is that the right shoe……..

I just spent some time putting together a vid for a virtual clinic I’m instructing about shoes….go figure…..I’ll post the results somewhere here, but it’s an interesting topic.

it’s pretty easy to be flippant about the topic, it’s just a shoe ….but it’s not, but it’s also a frustraiting topic….getting people to understand what they’re running in…..that shoe isn’t magic, it’s not going to cure anything, it’s not make you a 2 hour marathoner, and it’s not going to last forever….

the most frustrating aspect of trying to match shoes to runners/customers is that, what people think the shoes are………I’ve had someone attempt to return a pair of shoes that they had for 2 years, and cannot understand why they’re shoes are falling apart and why they have shin splints, or plantar fasciitis…….shoes don’t last forever right, yes they’re expensive, but, well, you’ve used them…….some may get lucky and get 800 kilomtres out of a pair, but that’s rare…a year, nonsense…….me, 400K….it’s who and what they do in those shoes right?…..if you just use them to run on off road trails, and look after them…still, well, I still won’t guess..are you a 400lb linebacker, are you a 90lb figure skater?….that shoe will not have the same life span for each…..

the right shoe…..my view has changed a lot, or become more focus..very different shoes for different people for different reasons…..it’s a process, and you know what? you have to try them on and try them out…and running shoes only show their stuff when they are run in…..I am not a huge fan of ordering shoes on-line, or virtual gait analysis either, it’s gotta be in person, and it’s got to take time…..and the person selling you that shoe has to care, has to know their stuff…..and they’ve gotta want to sell the right shoe, not to just sell you a shoe and get you out of the store…you have to be able to return them, exchange them……

I’m kind of ranting here, but, well, I like what I do, and I want to the best for my customers, but it’s a partnership……and paitence, man, it takes that time..it’s a process….

shoe tech right now is amazing, but they’re still just shoes, running shoes..not washing the car shoes, not shoveling snow shoes, not a night of dancing shoes…running shoes……yeah, you can walk in them, but that shoe has a ton of tech in it to make running

a pleasure and to get you going….a bounce, an energy feedback, and more and more shoes are being created by and for runners……..stability, cushioning, track, trail, spikes, winter, traction, GORTEX, motion control…..so many things to consider….it just takes time, some knowledge…and experience…..

the video explans a lot……….and the other trick…you just spent $170 to $200+ on those shoes…don’t leave them in a closet……they were born to run!