Easter typically marks the change to spring wardrobes.  The Easter fashion parade is an excuse to purchase a new suit of clothes with or without a bonnet.  More importantly might be a fresh pair of exercise shoes.  The tug of spring weather beckons the winter recluse into the warmth and budding beauty of the out of doors.  Consequently, athletic footwear sales boom as young and old venture into the sunshine.  This is the first of a three part series to help you become a wiser consumer when purchasing shoes for your activity of choice. 

In 1971, Bill Bowerman, the University of Oregon track coach, experimented with his wife’s waffle iron filling it with urethane batter creating the waffle sole and eventually. . .Nike.  The waffle sole was the beginning of a billion dollar industry in North America alone.  Who doesn't own a pair of athletic shoes?  Shoes are designed for a specific activity in mind--walking, running, trails, biking, racquet sports, cross training; the list goes on and on.  Some individuals, like the infamous Zola Budd, preferred au naturale, foregoing footwear altogether. Running barefoot might work for unique humans with perfect body mechanics that are born to run.  The majority of us need shoes constructed for our specific body type and individual peculiarities.   

I began a regular running routine in 1968 experiencing the growing pains during the infancy of the footwear industry. I remember trying on shoes that felt heavenly in the store. After just a few runs in them I suffered aching knees or hips, shin splints, or Achilles tendonitis.  Many shoes were passed onto friends while my pocketbook took the hit.  When I discovered a shoe that "worked" for me, I might find that it was discontinued—back to square one.  Salespersons might champion the attributes of a specific model indicating the most popular.  Seldom were they able to offer me the technical formula to determine my “Cinderella slipper”. 

Purchasing the custom shoe is the customer's responsibility.  It is easier today to make a wise choice based on basic criterion.  Part 2 will give you some tips so the bucks you spend won’t be multiplied by doctor’s bills due to ill-fitted footwear.