General Sizing Tips

Getting the correct fit is the most important part of the equation to get right when choosing your footwear and clothing. This is not only to achieve maximum performance, but also to avoid blistering and more serious injuries. It's therefore essential to make sure you're wearing correctly fitted gear.

Below are some general rules and tips we've gathered from over 25 years experience of fitting sports footwear and clothing to help you make the right choice.

Get a gender specific fit. Because men's and women's feet vary in shape and size, it's essential to make sure that you buy a shoe specific to your gender. Female feet are narrower, particularly around the heel and women should therefore only buy a shoe built on a female last. Men's feet tend to be broader, and therefore are built on a more generous last.

For running shoes we recommend that you go up ½ to a full size from your usual shoe size. When running your feet will swell. We recommend that you have a thumbnail's width of space at the end of the shoe to ensure you have enough room to accommodate this. Generally, if you'll be running up to 10K in a session, a half size up should be sufficient, but if you're doing more than 10K a full size up might be needed.

Spikes are built on a curved performance last and are therefore very narrow. Whilst running spikes should fit tightly to ensure the foot is kept over the spike plate, we recommend that you take a full size up from your normal shoe size.

Like spikes, these are built on a narrow, competition last, and are supposed to fit tightly to keep the foot over the sole plate. For this reason you may need to take ½ a size up from your usual size.

Your feet will swell whilst walking, so the thumbnail's width rule applies. We recommend that you have a thumbnail's width of space at the end of the shoe to ensure you have enough room to accommodate this and you may need to take ½ a size up. You'll also probably be wearing a thicker sock so you need to ensure you have enough room. Again if you're walking over 10K, a full size up might be needed.

All football boots are built on a narrow last and are supposed to fit tightly to keep your foot over the sole unit for better traction. What size you should buy depends on the upper. Leather boots will stretch, particularly when wet. If you're buying a leather boot, we recommend that you take ½ a size down from your normal shoe size and ensure that you take the time to wear your boots in. The leather should mould to the shape of your foot, giving an individual, customised fit. For synthetic leather boots we recommend that you take your normal shoe size.

We fit these tighter than a running shoe in order to provide maximum lateral support. We recommend that you should still ensure that you have roughly ½ a thumbnail's width of space at the end of the shoe.

If you've a wider than average foot, keep an eye out for those shoes that are available in a 2E or 4E wider widths. Most shoes by New Balance are available in wider widths, and also some by Nike and Asics.

When choosing your clothing size a lot comes down to your own personal preference, but you should bear in mind that your sports clothing should fit to allow you maximum freedom of movement. For this reason we recommend that when measuring, you don't hold the tape measure too tightly. On the other hand you need to make sure your clothing isn't so loose that it flaps around and hinders your performance, therefore a happy medium between the two is ideal. For information on how to measure yourself see our body measuring guide.

When choosing your footwear, bear in mind what you'll be wearing underneath. For example, if you're going to be wearing thick socks you may need to take ½ a size up. When measuring your feet, always measure them whilst wearing the socks you intend to wear.

All of our shoes are displayed in UK sizes. If you've only got your US or European size, check out our size conversion tables to work out your UK equivalent.