How we recommend

Rules, not a mystery score

Mile Supply's recommendations come from a set of written rules that compare your answers with what we know about each product. Each product is ranked by a score built from those rules and adjusted for how much we know about the product. We don't show you that number. We show you what went into it: the reasons a pick matched are listed on it, with its main trade-offs. You can see this on a real example.

From your answers to your picks

1. 1

   We check we have enough to go on

   Each kind of gear depends on a few answers. If one of them is missing, we ask for it instead of guessing.

2. 2

   We rule out what your answers rule out

   Before anything is ranked, products are removed when your answers exclude them: a brand you told us to avoid, a shoe you asked us to keep out because it caused you discomfort, a shoe that isn't made in the width you need, a fuel product that conflicts with a dietary restriction you gave us, or anything out of stock.

3. 3

   Where you run decides which shoes we look at

   Road runners are shown road shoes and trail runners trail shoes. If you rank both, we look at both, led by the surface you run most, unless you tell us which surface your next pair is for. Each surface has to clear the bar in step 5 on its own, so you may see picks from only one.

4. 4

   We compare what's left with your answers, one rule at a time

   Each rule compares one thing you told us with one thing we know about a product. A match counts for the product. A contradiction counts against it, and the main ones are shown to you as trade-offs.

5. 5

   A pick has to earn the word personalized

   A product needs at least two matches that set it apart from the others in its category. Brand and price alone don't count. When a category can't meet that bar for you, we say so instead of filling the list.

6. 6

   The list stays short and varied

   You get up to three picks per category, and never two generations of the same model. When there are enough good matches, we also spread the picks across brands and types of product.

7. 7

   Every pick explains itself

   Each pick lists the reasons it matched, any trade-offs that apply to you, and, when we find good ones, alternatives worth considering.

Where product data comes from

Our catalog holds more than 1,000 products across 10 kinds of running gear. Product facts come from manufacturers and other published sources, and a pick links to its source where we have one. When a reason relies on a fact we haven't verified, it is marked (unverified). When we don't know something, it stays unknown: we don't fill gaps with guesses.

What we don't do

• We don't diagnose or treat injuries, and we don't promise to prevent them. If you tell us about a current injury, recommendations get more cautious, and that's as far as it goes. You can also ask us to keep that information private, and then it isn't used.
• We record what you save and dismiss. It doesn't change your recommendations yet.
• Your ZIP code never directly changes which products we recommend.