Recently I was walking through a classic San Francisco park over looking the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a perfectly crisp California day and frankly just a beautiful time to be alive. As I walked my pup through the trails I was being passed on all sides by commuting bikers and the early morning runners. The atmosphere felt electric and the people seemed alive. I thought to myself, Life is good. Then I heard it. Clump, clump, clump.  What is that? What is that awful sound? It was the WRONG shoes.  She is wearing some weird plastic clumpers. Life is not good. Totally the wrong freaking shoes. No, not another one. He has the wrong the shoes on too! These people, they couldn’t be?!? Could they all be running in the WRONG shoes.

What do you mean the wrong shoes? Shoes are just shoes, right? Wrong. So wrong. The best shoes could be wrong for one person and perfect for another. One young hot millennial could be wearing a $1,000 of Lululemon yoga tights and then try and save a few bucks by snagging knock-offs at Ross. Proper running shoes are the foundation of the healthy runner. Proper running shoes are the foundation of the fulfilled training plan and thus the foundation of life. Alright, maybe not life, but they are really important.

So here is the deal and listen up good. I will not see anyone at the 2017 Kauai Marathon and Half Marathon in the wrong shoes. I will not accept it.

Here is what’s going to happen. You are going to go to a proper specialty running store and you are going to make them watch you run. I understand that Kauai is lacking in the running store department, but next time you’re in Honolulu or frankly any other island then hit up the run store. Walk in there like you own the place and tell them that you want the most experienced shoe dog in the store to help you with some new running shoes.  They’ll know what you’re talking about. These wizards of footwear are going to size your foot, perform a stride analysis and even look at your stinky feet. Then they are going to give you a few options to run in. You are not going to pick the one with the best colors or the brand your friend runs in. I don’t care what your friend wears. You are not your friend. I only care what works for you. Next, you are going to run in multiple pairs and pick the pair that feel the best. Running shoes don’t “break in.”  That is total B.S. They should be good to go from day one.  If it feels crappy today, it’s going to feel really crappy at Mile 20. After you are properly sized, analyzed and fitted then you are going to make the investment and buy them right there. You are not going to leave the store and save $5 on Amazon prime.  You are going to support your local retailer because they just provided you with an amazing service, not to mention they saved you future money with the chiropractor. That is all. Now go and get the right shoes.