When I first started running, after the birth of my fourth child, I had some serious trust issues.
I wanna see before I believe
I didn’t trust myself to keep on running, so I didn’t invest in quality running shoes. Instead I dug around in my closet and found some sporty shoes I wore in highschool. They cost me about $10 bucks at the time. But they were seriously cute: white with little pink flowers. Granted, the white was plastic, but since I wasn’t very active during gym class it never bothered me.
You mean these old shoes are not suitable for running?
So there I was, about 10 years later, a mom of four kids, wearing my pink, plastic shoes. At first it was alright, because I had to start with 20 minute walks. But after a while my training program told me to run, and after about a month my knees started hurting real bad! So I did some searching on the internet, and soon found out the importance of the right running shoes.
Time to invest in some ‘real’ running shoes
Even though my trust in myself as a runner was still a little shaky, it had grown enough to invest in some ‘real’ running shoes. The guy in the store had me running on a treadmill and used a video. I was much impressed.
Gait analysis
I though videoanalysis of a person running was the best way to get the right shoes, but the guys at Northern Runner offer a different kind of gait analysis. They figure your feet don’t do the same thing while running on a moving belt as they do when you run on a hard surface. Which makes sense if you think about it. And I just love their slogan: ‘We’ll help you find your feet’!
Gait analysis the Northern Runner way
- They want to see your feet als nature intended: the lumps and bumps and how they change when you move around
- Then they ask you questions about recurring niggles and aches
- They look at the wear pattern of your current running shoes
- Using the shape of your feet they will pull out a selection of shoes for you to try. For example Vivo Barefoot Running Shoes.
- Once you’re wearing the shoe with a chosen sock they will check if there’s room enough for you feet to expand
- Then you can try them out at the rear of the shop where they have a 30 yards concrete corridor!
I don’t have a Nothern Runner store in my area, so I’ll have to make due with the videoanalysis.
How were your feet analysed to get you the right shoes?
