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In this episode, I continue my phone call with Miriam who wonders if she may one day qualify for the Boston Marathon. Her current performance time is far from a Boston qualifying time. I think she can qualify and I explained why in the last episode. This part of the conversation moves on to other…

Miriam and I had a nice phone call about running. She’s a writer who’s currently based in Philly. If you read the New York Times bestselling memoir, “A Journal for Jordan,” you may remember a character named Miriam—that’s her. Miriam’s main question for me is: Can I qualify for the Boston Marathon? The problem is…

The part of a technical running shoe that you are likely to feel the most is the part underfoot, which is called the midsole. Think of the midsole as the foundation that the rest of the shoe is built on. Midsoles are most commonly made from relatively soft plastics like thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and ethylene…

Disease is a leading cause of foot numbness. Morton’s neuroma, diabetes, Chiari Malformation, tarsal tunnel syndrome, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and mononeuropathy all list foot numbness among their symptoms. The following quote from a newsletter of the National Institutes of Health gives sound advice: “Health problems can also affect the feet. Lack of feeling in your feet…

Competitive runners have always wanted lightweight running shoes and manufacturers have always fulfilled that desire. There is some evidence that heavier shoes reduce the running speed achieved in lighter shoes. Young, competitive, male runners, who run the 5K in less than 20 minutes, were observed wearing lightweight shoes and heavier shoes. The later slowed them…

Philadelphia Magazine included Run Shoe Store in an article about local running shoe stores. We are the running shoe store for people who live in Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Port Richmond, and Old City. But we get customers from as far away as Scranton. Here’s why: Selection The only shoe that you can trust is the…

The folks at Philadelphia Magazine mentioned me in an article titled, “Running Coaches Around Philadelphia Who Can Help You Cross Your Next Finish Line.” This is the story of how I became a running coach. 1996 Atlanta Games After having some achievements in high school and more in college, I was invited to train with…

The great majority of our customers wore the wrong size before they came to Run Shoe Store. When shopping for shoes, they would pick something that looked cool and then would try it on in different sizes until it didn’t hurt. They would start with the size that matched their non-athletic shoe size, and then…

We want to get it right. Before now, that meant knowing when to leave you alone and when to offer help. It meant measuring, selecting, testing, and listening until we found the most comfortable shoe in the store for you. It meant never rushing and never selling. We still do those things because that’s what…

Weight on the midsole causes a shoe to die, whether the forefoot or the heel strikes the ground first. Midsoles are thin and pliable. They are commonly made from about 2/3 of an inch of a material called ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), which is soft enough to be completely rolled up. Standing on a midsole…