Well its been long overdue but I can finally say that I now have proper running shoes!   I’ve had two Running Room gift cards that I’ve been holding onto since my birthday in April I know I know “What was I thinking??”!  Part of the wait has been my own laziness part of it (this summer) has just been finding the time.  Well I finally picked a time!  The wife and kids were off to Canada’s Wonderland for the day and I had a little bit of free time.  I jetted over to the Running Room to “quickly” get some shoes.  I say quickly because I thought I’ll just pop in try on a few shoes and be outta there!  Boy was I wrong!  As I was about to learn selecting a real running show is not something to be taken lightly!

The salesman at the Oshawa store was amazing!  He spent all the time needed (45mins- 1hr)  with me to ensure I was getting the right shoe!  It started with him asking me questions about how my feet hit the ground when I ran, then looking at how my un-socked feet contacted the floor when standing and finished with him watching me walk though the store.  The Running Room also has an in-website app to help you with your shoe selection however I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re a novice like me and don’t know a lot about what you need.

So after his assessment he determined I needed to pick shoes from the yellow category (or very little support) I think the means I have good feet and mechanics? lol

Once your category is selected the fun starts!   You can proceed to try on some shoes!  I first selected a pair of New Balance shoes since I am in love with the Run Disney New Balance shoes and my wife has a pair already.  I was quickly disheartened, however,  as soon as I put them on I found them to be too tight across the top of the middle of my foot.  Something that could not be corrected by going up a size as well as getting the wide version.  I tried so hard to find a way to make them work but it just wasn’t happening and I know that if I was going to run a half marathon I basically need to feel like I wasn’t wearing shoes at all!  So I moved on.  I proceeded to try on every shoe in the store that was in my size and my support category. I wanted to make sure I had THE best shoe for my foot shape.  None really seemed to make me happy.  They all seemed to have some sort of issue: too narrow, too wide enough, not enough around the mid-foot or just didn’t feel “right” 

THEN he brought these out!

WOW!  I fell in love as soon as the box was opened!!  Slight background info on me if you don’t already know; I am of Dutch heritage which means orange is a really huge colour for me!  SO needless to say Asics couldn’t have picked a better colour for this shoe!  I put them on and the experience was even better!  As the name of this model suggests (Gel Cumulus) they were like walking on a cloud!  The gel technology that is added to the soles of these shoes is the most comfortable feeling I’ve had with a shoe.  Laced them up and the shoe wrapped perfectly around my foot; no special lacing or tying required.  I walked around the store wearing them for a good 10-15 mins to ensure I wasn’t just wowed by the colour and they actually truly were the perfect shoe for me!  SOLD!

I have since run over 15k in these shoes and have never felt better on my feet!  I love the reflective striping they have used to keep me safe in my after dark running!  I love that my feet and heals are never sore due to the gel in the sole!  I love the colour! I love to say that I love all the other technological features (scroll down and click quick specs)  of the shoe but I have not been running long enough yet to really feel those features or notice any difference from another shoe.

After about 9 months of running in totally improper shoes and thankfully without injury I have replaced my ancient and I mean ancient Nike shoes with these bad boys!

I am looking forward to running many more miles in these shoes as well as my upcoming 15k RBC Run for the KIds as well as the #WineDineHalf and #PrincessHalf.

So tell me: Have you found the perfect brand of shoe for you?  Have you had your gait analysed?  What do you like about your running shoes?

#KeepSmilin 🙂