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Welcome to resolution season!!! You know “This year I will get into shape starting January 1, blah, blah, blah.”
Clothes, equipment, videos and of course running shoes are all a part of the “back to fitness” promise many of us make each year. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle said “Americans spent 6.46 billion dollars on running shoes in 2012 and those numbers are only going up as prices increase and more people try to get fit.”
Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not how much you spend on your shoes or even how cute you look in your shoes that matter, it’s how your shoes fit that can be the difference between success and failure as you head our to run your way back to your college jeans(yes, I am still saving mine, despite the fact they they’re stone washed Girbauds).
Fit means more than “I’m a size 13, so I need a size 13,” when you truly get fit for your running shoe there are several factors to take into account: how many miles do you plan on running in a week, what does your gait look like, any injuries you have had, and a few other factors that come into play.
Gait– Gait is a big one. Gait is how we move and how our feet strike the ground, it is different for every runner. What may be a great shoe for your running partner, may be wrong for you, based on your gait.
Color– Color has nothing at all to do with the quality of your shoe. Let me say this again- Color has noting to do with the quality of your shoe. I know those cute Nike’s go great with your Lululemon running tights, but they also might land you in a pretty walking cast if you’re not careful. Color has nothing at all to do with the quality of your shoe!
I know this can seem a little overwhelming, however getting fit for a running shoe is actually as easy as going to a running store. Big box stores generally don’t employee or train the kind of experts it takes to fit you properly for a running shoe, they have too much inventory and have to be “Jack’s of all trades and masters of none.”
Running stores on the other hand are owned by and employee…runners! These runners, know the pain of a bad fit and are usually trained on how to fit you properly for the shoe that will meet your goals and training style.
Fleet Feet Sports uses their ‘FITlosophy’ it instills in its employees to share with its customers. We covered the “color thing” and the gait thing, which is something they do, they also watch you walk barefoot, us a fancy thing called a Bannock Device, video tape you running and oh, yea talk to and listen to your feedback to make sure you leave with the right shoe.
Runners High and Tri. in Palatine, Road Runner Sports, Naperville Running Company and several other quality running stores in the Chicago area all make “fitting” your running shoe a part of their sales process.
As a side note, Fleet Feet, Runners High and Naperville are all in the top 50 running stores in America, so when you go in you are talking to some of the best.
Here’s the best part, it’s free! Yup, part of “the deal.” All good running stores operate under the philosophy that if you leave happy, run happy, then you will return.
So, as you head out to stock up on your New Years fitness gear, make sure that getting fit for your running shoe is the first step in your new healthy new year. Your feet, knees and back will thank you.
