[pct-l] Shoes for plantar fasciitis

[Maxine Weyant]

Kristin,  

All the ideas and advice posted so far are good ones.  

The Superfeet green ones are great, but if your heel is really tender, you might need a little padding since the surface of the super feet is a little firm. 
You can use a piece of soft foam or neoprene with a hole cut out of the middle just below the center of the bottom of your heel.
KT-taping your foot is good too.  If you only have access to cloth or duct tape, there are other taping techniques that work, accessible online.  

Brooks Cascadia are nice, but too soft for some folks.  I use custom orthotics and I still could feel stones underfoot in those shoes.  
A squishy shoe means more wobble and more work for your foot.  

I can't suggest the perfect shoe for your foot type, but one way to see how supportive a shoe will be is to see how easy it is to bend it in the store.  
Grasp the back of the shoe and try to bend the toe-end up.  If it bends easily, and not just at the tip of the toe, the shoe is not stiff enough for your needs.  
Also, grasp the heel counter and rotate the front half of the shoe like you're trying to wring it out.  If it moves a lot, then it won't be a very supportive shoe.  
Some shoes break down and loose stiffness quickly.  You can use the above method to see how broken down your shoes have become.  

If you can't find a stiffer trail-runner, then consider some of the lighter hiking shoes made by Vasque, Merrell, OBOZ, Keen, etc.  Not a boot, just a stiffer shoe 
for hiking.  Be careful if you don't want Gore-tex--they often come with water repellency, which for me means sweaty feet and more blisters. 

Finally, use hiking poles to offload your foot, especially on the downhills, don't stand still for more than a minute with your pack on, see if you can get 
by with carrying less water, and try to shave grams/ounces wherever possible in your gear.    

Good luck,
Dys-feng shui-nal