Buying running shoes
January 7, 2008 11:23 am General, runningJ5 had a good experience buying runners which has prompted me to pimp my own favourite running store with the story of how I bought my last pair.
I arrived in Spode after having a relatively bad experience buying runners that weren’t suitable for my feet & gait. They sponsor lots of the local races around Lyon, so I knew that they were well suited to suggest shoes for running.
On arrival, I was taken in, was asked to show my old shoes, which were examined closely, and then a couple of pairs were produced.
What happened next was the big surprise for me. The shop assistant asked me if I’d brought socks. Bemused, I said that I hadn’t, and he offered me a pair. I thanked him and said that I had running socks at home.
“You don’t want to try them out?” he asked. And suddenly I understood. Putting them on in the shop and walking around just wasn’t going to give me an idea of what it was like to run in them. So I put on a loaner pair of socks, and headed off out of the store with the new runners on my feet for a 5 minute run. Repeat with the second pair. Both excellent choices, I went with the Vomero 2 from Nike, which had excellent ankle support and really great spring in its step.
So like John, great service, expertise and products, with a surprising touch, means that I’ll be getting sports shoes there until I can’t run any more – and I’ve been telling everyone about the store that lets you test drive your runners ever since.
January 8th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Hey Dave,
I too have had a good experience in buy running shoes, here in Dublin. I was recommended to go to Mick Dowling’s world of sport in Terenure. You might not recognize the name, but Mick was an irish boxer and is a regular on RTE Sport.
I’d already researched what kind of shoe I’d need by looking into what the various terms relating to gait etc. meant. Luckily, I don’t require any special support.
Being a large build Mick recommended a shoe that matched my requirements and would have good cushioning. I went with the Nike Pegasus. Man was I happy. They lasted me ages (as I fell out of my routine over the summer) but am back at it regularly for a few months now just got my second pair.