Picture the scene, if you will. Midday in Newcastle's premier running shop; Northern Runner, where Gavin the rep from Brooks Sports (pictured with yours truly) is there with a load of goodies for me. Amongst the training tops, running socks and water bottles are a brand spanking new pair of Brooks Glycerin trainers. These are the class of shoe I currently wear. What I didn't expect though was that this particular pair donated by Brooks was the very latest model - Brooks Glycerin 7! Apologies for sounding very geeky but when you have struck such a partnership and have come to depend on such an item as a pair of trainers then that's what happens. The Glycerin 5 trainers got me safely through 874 miles from John O'Groats to Lands End in 2007. I currently wear the Glycerin 6 trainers and will be putting the new ones to the test in February when they are due for replacement. This should be after about 600 miles of wear.
Anyway, back to Northern Runner where that nice photographer from the Journal Newspaper was on hand to take a few shots to accompany an article that will be in tomorrow's edition. There were a few shots outside the shop, some inside with shop owner Charlie and finally some down the famous corridor where many a runner has tried out a new pair of trainers before committing to the purchase. All in all, it was a great little photo shoot and hopefully tomorrow's article will bring some good publicity to the cause.
It's getting almost a daily occurrence now this task of thanking people but I do have to give sincere thanks to Martin Exley and Gavin Bannister of Brooks for the supply of some very nice kit. All items will be put to very good use indeed. Having put their shoes to the test in extreme conditions and over 2500 miles over the last 2 years I can say that the quality of the shoes is outstanding. You've only got to look at the distance covered versus my virtually non existent injury record for that proof! Throw into the mix the comfort that these shoes provide and you've got running shoe perfection.
But don't just take my word for it. If you are thinking of buying some new running trainers why not let Charlie, John and the staff at Northern Runner diagnose your foot type (there's a posh word for it but it escapes me at this moment in time) and let them guide you to the right type of shoe. They stock all kinds of makes and types but I would personally encourage you to give Brooks shoes a try. Oh and while you're there tell them that Run Geordie Run sent you!
