I’ve always been a shoe girl. While I buy most of my clothes from thrift shops and never turn down a quality hand-me-down, if there is any part of my wardrobe I am willing to spend money on (when I have it), it’s shoes.

There is no outfit a pair of red patent leather heels or nude wedges can’t fix, but as most women who love shoes know, using them as an accessory means we don’t always make the best decisions when it comes to wearing ones that are good for our feet.

Despite occasionally making poor life choices involving high-heels, I do understand the importance of proper footwear when it comes to running.

What I didn’t understand when I started this program was how to pick that proper footwear for the training I would be doing.

When I began training in February I was wearing a pair of Nike Frees I bought in the states last year.

While they are great shoes for a lot of things, like cross training, short runs and indoor workouts, I soon realized that the minimalist shoe wouldn’t provide me with enough support for my long runs.

I knew that a good running shoe was going to be necessary as I started putting on the miles but I didn’t actually know that much about why and which kind would be best for me.

All I knew when I walked into Gord’s Running Store was that I had started feeling pain in my knees Gordsand ankles when I ran and even occasionally was getting shin splints, even though I wasn’t training that hard yet.

One of our program co-ordinators sent me to Gord’s Running Store, a locally owned business and a longtime supporter of the UofC Marathon Training Program.

I called Gord and he told me that if I came by with my most worn pair of runners and my thickest pair of running socks, he would be able to help me out.

After taking a quick look at the tread and wear and tear on my old shoes, it didn’t take him long to figure out that I run slightly pronated, meaning I tend to roll my feet inwards when I run, which was probably causing some of my leg pain.

Gord started out the fitting process by having me put on my old Nike’s and observing how I walk and run in them. He explained that how you run influences what kind of shoe is best for you just as much as how far you will be running in them. Different shoes are made for different types of runners.

He then brought out about five different pairs of shoes in my size and I tried each one on and noted how they felt when I ran while Gord watched how my feet rolled as I walked in them. After trying out a few more pairs based on which of the first batch of shoes felt and looked the best, I began to feel the difference between the shoes that kept my feel level and straight and the ones that didn’t.

MirrorShoesWe soon narrowed it down to two pairs of shoes, so Gord had me try one on each foot to compare the difference. After a few quick laps back and fourth in front of the store I settled on the pair of Saucony Ride Sevens in a size 8 (they are pictured in the header on this site).

While I normally wear a size 7 or 7 ½, Gord assured me the extra room would be needed on my long runs. He was right.

Despite the shoes feeling a bit big at first, I now know they were perfect. I have been running in them for a few months and despite the many aches and pains I’ve felt through this process, my feet have escaped quite unscathed. It’s easy to underestimate how much your feet will swell over the course of a three hour run. Sizing up my runners has probably saved my feet from a lot of pain.

I am currently hunting down a second pair of these shoes to keep for when I wear my current pair out. Since the new Ride 8’s are already out that is proving to be more difficult then I thought. While the Ride Eights are quite pretty, they just didn’t seem to fit me as well as the Sevens do (see, I am learning, function over looks!).

I know walking into an athletic store and facing the never-ending wall of shoes can be super intimidating so my best advice when looking for your next shoe is to visit a specialized running store. There are several different shops throughout the city where the owners and staff are runners too. The advice you get from someone who lives and breaths running will be far more valuable than anything I could write here or than you could get at some big chain stores. Even if you have to drive a little further to get there, it will be worth it!

Decisions, decisions...
Decisions, decisions…

P.S. Despite my new-found shoe knowledge, I am still not giving up my heels. I didn’t work this hard for these runners calves not to show them off occasionally!