I'm not a runner but I am a hiker and what I learned was to buy resoleable boots (obviously this opinion is of no value to runners). There are lots of decent midpriced boots but all have the soles glued on. Typically they don't even last 1000 miles before they wear out and need replacement. The problem is that by then they have adjusted properly to my foot! Now i've had the same boot for almost a decade, having been…
Brand recommendations? The last three half hight hiking shoes I’ve bought have fallen apart in months...
Yes, they are heavy, but they protect me from all sorts of absurd trail problems (ice, rocks, mine tailings, "punji sticks", weird grades and rock edges, etc). The stiffer sole prevents arch fatigue.
(Trick, which I did first for my off the shelf Asolo boots: I had the cobbler take them apart and put in a device that was basically a plastic half pipe with a flat plate at one end. The plate went above the boot sole and under the internal sole (under my foot) and the half pipe ran up the back of my ankle. Gave be a lot of additional stability on uncertain ground and prevented pronation). Even those Asolos were only about $300 and lasted a few years; I had the sole repaired at about 400 mi and then tried again, fruitlessly, after another couple of hundred. But they were super comfortable.
I had my boots custom made from a guy I met through my (then) local camping store in the Prenzlauer Berg. Cost about 1000 Euros. Sounds like a lot but on a per mile basis they have been cheap and they fit my feet like a glove.
Your best bet would be to talk to your local cobbler (what repairs can they make?) and your camping store because you need a local network who can support your boot. Also Dave Page in Seattle is THE GURU hiking boot cobbler and may recommend something. I have found the uppers of Asolo and Vasques boots to be outstanding, and I use a pair of modified Asolos as my jungle boots.
Oh, and despite what I said about hiking "shoes", I did hike from yosemite to the desolation wilderness (tahoe-yosemite trail) in Chaco sandals which have no ankle support. I wouldn't do it again, and all my toes ended up bloody, but it was actually pretty good.