Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people. - Randy Pausch ( 1960-2008 )

Gear


Outside his or her body, shoes are the most important equipment a runner has. It has been said that running is a cheap sports, since you only need a pair of running shoes and you could already run. Nevertheless, run and race enough times and you’d discover that going beyond a single pair does have its advantages. Like the different tire compounds in F1, having different kinds helps greatly in dealing with different situations - be it the kind of course, or distance. I have definitely gone beyond having a single pair, but I believe my roster still pales with the “fleets” that others have. I still try to be economical with my shoes, so that each pair has its own specific purpose or use.

IN SERVICE

New Balance 905

The current workhorse of the fleet. An update to the New Balance 904, these shoes are even lighter and more breathable than its predecessor. The first model that I have multiple pairs of, I have two: one exclusive to training and one exclusive to racing.

Nike LunaRacer+

My racing flats or “fast” pair, I usually use the Racers in race distances up to 10K. Ultra-light and feeling almost “not-there”, they really are built for fast running, while offering reasonable cushioning. “Reasonable” of course, does not always equate to “enough”. It has been said that racing flats(that includes this one) are not recommended for long distances, unless one is really biomechanically efficient. Apparently, biomechanically efficient I’m not, as I learned the hard way during my first marathon where I wore this pair. At long distances, the extra stress and pounding my legs and knees receive from wearing the Racers far outweigh the advantage their lightness brings. Another downside of the Racers is that like many racing flats, they are not built for longevity, having only half the usual mileage-life expectancy of non-flats. Thus I try to exclusively use them in races.

New Balance 920

Water shoes actually, but also sees action as trail shoes. In other words, this one handles almost all of my non-road racing needs.

Mizuno Crusader

Embarrassing, but I only bought these shoes so that I could participate in the Mizuno Running Clinic. Needless to say, these are the cheapest pair of Mizuno shoes I could find(what a cheapskate!). I used them in the Mizuno Running Clinic sessions, and since that’s over I haven’t really used them since. The longest that I ran with these shoes was 15K. Since nothing bad happened, I can’t really say they’re a bad pair. Nevertheless, being neutral unlike the light weight stability NB90x(I have low arches), and being quite heavy unlike the Racers, I doubt this pair would be seeing racing action anytime soon. I think of it as my emergency pair - the one I’d use should I discover one race Sunday morning that I had been robbed overnight of all the other shoes in the fleet.

RETIRED

New Balance 904

With a totally different last/sole design than the 903, choosing the 904 was a bit of a gamble, but one that paid off well. The Internal Stability Web really made the difference in these shoes. The 904 entered active duty at a time when I began largely concentrating on long distance races, specifically the half and the full, and in those distances, it truly proved its worth. These shoes got me through the three “chained” marathons of late 2009, plus the Singapore Marathon of that year.

New Balance 903

These shoes are my first true-blue long distance training-racing shoes. With its hardiness and performance on the road, it started my on-going love affair with the 90x series.

Nike Zoom Air Katana Racers

A very slightly used hand-me-down, I used this pair in my first few races, till one airsole finally burst. Thus I stay away from any Nike running shoes that have airsoles in them.