Smart shoes keep pain at bay | Business

Finding the right athletic shoes and size has gone high-tech. The well-trained staff leaves nothing to chance at Road Runner Sports, a new athletic shoe store at Casas Adobes Plaza.

No longer are feet measured with a metal Brannock device, which squeezes your feet to find the proper width and length. This method is much more sophisticated.  

“Road Runner Sports is a little bit different of a shoe shopping experience,” store manager Christopher Krantz said. “We’re dedicated to getting you the perfect fitting shoes.”

The process begins in the Fit Zone with a series of questions. What are you using the shoes for? Running? Pickleball? Trail running? Basketball? It makes a difference because there are shoes designed for just about every activity. They also ask if there’s been a change in weight or activity. Are there any injuries? How often will you wear the shoes? How many miles will you put on that shoe in a week?

Then, customers walk on a treadmill while a salesperson watches. The object is to perform a gait analysis. After that, customers step on a computerized floor device that performs a 3-D analysis of their feet. Then, staff can mold a custom insole that conforms to customers’ feet. The entire fitting process takes about 7 to 10 minutes. Customers then go to the other side of the store, where the shoes are displayed. 

“Then you’re over here, able to try on shoes,” Krantz said. “We can make a proper recommendation because there are neutral shoes, stability shoes depending on if you over pronate or supinate when you walk, where if you didn’t know that you could wind up with a stability shoe and if you didn’t need that it could actually be more harmful than good for you.”

Pronate means that when you walk your weight tends to be carried on the inside of the foot. Supinate means weight is carried on the outside of your foot.

This is all done in bare feet, but the proof that the investment of time and money is worthwhile is in the comfort of your shoes. They should feel like home from the moment you step into them. 

“That’s what our mission is, to get you that perfect fitting shoe and we have all of the tools to do so,” Krantz added. “That 3-D scan shows us the width of your foot, your arch height, the width of the ball, your true fit length, which is going to determine what size shoe.”

The staff trained for a few weeks in Phoenix before the store opened so they would be able to explain and use the technology.

Then it’s time to try on shoes, but which ones? There are a plethora to choose from.

“We have men’s and women’s walking and running shoes,” Krantz said.

Here’s where it gets high-tech again.

“There are shoes that actually have a nylon plate or a carbon plate, which is like a race day shoe,” he added. “That shoe actually propels you in a forward motion. That would absolutely make a difference.”

Krantz said technology is paving the way for the best results. 

“We’re in an era of super shoes,” he said. “Lots of people are breaking records because of the technology in these shoes.”

There are also cross-training shoes, pickleball shoes, court shoes and track spikes. There are even trail running shoes that act as a kind of hiking shoe with a sturdy sole that works to keep the wearer stable.

Brands include Asics, Brooks, Nike, New Balance, Saucony and On.

Even socks have gone high-tech. At Road Runner Sports, athletes (and non-athletes) will find short socks that are the gold standard. The Ultimate Sock has dual layers to wick moisture away from the foot. It also has a compression bend to improve blood flow and extra padding on the heels and balls of the feet. It’s made with a bamboo/carbon fiber mix to keep odors down.

The employees find satisfaction in helping customers find the right size and shoe.

“I like helping people not be in pain by putting them in good shoes,” store associate Thomas Finbres said. “You can get a lot of results just by changing something pretty simple like your shoes.”