As the month of January starts to draw to a close many of you will have, hopefully, found a new lease of life and like thousands of others before you a lot will have taken to the streets for some jogging as your means of keeping fit. No doubt you will have spent long and hard picking out your training kit for these runs. Some of you may just have laced up a pair of trainers & gone for it.
But how many of you took the time to think of the implications of not having the right footwear could do to not only your long term success but also your feet`s health?
I myself started running again not more than 18-24 months ago after a number of years out of the loop & just concentrating on gym work. When I did start again I found it was a minefield out there when it came to getting the right footwear. After a number of pulls, aches and tenderness in the lower limbs it was suggested that I get my gait analysed which I dully did and issues where found and corrected with the right footwear.
Recently I had to have my gait rechecked because of noticing my foot strike when running was different and my trainers did not feel right on my feet. I went back again to where I had initially had my feet checked because of the help they had given the first time.
The whole experience that the shop assistants gave in not only testing my running, the knowledge and information they passed on but most importantly, for me, the patience they showed when I went through a good 12 pair of trainers before I was 100% happy with what I had on my feet was nothing short of exceptional.
It was an experience very few shops in UK ever deliver. None of the pressure sales tactics you get when going into an electrical store for a new television only to have the assistant hit you with unbelievable amounts of jargon on why you`ll need a new Bluray DVD player to take full advantage of the picture quality. And let us not forget that old chestnut of extended warranties “because you never know what might go wrong”. And it was nothing like the experience I had at another running store when I had my gait checked with the assistants being only too kind to help my every whim until I said I wanted a little time to think about the purchase and you could see the enthusiasm drain from their faces right before your very eyes.
If only we had more shops and individuals in those shops like they do at SportsShoes.com then a lot more people who are new to running would be more inclined to get regular gait check ups, get the correct trainers for their feet and enjoy the whole experience, as much as I did, without feeling that they don`t belong or are being feed a load of misinformation because the assistant is only after a sale.
SportsShoes.com
Hall Ings
Bradford
West Yorkshire
BD1 5SD
Phone:01274 530530Fax:01274 532222
Steven. A. Barlow© 2011