I was running errands this morning, so I decided to buy a new pair of running shoes. Conventional wisdom in running is that you should replace your shoes every 500 miles, which for me is every 7-9 months. I tend to replace shoes about once a year. My current shoes were about 10 months old or so, but I’ve been having injury problems, so I decided to get some new shoes to see if I could help prevent injuries.

I decided to go to a local small running shoe store that is part of a NE Ohio chain – Second Sole. I like several things about Second Sole – it is close (about 10 miles away), it has close CVCA ties (the girls’ CC team coach works there and a former CC runner works there), and the store is for runners. No basketball shoes, no football cleats. Just running shoes and running stuff and the staff is made up of runners. So, I figured they would give me good advice and help.

When I got to the store, the CVCA coach was busy with another customer, but a very nice lady offered to help me. First, she told me to take off my shoes and roll up my pants so she could see me walk. I walked about 25 feet away and back, and she said she knew exactly what I needed. She asked for my size (ten and a half), and disappeared in the back room. I expected her to come out with a shoe to try on; she came back with four different brands. She had me try them on and walk about the store. To my amazement, she encouraged me to go outside and run around the parking lot. During the fitting, she brought out two more shoes for me to try. What fantastic service!

I finally decided on a pair of Saucony shoes that felt really good. Thus ended an era. I ran in Sauconys for over ten years until a few years ago. Saucony was not only made in the United States, but was made in Maine! I liked the shoes very much. Unfortunately, Saucony decided they could not compete and moved the factories to China, so a a few years a go I switched to New Balance. Cheap New Balance shoes are made in China, but at least the high-end running shoes are still made in the U.S. The New Balance shoes worked fine. I thought I would keep on buying U.S.-made shoes until I could not do so anymore.

That ended today. I’m afraid the sales rep did not even bring any New Balance shoes for me to try (the store only carried a few models anyway). I finally decided that someone who was very experienced in helping runners could help me pick shoes, so I let her help me to a foreign-made shoe. For where the shoe is made, I’m sad. The shoe itself felt very good on my 4.4 mile loop today. I don’t regret the shoe itself, and I loved the service I got at Second Sole. The sales rep helped other customers while I was trying on shoes, but she spent 30+ minutes with me to make sure I had the right shoe. I certainly will be going back to Second Sole again.