I was exceptionally lucky that my big brother had taken up running some time before me (actually for his Christmas present 2013 he requested, and I bought him a voucher to pay for a running course!) and gave me the good advice of getting a decent pair of trainers and how to go about it – if you get the wrong trainers it could put you off running before you’ve even properly started.

Not only did my lovely brother give me this great advice, but he also accompanied me to get my trainers – some of you may not have someone to go with you to get your trainers so this post is dedicated to you and I hope it helps!

The store we went to was the Run & Become store (http://www.runandbecome.com/Home) based in London near Victoria Station. Once we were there I was met by one of their lovely staff who gave me all her attention. I had to stand and then do an interesting squat, I presume, to see whether my ankles turn out and I’m sure other things. I was then given a pair of trainers, had to roll up my jeans so my ankles could be seen, fantastic look I can tell you, and asked to run a short distance up and down outside the store so she could see my running style – after which she bought out various trainers for me to try.

At this point in my running journey I was informed I needed a Neutral trainer – I was told I ran really naturally which I was very surprised at as I hadn’t run since school and I felt like I was running like Phoebe in Friends!!! I can see it now, legs and arms flailing!!!

I tried each pair of trainers on and then had to run again in each one to see which I found the most comfortable and the ones she thought I ran best in – I decided on a lovely pair of Brooks Ghosts, ironically my brother ended up with the male version of the same trainer that day too!

They cost me £105 – but were the most comfortable piece of footwear I have ever owned, I loved them immediately! Well worth every penny!

I then started my running using my Couch to 5k app – which I’ll blog about soon – about 8-9 weeks into my running I started to find I would get a pain on the inside of my left ankle when I was starting to running solidly for 20 minutes at time, then my right ankle got in on the act too, it hurt so much I’d have to walk, so my brother sensibly suggestion I pay another visit to Run and Become.

This is exactly what I did. This time we got to the shop a bit later so had to take number and wait to be called, but it was still very calm and my number was soon called and I was given the same amount of attention as before. I explained my situation and I was asked to do the same squat as the first time and was presented with a couple of pairs of trainers to try, this time I chose a pair of Saucony Guide 7s, which have an 8mm heel to toe offset, which to be honest I have no clue what that means, but I can honestly say the ache in my ankle started to disappear immediately.

The amazing thing for me though was that Run and Become just exchanged my trainers – even though I’d used my initial trainers for 9 weeks. Though I have to admit at the time I felt quite emotional about handing over my first pair of running trainers, it was like saying “Goodbye” to an old friend and I did have some feelings of guilt of just leaving them behind, but I now love my Saucony’s

I highly recommend Run and Become – because if you buy your trainers from Amazon for example, you definitely wouldn’t get this level of customer service and be able to exchange your trainers after being worn, it’s worth the additional cost of going to a Running Shop to have this extra peace of mind.

I hope this post has helped someone else who is just starting out on their running adventure go about selecting their trainers – as you have to protect your gym equipment! 🙂 xxx