NEW BALANCE Running Shoes: Here's ONE Company That Still Care About Us BIGFOOTed runners!
Written: Feb 10 '01 (Updated Feb 22 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Tough enough to take the road and the big guy above 'em.
Cons: They make me want to overtrain they feel so good.
The Bottom Line: What you need in a running shoe if you are a big guy or anyone smaller.
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| Ed.Williamson's Full Review: New Balance 761 |
NEW BALANCE
Yes, the "us" I am referring to are those of us humans in that 1% of the human race who happen to be blessed with with large feet. I know, I know, before you start to joke about we people with big feet, just think: it's not polite to poke fun at those who are different. Hey, you may have a kid with feet like mine, or a husband, or a wife. We big-feeters are foot-i-capped in a society where the shoe sizes stop at size 12. How big are mine? 15 1/2, if you must know. But that's where the New Balance Company comes to the rescue. These folks have been making big tennis shoes and running shoes for big folks like me for years, and I, for one, am grateful!
It doesn't hurt that the New Balance 608s (similar to the 761 model) I bought recently look good, are comfortable, and are very durable. They make my morning runs at the mountain a pleasure. Not exactly like running on air, but close to it.
A few years ago I was jumping for a lobbed ball on the tennis court and when I came down sideways I dinged my ankle up pretty bad. Up until then I had been running 25 miles a week, but that sore ankle never got better and it stopped my running for several years. One day a friend who was a runner said "Why don't you try running with a neoprene ankle brace?" So I got one and tried it. Lo and behold, it worked. No pain. So I went out and bought some of these New Balance shoes and I've been back into running ever since. Last year I even did a few 10K races.
That exercise keeps my weight down when I stay with it and my health up and I couldn't do it without these shoes.
These shoes come in colors like white and gray, so car lights shine on them when I am running at night and that makes for safety. They have a terrycloth lining on the inside which means you don't even have to wear socks with them if you don't want to, but I always do. You probably won't hurt the skin of your feet if you don't wear socks though, it's just that socks protect the shoes from YOU as much as the shoes protect you from the ROAD. They are built of synthetic materials which really take the wear well.
I really like the fact that these shoes are strong. I am 6 feet, 5 inches tall and my weight fluctuates between 220 and 260 pounds. That's a lot of me to throw at those little old shoes down there on my feet. Every foot-fall exerts a humungous pounds-per-square-inch beating on them. But these shoes can take any thing you dish out to them and hold up well. Eventually, of course, like all shoes, you're gonna wear the back of the heel off if you have a stride like mine. But them's the breaks. All I can say is these shoes will last as long or longer than any others out there like the kind most people without huge feet wear. You can extend the heel life with stuff like Shoe-Goo of course, but that's up to you.
You can find New Balance shoes almost anywhere they sell sports shoes. You can get them at Big and Tall Man stores and through the catalog sales companies that cater to big guys. I like to get mine at outlet malls if I can.
I tip my hat to the New Balance Company because they have such a grand selection of footwear for people with big feet like mine. Oh, I know the other shoe companies have some at times in my size, but New Balance always seems to have a lot of them for me to choose from, so you'll understand why I tend to favor them. But you don't have to have big feet like mine to like them. If they are good shoes for a giant behemoth like me, imagine what they would be like for you if you are an average runner. It's a no brainer. And a good for-the-feet-er.
*****
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Ed.Williamson
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Member: Ed Williamson
Location: Way Out West, USA
Reviews written: 606
Trusted by: 315 members
About Me:
Fight 'em till Hell freezes over, then fight 'em on the ice!
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