Racing flats? Aren’t those only for the elite athletes who care about seconds coming off their time and fight for a win? Why would someone like me, a beginner runner who was seriously obese a mere 5 months ago, want to run in racing flats designed for the top performance athletes? Why? Because I am actually pretty close to the top of my class, I finished in the top 4% at my last race, as amazing and impossible as it might sound. Plus I wanted to be sure that there is nothing for me to blame other than myself if I get an abysmal result.

First, I started looking at various racing flats on-line from different manufacturers and I had to conclude that there are about a dozen or so perfectly fine racing flats out there but most of them are made with not only very little cushioning, they are racing flats after all, but they also lack support which would be an issue for a mild overpronator such as myself.

Pronation is the process where your ankle buckles inward upon impact, aka heel strike. To offset this buckling shoe manufacturers make the inside part of the midsole from a harder material, called the medial post, than the outside so it presents more resistances and forces the feet to stay level as they roll forward to the ball of the feet for push off. With the exception of a select few, running flats lack this heavier material on the inside of the midsole.

After research and some recommendations from on-line message boards I have found three shoes that were going to fit the bill:

• Asics GEL-DS Racer 8
• Saucony Grid Fastwitch 4
• Brooks Racer ST4

All three shoes are running flats designed with a medial post to provide some stability in such a lightweight shoe. I went to the LRS (Local Running Store) but they didn’t have any of the three shoes in stock or available. So I went across the street to the other LRS in town, how convenient, and they had all three shoes on display. I asked for a sample from all of them. They only had a half size smaller in the Asics than my size, they had none of the Saucony in my size and they had the Brooks in my size. Both the Asics and the Brooks actually fit my foot, but the Asics felt a bit too tight in the heel area while the Brooks felt just right.

The assistant also brought out a Brooks T6 Racer which is a true racing flat for neutral gait. I have tried it on but it felt too tight on the sides. So I settled on the Brooks Racer ST4 which felt like a great shoe. But this is where things got interesting. We went over to the treadmills and they made me run on them with the new ST4 on. The guy said that my left foot actually was suppinating now, the ankle was rolling outwards instead of rolling inwards or tracking straight. He said even the mild support of the ST4 was overkill for my now neutral gait. I didn’t believe him. I had to get a second opinion. I also went to the car and brought in my trusty MR1224s with 280 miles on them and my thin running socks.

The second shoe fitter said the exact same thing. I was clearly wearing too much support and I needed neutral shoes. They also watched me and videotaped my feet while running with a slow motion camera in the various shoes. The rolling of my left ankle was clearly visible and it looked the worst in my MR1224s. They said that my MR1224s are pretty worn down and it makes matters worse but I would most definitely need a neutral shoe. They were actually surprised that I didn’t get shin splints in my stability shoes. So I tried on the Brooks T6 Racer again, this time with my thin running socks, and the darn thing fit like a glove.

I ran in them on the treadmill and my suppination was gone. I was tracking as if I was on rails. They were clearly the racing flats for me. So I bought them. In obnoxious red. That was the only color choice. I really don’t understand the manufacturers and the lime green, bright orange or obnoxious red colors of all racing shoes. The sales guy said “If you’re wearing racing flats chances are you are one who want to be noticed”. I much prefer the blue on white look myself, thank you very much. But I had no choice so I took home my new ruby slippers, the Brooks T6 Racers.

I couldn’t wait until next day so even though I already ran my 3 mile easy run at lunch I went out and ran another 2 miler in the new shoes. They felt great. They are super light, 6 oz each, half the weight of my MR1224s. My easy run clocked in at an 8:00 min/mile pace which is the fastest I had ever run easy miles. Today I ran a 30 minute tempo run in them and I have clocked a 7:03 min/mile (4:23 min/km) pace for 3 miles (5km) in the middle. Obnoxious or not, these babies are on fire!

So today I had another issue I had to deal with. I had two brand spanking new pairs of MR1224s sitting in my closet. One had 10 miles on it, the other one hasn’t even left the box. I bought them two moths ago on sale and I felt pretty awesome about it. And now, 2 months later they’re no good for my feet. The receipt was long gone. I tried my chances and I managed to return them to Academy for store credit. I’m sure I’ll find a way to blow through $140 at Academy in the near future.

I also went back to my LRS today to pick up my goodies bag and bib for the Saturday race and while I was there I bought a new neutral trainer for my runs. I bought a pair of the Brooks Ghost 2. They are lightweight and feel super comfortable on my feet. I can’t wait to take them out for a spin tomorrow for an easy 3 miler just before the race. I have always been a New Balance guy but these Brooks shoes sure feel pretty damn nice! Hopefully they will last and I’ll be able to run injury free in them.

As to why my gait has changed from a mild overpronator to a neutral one in 2 months I can only speculate. I had a gait analysis done 2 months ago, I have seen the video, I was clearly a mild overpronator back then. I think the change has to do something with the fact that I’m 25 lbs lighter now so my feet are getting a good bit less stress and force on impact. I think it also has something to do with my feet muscles and ligaments getting stronger over the past two months providing more support on their own. The bottom line is, don’t invest in expensive shoes, not even on sale, when you’re new to running or you’re in the process of severely changing your body composition as your running gait might very well change rendering the shoes wrong for your new and changed running gait.