Technology and The Art of Running/Walking Shoe SelectionBy Mike Shuman Shu's Idaho Running Company For those of you old enough to remember, picking out a pair of running shoes used to be
pretty straightforward. There were Keds and PF Flyers. Real athletes (or “wannabes”) wore
Converse. As for the design, that was even easier: runners wore low tops, basketball players
wore high tops. Sure, if you were on a track team you got some fancier footwear, but for
the “non-competitive” runner, the only real “fit issue” was the size of your feet.
 With the beginning of the running boom in the 1970s and the introduction of new shoe manufacturers, like Nike, the world of running shoes changed dramatically. In sharp contrast to the good ol’ days, today’s running shoes offer a wide gamut of “design options” based on considerations such as cushioning, stability, motion control, racing, and terrain.
Today, the technology behind the running shoe makes the Apollo space program look low- tech. The good news for runners is that all this technology makes it possible to select the optimal shoe for each individual physiology and running style.
The bad news is the performance shoe technology has so far outstripped the average
runner’s ability to apply it to his or her feet that the selection process has never been more
haphazard. For most of us, the reality of buying a pair of shoes is that we walk into a mass
merchandiser, find the coolest looking pair of shoes on sale, see if they fit, then walk out
the door and onto the pavement. A week or so later we wonder why our knees are aching.
Great shoe, bad fit!
Smart runners have long appreciated the importance of fit in purchasing a pair of shoes – a
consideration that is the single biggest reason for the success of specialized shoe retailers.
According to Mike Shuman, owner of Shu's Idaho Running Company on State Street and a
veteran marathoner, “Our motto has always been “we sell fit”. “We don’t expect a customer
to walk into our store and randomly find the perfect shoe. It is our job to make sure that
they do.” For Shuman and his staff, this means applying their knowledge of performance
footwear to the individual characteristics of the runner: their size, the type of running they
will be doing, the wear patterns on pervious shoes and other specifics.
Last Updated: 06/18/2008
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