For runners, shoes deserve much consideration

San Marcos Daily Record: "Of all the equipment a runner needs to purchase in a quest for fitness, the one item that is most important is proper fitting shoes.

Shoes vary in cost and fit and have enough variety that most runners can find a shoe that fits their running style. Shoes have anti-pronation, anti-supination, heel strikers, racing flats for fast runs and computer chips for the technology-inspired runners.

Runners can buy shoes for short runs and then have another pair for the longer runs and even some for dressing up to go shopping. Non-runners even buy running shoes because they are very comfortable and make walking around easier.

I was looking through a Reader's Digest the other day and saw a page on the latest and greatest new innovations on shoes. You won't find these shoes at the local discount store and will have to go to a specialty store that caters to runners and has high quality shoes.

The next shoe listed was the Spira. It has real springs in the soles of the shoe. The Z-coil shoe has visible coils on the outside that serve the same purpose. The claim from Spira is that they return 87 percent to 96 percent of energy from striking the ground.

Most shoes have a built-up heel so that when the foot hits the ground the force is absorbed and doesn't hurt the heel. But that energy is absorbed and not returned to the runner.

With the built-in springs in the heel of the Spira, the push back gives the runner a little help and will decrease fatigue and recovery time."