In praise of Shoe Goo

Thanks to Strava, I keep a close log of the mileage on all my running shoes. With 4–5,000km a year on the clock, I get through a lot of them, so tracking wear and calculating cost-per-kilometre matters. My Brooks Hyperions, for instance, retail at around £130 and last about 800km. But because I train on a cambered path, the same patch of outsole on the right shoe wears down disproportionately fast. Once that rubber’s gone, the foam follows, and I'm left with one usable shoe and one fit only for the bin.

I tried a few workarounds- patching on bits of outsole, even grafting rubber from an old pair. None of it held. Then I picked up a tube of Shoe Goo.

It’s not a miracle fix. The stuff smells strongly of chemicals and it’s messy if you’re not careful. You’ll want to keep it off your fingers, the floor and any nearby shoes. But applied properly - liberally and precisely to the worn section—it dries to a thick, rubbery coat. I usually wait 24–48 hours and add a second layer. You could run after the first coat, but doubling up tends to last longer.

On most pairs I’ve used it on - about 15 so far - it’s given me an extra 200km per pair. That’s 3,000km of additional use. Spread across shoes that cost £130 a pair, that’s a saving of roughly £490. A tube costs about £12 and covers 6 or 7 applications. I’m only on my third.

It won’t work on every shoe. It needs a rubber outsole to grip, so forget anything built entirely on foam like the Hyperion Elite 2. But for anything with a standard tread, even including plated racers like the Vaporfly 3, it holds up well.

It’s simple stuff Shoe Goo. Just a practical fix that extends the life of your shoes and saves a bit of cash along the way.