Running Shoe color for BCT

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WPDAD2026

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Feb 5, 2022
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Are there specific colors of running shoes required for BCT? Or are they allowed to bring whatever color running shoes they want? There weren’t exact specifications on the “Boot Memo.” Thanks
 
My wife shared that on the Moms Facebook page they recommended buying some type of bright or high impact color for running shoes. Not because it makes any difference for running, but because it makes it easier for the moms to pick them out in the thousands of pictures shared during the summer and from R-day. Distinctive shoes will stand out in the pictures. ;)
 
I am going to concur with the show color - if your child will allow it! I had a plebe at USMMA last year and often only found him bc of the blue logo on his shoes (They had to have close to all white!). My plebe this year has worn nothing but plain black running shoes for years now - we'll see if I can get him to allow an identifying feauture!
 
There's no specified or required color, it has to be relatively new. It is quite hard to find plain-looking running shoes these days. It is safer for runners to be truly visible thus colors are bright and attention-catching. DS managed to find a more understated (but still bright) blue new pair for WP, but his regular running shoes right now are blazing orange in color.
 
Ditto. I could always find the boys from the running shoes!!
 
General catch-all advice for everything military training related:

Don't stand out. Don't be flashy. You WILL get made fun of, at least in my experience, for having a standout fit. A big thing that the Army will install in us is that we aren't individuals, and at least in enlisted BCT they don't take kindly to individualism.

Obviously WP is different, but I would still air on the side of caution.
 
Unless you are the national title holder for mid-distance running or something like that...
 
nomad556 said:
General catch-all advice for everything military training related:

Don't stand out. Don't be flashy. You WILL get made fun of, at least in my experience, for having a standout fit. A big thing that the Army will install in us is that we aren't individuals, and at least in enlisted BCT they don't take kindly to individualism.

Obviously WP is different, but I would still air on the side of caution.
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This point is well taken and I generally would agree. However, in the case of running shoes at West Point specifically, this is not an issue. On the list of things that will get your new cadet/plebe attention at West Point, the color of their shoes is nowhere near the top. The advice about bright colors from the moms groups is spot on. Given that my wife scanned and zoomed in on about a million pictures during Beast last summer, find a running shoe that you can pick out if you want to increase the odds of finding them. If you don't care about that, then by all means get a more "traditional" color.
 
USMAZoo98 said:
This point is well taken and I generally would agree. However, in the case of running shoes at West Point specifically, this is not an issue. On the list of things that will get your new cadet/plebe attention at West Point, the color of their shoes is nowhere near the top. The advice about bright colors from the moms groups is spot on. Given that my wife scanned and zoomed in on about a million pictures during Beast last summer, find a running shoe that you can pick out if you want to increase the odds of finding them. If you don't care about that, then by all means get a more "traditional" color.
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Fair and, just to clarify, this is from an enlisted point of view. I was unaware BEAST was different in that regard so thanks for letting me know :)
 
nomad556 said:
Fair and, just to clarify, this is from an enlisted point of view. I was unaware BEAST was different in that regard so thanks for letting me know :)
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No worries. I never wore flashy running shoes in my life. When my son got selected my wife went crazy over the shoes to get him because all the moms insisted on what we should buy him to find him, as if that was more important than the point of the shoe in the first place. We let our son choose, and he picked grey and white. The wife was not pleased.
 
I was at WP yesterday. Saw many color shoes ( Non Flashy). Looks like it is accepted too have moderate color shoes.
 
USMAZoo98 said:
No worries. I never wore flashy running shoes in my life. When my son got selected my wife went crazy over the shoes to get him because all the moms insisted on what we should buy him to find him, as if that was more important than the point of the shoe in the first place. We let our son choose, and he picked grey and white. The wife was not pleased.
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Yeah, I'm a varsity track/xc athlete. People that buy shoes for the design and not the practicality tend to be pretty miserable.
 
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