WARNING: The dumbing down of run specialty has begun. I was just approached by a potential customer who asked if we carried a specific stability shoe in size 8 B. No problem I said got it right here. If you dont mind my asking, I continued, why this specific shoe? Is this something youve had success with before? No she replied the expert at Dicks did a gait analysis for me and said this is what I needed. I purchased one pair but wanted a second. Now imagine the look of confusion on my face as I ask her exactly how they analyzed her gait. She said they watched her walk across a special walking pad. Told her she overpronated and then told her what shoes to buy. I did my best to compose myself while my brain began spinning like the robot from Lost in Space flailing its arms and shouting out Warning! Warning! Danger! Will Robinson! There is a distinct difference between a walking and running gait cycle. The most notable being that the Posterior Tibialis, the muscle responsible for maintaining the integrity of the arch, remains dormant during a walking gait and activates when we run. Its very common for us to observe someone pronate more while walking and then demonstrate a more neutral gait when they run. This particular customer was no different. After observing her Running gait, we felt she would be better served with a size 8 D neutral shoe, not the size 8 B stability she had just purchased. Now imagine the look on her face as she test ran a few models that fit and performed better for her specific needs. Unfortunately with companies like Dicks, Finish Line and Foot Locker forging their way into the Run Specialty channel, we are going to have a higher number of potential clients being mis-informed about the subject of gait analysis and shoe fitting. The dumbing down has begun. May God have mercy on our soles. (Notice how at the end I used the word soles instead of souls? Thats called a pun, you know, a play on words) :-)
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 18:11:40 +0000
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