A Visit to the Running Store

In my town, there's a running specialty store. My son and I stopped in last night, mostly as a social visit. The employee who I most wanted to see was not there, but the manager was there, selling a pair of shoes to a guy about my age. The visit turned into an overly long gabfest, with, I believe, the other runner leaving feeling pretty good about his level of support and my having recommended him to one of the three clubs I'm a member of.

In the course of the conversation, it came out that this runner got involved on a dare, and got bitten by the bug. He had some minor foot issues, and needed shoes that would work with his orthotics. He wound up buying a pair of Nike Structure Triaxs, shifting out of New Balance 991's. His comment was that the Nikes felt like slippers. I wore Triaxs a couple of years back, but after Lydiard's input came to regard them as inflexible foam blocks. I'm frightened to know what 991's are like, since these felt like slippers. (Now, Nike may have made big changes over the last couple of years, but I doubt it.)

I've said it before, I'm a big fan of local running stores. They'll fit you. They'll try to take care of you if you have a problem. They support local races and events. And most give discounts to local club members. It's usually worth the small premium to buy there, and I always recommend it over the mail order alternative.

Well, you know what they say, "Different strokes, for different folks."