Running shoes...

Just check out any of the shoe threads in the equipment forum or the main forum.... you'll see one common line of thought:

go get fit at a specialty running store - they can help you, and we really shouldn't because what is right for me (my form, my weight, my foot egonomics, my proclivity to injury, my footstrike, etc) might be totally wrong for you, even if we share the clyde classification.

That said I love my Saucony Hurricaine 7's

Sauconey Omni, medium support for me.  After two pair, tried another brand.  No good.  Back to the store to trade back to the Omni.

That is why, when I get a pair of shoes works supper great, I try to get right back to the dealer, and by one or two more pair so that when they croak, I have new one. If you are financially hardenned, then you just can't.

When I finally needed new pairs, I found a professional fitter tried all shoes, and again ended up with the Mizuno's. With the deformed feet I have, they are the only type that fit and work great on me. Chow for now.

Fromt he rain, it is not a surprise. When ever I run more than 10 miles, I have received quite a few black toe nails. Just a thing that we need to deal with.

If you talk to quite a few marathon runner, that is not an uncommon thing to have. (And some of them may weight around 130 lbs.)

big fan of Asics here, but I concure that a proper fit at a running store is important to keep you in it for the long hall. I finaly convinced my wife to get away from Payless when traing for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. She could not understand why her $15 specials would cause her discomfort since she only bought them 2 weeks earlier. I forced her to a running store to look for shoes and she now forks over the money for decent foot wear.

As for durability, I tend to rotate my trainin/racing shoes into daily shoes after only about 250 miles. The up side, my knees stay in better shape and it gives me a steady stream of s*** kickers to wear. The down side is I end up investing a lot of $ into about 3 pairs of shoes a year, but keeping away from injury is worth it to me.

I totally agree.  Last Friday, without thinking, I threw on my shoes and went for what was supposed to be a 6 mile run.  At almost 2 miles into the run, I see that I am wearing my general sneakers... that have been kicking around the house for almost two years!  At 4.5 miles I quit.  Pain in the right big toe and tightness developing behind the knee cap... I walked straight home (not that far).  No cushioning and bad support... deadly for this clydesdale.  Don't be a dumb@$$ like me. 

 I have been keeping very close track of my mileage on my running shoes. 

Peace,
Brian

Got to go with the fitting as well.  It's really a fun time for a number of reasons:

The first fitting was great because I tried on a whole bunch of different manufacturers that I would never have thought of and went with someone I had never tried (Mizuno). Also, there was the shock and awe of  putting on a 14!  I usually wear 11.5/ 12's but I was told they were too tight.  Funny, when I ran in the larger shoe, my foot didn't go to sleep at mile 4 of a run any more.  Hmph.

The second fitting was great to see the shock and awe of my fitter when I chose the Nike Air Zoom Vomero.  She said, "I pulled this shoe out but heavier guys don't usually go for it because they overpronate so much."  It worked great because, even though I'm heavy, I have a really efficient footstrike.  She couldn't believe how well I ran in that shoe.  Fun.

The third fitting was fun because I came in and said, "These Nike Air Zoom Vomero's are the best running shoes I have ever owned.  I know they don't make them anymore, so let me try the 2+ version."  Tried them on and they were great, told her to give me to pair.  The whole experience took 15 minutes.  The fitter felt kinda gyped because I was so easy.

Like I said, go with the fitting because fittings are fun.