In the movie Pink Panther 2, I remember Steve Martin going in to an ecstatic frenzy as he takes the first bite of “ambaagar (hamburger)”, and that’s exactly how I felt the first time I ran in my  Boston Boosts. It was pure love.

*Check his expressions at 2:18.

In the last two years, I have had many running related injuries.  This led to my coming close to dreading runs. And runners know how crabby that can make you. My Nike Free served me well, so did Pegasus but they were never perfect for me.

close to 18th km at ADHM 2015

I know that shoes are not a cure all, but it does factor in a lot. The shoe itself doesn’t make you a better runner, but it can encourage a certain foot strike or can remedy things like over-pronation (which I did to some extent) – all important injury prevention aspects.

I have wide but small feet (UK size 4) and these fit me like the perfect glass slipper. Having suffered so much in the past, I was very skeptical but after my gait analysis, I was told by Dr Rajat (a renowned sports injuries doc) that neutral shoes is what I need. These don’t have extreme cushioning but are not minimalist either.

I don’t really know what heel drop etc. means. I just know what feels right and makes me forget that it is something external or something I need to keep worrying about. This one is light, fits right and gives my wide feet and big toe space, to breathe. I have been alternating it with Ultra Boost (neutral shoes with more cushioning) for longer and slow runs. I haven’t had the problem of black toe nails or blisters despite having done several distances between 15-20km.

For the last few months, I have also been doing basic strengthening exercises for my legs that Doc Rajat advised me about (I will make short video clips and share soon enough).

I did my Pinkathon 10km (my personal best 53:16) within a week in this pair, then MCM half marathon (1:54) on Nov 1st and my personal best at ADHM (1:50) on Nov 29th to be repeated again two weeks later at the Grand Prix Run.