Hey Fiona
You should try a bit of barefoot running, get ur erse over here to Lagos next weekend and you can run barefoot with the Kids from Oshodi, they run in the
"Mayors Mini Marathon" every month in their bare feet, thats
13.1km (8.2miles) in ur bare feet, that the equivelant to running around the moss with no shoes on, some of these kids are as young as 7 and 8 too. The first time I ran with them I couldnt believe what I was seeing, at 3km this kid who didnt even reach up to my arm pit was running beside me and they didnt have any shoes on, and the best of it was I wasn't exactly hanging around either, that was a real eye opener for me.
Seriously though, you should get yourself a pair of
"Fingers" , they are about as close as I'd like to get to barefoot running, I've had a pair for just over 2 years now, and they are great, I've done a little bit of running in them and they are not too bad, you just have to build up very slowly with them as your ankles and feet and calves need to get used to the increased pounding on them. They are very comfortable for walking around in too, but you can run on the grass, on the sand, in the water, on the road and in the forestry with them so they are very versatile, the only thing is they are pretty expensive if you dont use them, I think they still come in about
£80 odd a pair which is pretty steep for something that makes ur feet look like a Gorillas feet.
I do think its Important that people have proper fitting shoes and if that means that novices have to go to places like Run 4 It to get advice then so be it, but 20 odd year ago we didn't have the likes of Run 4 It and gait machines and we managed to survive ok, even now ive still had the odd pair of shoes that have not been totally right for me, and as DJD has pointed out even the experts with their gait machines cant always get it right, they can only make a guess and even the right fitting shoe in one brand might not be the same as the right fitting shoe in another brand. My advise is find a shoe that you like, splash the boat out a bit and buy yourself another pair and then check the running press and net to see when they start to get discounted and then buy another 2 pair even if the first 2 pair aint worn out, 12 months after u buy them originally you'll get them at least half the price they were originally
go check out:-
http://www.sportsshoes.com for good discounted shoes, ive been buying from them for about 20 years now and their stock and service is very good
Weetoonplodder
From Hot And Sticky Lagos