Not too long ago, Harry and Sally decided they wanted to start running. Harry is a former high school football player who hasn’t done much in the way of fitness in the last 15 years, and Sally has decided to go from nothing to marathon, with virtually no previous running experience, in eight short months.
After my initial shock at their desire to start running, I suggested that they get fitted for the right shoes.
I’m a purist when it comes to buying running shoes. Runners have stores specifically tailored to them and their shoe buying needs… read “expensive shoes.” Putting it into non-running terms, imagine you are in the market for a new tattoo. You want a nice “I luv u, Mom!” on your arm with a fancy rose and maybe a pinup girl in a sailor’s cap. You could ask your friend Jack to do it. He has a staple gun, ink, and a lighter. Or you could visit a clean, sanitary tattoo parlor with an artist who has years of experience and a price tag to match. Do you cough up the extra cash or risk a Rorschach on your arm for the rest of your life? Or worse?
Shoe buying is similar. You could go to Foot Locker and buy “running shoes,” or you could get the personalized attention you need when buying something that will take you through hundreds of miles of training. You need a store like Body n’Sole.
One Sunday, Harry, Sally, and I went shoe shopping. Imagine their trepidation, walking into a running store, a foreign land for these two newbies who didn’t know what to expect. “I was very intimidated,” Sally said.
There are a few things to know to help ease fears on your first trip to Body n’Sole: bring the right gear; prepare to answer questions; be ready for a short trip on a treadmill; and allot for time to try on different shoes.
First, wear clean socks that you will regularly run in. If you don’t have the right type of socks, you can buy them there for the fitting. Harry purchased low riding running socks for about $8, that are light weight and wick away moisture. Sally chose to wear one of the socks the store provides. You can wear cotton socks if you like, but in the long run, the $8 is worth the expense for socks that allow your feet to breathe later on.
Once they had the right gear, Harry and Sally sat down with a shoe techie and talked about their feet. They discussed any pain they may have experienced while running, and the type of feet they have. Were they normal? Do they overpronate (i.e., the foot’s arch tends to collapse too much, putting pressure on the inside of the sole)? Or do they supinate, which puts pressure on the outside of the foot? For more information.
From there, Harry and Sally took turns on the treadmill, where they ran a few strides. Their feet were videotaped and examined by B n’S staff. “I was very self conscious about running on the treadmill to get evaluated,” Sally noted. “It ended up being no big deal at all.”
As it turns out, both Harry and Sally have slight overpronation and need moderate control shoes.
After their treadmill test, Harry and Sally tried on several pairs of shoes and walked around the store with them on. The decision? Harry chose last year’s model, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS9. Not to be outdone, Sally chose to one-up Harry with this year’s Brooks Adrenaline GTS10. The year doesn’t matter much. It is what fits best.
“They were very helpful and attentive,” Sally says of the B n’S staff. “It was very clear that they expected me to try on a variety of shoes, so I didn’t feel bad saying one didn’t feel right.”
Asked if she thinks she made the right choice in shoes, Sally said, “Yes! It was a little stressful choosing, because it came down to two shoes that both felt good. I should stress, that I’m still not running great distances, so we’ll see how they hold up.” Has she felt any pain? “The first time I ran, the sole of one of my feet hurt,” she said, “and I was really worried that I had picked the wrong shoes, but I haven’t had any problem since.” The reason for the pain, I suspect in my non-podiatrist opinion, is that Sally is using her feet in a way she hasn’t done in a long time. It’s supposed to hurt at first. If the pain had continued, I would have suggested a rethink on the shoe selection.
Harry, on the other hand, has pain that hasn’t gone away. Things were going great once he stopped looking at his new shoes and actually put them on. He had started a couch-to-5K program on his iPhone when he started feeling some pain. Pain below his right knee now has him sidelined. He writes, “I was able to run twice for C-5K week 3, but could barely walk on Thursday. I have rested it for four days now, but am still limping around. It also gives out periodically, so that my knee mildly hyper-extends. I may see my doctor this week about it, just to make sure that I haven’t seriously injured the meniscus.” Is it the shoes? I recommended he see his doctor to find out if his body might need a little help getting used to the workouts he is asking it to do.
Don’t get too discouraged, Harry. We’ll see you running soon!