Mr n Mrs Run The Town: Simon Shops for New Running Shoes

Friday 22 August 2014

I read somewhere that the lifespan of any running shoes to be estimated at +/-800 km. My hardworking pair of Newton Gravity has achieved 900 km in the last 8 months. I was hoping for it to clock another 200 km in the next 4 months (i.e. participate in a 78 km run and a 21 km run in September, a 32 km run in October and another 42 km run in December). My wife, however, thought otherwise. She insisted that I standby another pair of running shoes.

Wifey : "What if your only pair of running shoes give way during your ultra? You running barefoot?"

Me : "Err....Yes, Ma'am!"

And thus! I went shopping for a new pair of shoes!

At first, I thought it would be an easy process as I intended to buy back the exact model or the upgraded model. I was so disappointed to find out that both the old Newton Gravity and the new Gravity III have been out of stocks for a while and the new stocks would only be available from October 14 onwards. That's too long a wait as I need to run-in my new shoes!

As I have running events in August and September, I have no choice but to shop for other brands that could meet my cardinal requirements.

My requirements for the new running shoes were actually fairly simple :

must be reasonably light weight (<10 oz),
reasonably cushioned and comfortable to wear,
not too loud so that other runners would not stare at my shoes (or me) for no reasons.

During my window shopping trip at Shop #1, the first pair that met my requirements was the SKECHER GoRun Ultra. The pair looked really pretty. With much reluctance, I rejected it as i found the mid-foot strike to be awkward and uncomfortable when I did a test run in it. It's a good pair of shoes. Very light weight, nicely design and trendy colours. Just unsuitable for my running style.

At shop #2, I asked the sales assistant to recommend me a pair of shoes that's light weight and to be used for long distance run. She immediately told me that there is no such thing as light weight shoes for long distance runs. I was astounded by her immediate response. I pointed to my Newton Gravity and told her that mine's light and I did a few long distance runs in it. She was dumbfounded. After some thinking through, she recommended me their lightest pair of running shoes in the shop - the Saucony Virrata 2 (See Runners World Review). I test-fitted the shoes and found it to be rather light weight and comfortable. It somehow fitted my running style too. Plus, the shoes design and choices of colours were great. I was happy.

In the end, I told the sales assistant that I would be buying 2 pairs of the same shoes in 2 different sizes (a pair of size 9 and another pair of size 9.5). She was taken aback by my intent again and gave me a "Are you sure?" look.

I do not blame her. She was oblivious about me preparing for my first ultra (which I think i should standby a pair that's a size bigger just in case my feet swell during the later stage of the run). Nevertheless, I went home happily with my new conquests - the 2 pairs of Saucony Virrata 2. With a total damage of S$209 for 2 pairs of running shoes, I thought that was a fairly good deal.