I like to think that if my running shoes could talk they would say something like “you are so fast!” or “we make a great team!” but it would probably be more along the lines of begging for mercy or pleading with me to change my socks. Although I haven’t reached the point of crazy where I talk to my shoes, I know they “talk” to the world, simply by brand, color and style.

What do your running shoes say about you?

STYLE

HOKA ONE ONE (maximum support/cushion shoes)

  • “I like to take my running to extreme heights. Literally.”
  • “I don’t follow trends. While everyone else was going for less, I wanted more shoe, more cushion, more material, more, more, more! More is better, right?”
  • “I super size everything, why should my running shoe be any different?”

Vibram Five Fingers (minimal support or barefoot running)

  • “Only wusses wear shoes to run in. Glass don’t hurt.”
  • “Haven’t you read Born to Run?”
  • “If it works for the Kenyans…”

COLOR AND DESIGN

Day-Glo/Neon

  • “Look at me! Look at me! Please look at me!”
  • “Whatever the latest trend is, I’m all over it.”
  • “I like to embarrass my kids in every possible way with my running gear.”

Throwbacks/Vintage

  • “I don’t actually run. That’s just silly.”
  • “I would run in these but they’re one of the original waffle shoes from Nike. I also have the waffle iron that made them…I don’t use that either.”

Limited Edition (Disney, Boston, NYC, etc.)

  • “I’m so fancy.”
  • “No I haven’t actually run Boston, I just like the shoes.”

Old and Beat Up

  • “Grass stains help me run faster.”
  • “The shoe industry perpetuates the lie of needing new shoes every 300 miles. I like to go at least 600. Of course I see my physical therapist every 200.”
  • “I’m not buying new shoes until I start to like running.”

BRAND

Latest Version of (enter shoe name here)

  • “The Altra Zero Drop is so last fall.”
  • “Doesn’t everyone know about the Topo Athletic Magnify?”
  • “I wouldn’t be caught dead at a race in the 2014 model.” #IRunForFashion

What do you run in? What do your shoes say about you?

By Nichols