I have reviewed New Balance 1123 in a previous post.

This has been one of my favorite shoes for the wide, deep foot. It’s especially good for walkers due to it’s wide base and seemingly firm midsole. Or, so I thought.

Today, someone came in having worn this shoe while walking for the few past months with a recent onset of ball of the foot pain (metatarsalgia). When I turned the shoe over, I was shocked to find that the thin firm, rubber outsole had worn clear through, exposing a butter soft EVA midsole. The midsole was so soft in fact that it provided little in the way of forefoot shock absorption, causing the ball of the foot to be pounded with each step.

If you own this shoe, make sure to check the outsole monthly. If it has worn down like this shoe has, replace it immediately or you may do your feet severe harm. Otherwise, I still like this shoe.

Asics just debuted their GT-2150 model and I am happy to report it is very similar to the GT-2140

I am a huge fan of this series as it is one of the few shoes that works for the narrow foot.  Although the GT-2150 model is ever so slightly wider than the GT-2140, I don’t think this will be a problem for most feet.

All in all, the 2100 series remains one of my favorite running shoes and I will continue to recommend it for many of my runners feet.

The Olympics are winding down, so I thought I’d give another shout-out to the golden shoes (Puma, of course) Usain Bolt, now officially The Fastest Man in the World, kissed after winning the 100 and 200 m races. The shoes were customized to bear his nickname “Ugo” and were prominently displayed by a clownish, giddy Bolt after he won in style (also setting world records in the process). Apparently, there were complains about Bolt’s unabashed displayed of his sponsor’s logo, which Puma rushed to dismiss (”We didn’t tell him to kiss the shoes!”)–oh so much drama! Truth is, with or without the shoes, he’s a phenomenon any which way.
The History part of this post comes now: the previous world record holder in 200m was Michael Johnson (at the Atlanta Olympiad) also wore gold athletic shoes. He also won the 400-meter race, setting an Olympic-record, then tossed his gold shoes into the crowd. These are those famous gold shoes (Nike this time) which helped make Michael Johnson a legend at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996:
I believe it is clear by now what you’ve got to do if you want to run just a bit faster–right?