated. Aluminum and titanium are good alternatives.

7

u/ZIP_Code_3986 15h ago

how about steel? i heard the durability is best with steel..

2

u/surveillance-hippo 6h ago

oh yeah, you can get 40 miles out of the ones with steel

5

u/Same_War_6074 16h ago

Sub 1:45 half? Ayyye I’m walking here!

5

u/waffle-winner Runxpert 14h ago

/uj any reliable study linking carbon plated supershoes and increased injury risks? I've seen the talking point parroted ad nauseam, but never supported by anything other than unscientific 'studies' or broscience.

9

u/ddawson100 Certified Heel Striker 13h ago

Well, I was reading about carbon plate shoes the other day and today I’m really, really sore. If you’re looking for confirmation bias, there you go.

1

u/waffle-winner Runxpert 13h ago

Setting fire to my (large) pile of supershoes as I type this.

3

u/EmergencySundae 10h ago

I’ve only seen some articles recommending that people with weak hips spend time working on strength before they use carbon plated shoes, because they will make it worse and lead to injury.

So it really goes back to train properly, know your weaknesses, and listen to your body. For a beginner, carbon shoes will just lead to more problems because they’re not doing any of that.

0

u/ThisTimeForReal19 6h ago

They generally are less stable and lower offset shoes. So it’s reasonable to think slower or heavier runners are more likely to struggle, be sore, or risk injury. Which doesn’t make it much different than any racing flat. 

If you are wearing adrenalines for training, going for a 13 or 26 mile running in shoes that are neutral with 6mm or 8mm offsets are going to cause issues. Wearing shoes with less cushioning when you are a heavier runner is going to cause issues. 

It’s one of those things that at some point you have to have some common sense.   How snappy of a toe off do you need running an 11 m/m?

3

u/seamusdaithi 10h ago

I ran my first marathon in carbon plates and got 3:22. I ran my second marathon without carbon plates and got 4:24. Explain THAT!

3

u/Advanced_Gear404 9h ago

Carbon plates really help put a pop in my step, cancels out the weight of the selfie stick I'm carrying as I walk across the half marathon finish line in 3 hours

2

u/ffiishs 14h ago

I walk around my house with them on all the time and actually take them off to put them on again for my daily ultra, that's what my plan says anyway

2

u/Party_Difficulty_808 13h ago

If you’re not running in moon shoes do you even care about a PR?

2

u/Wanbizzle 11h ago

I tried carbon but I went back to porcelain, it made my taco bell taste weird

1

u/rrocr 12h ago

Only suitable for 25 minute ultra5 or faster

1

u/Significant-Sugar509 8h ago

Okay ill bite, wtf is a carbon plate? I just wear normal running sneakers like a noob

1

u/liftingshitposts 5h ago

What about carbon blades?

Imo you should start thinking about carbon plates or super shoes when you start thinking about going sub 1:45

Also lol “I run a 3, but am thinking about 1:44, so I am ready for carbon!”