Low Arches? My Advice from the Chester County Running Store

I am probably the least athletic person on the planet. I know as much about athletic footwear as someone illiterate does about books. When I stepped into the Chester County Running Store, I had no idea what to expect.   Located on High Street about half a block south of Market Street, the store spans less than a tenth of the floorspace of DSW or one of the other shoe "superstores".  

When I walked in, the store was empty with the exception of one employee. A girl of about twenty, she cleaned the door while music blared from the radio.  I gazed blindly around the sneakers and athletic shorts that hung from the walls before she asked me if I needed some help.

I told her about the 3-Day Walk, and she asked to see the pair of shoes I was wearing. After looking at the bottom of each shoe, she asked me to walk around the store in just my socks.  She informed me that I had low arches and that with the wrong pair of shoes, I'd probably end up with shin splints.  She showed me a few pairs of Asics and explained that I would need a shoe that provided "support," not a shoe that provided "cushion". I asked her if I would need to purchase one or two pairs for the 60 mile event, and she actually said that I could make do with one, as opposed to trying to boost her sales.

 

I left the store a few minutes later.  The sneakers she recommended cost 100 dollars, a little more than I hoped to pay. The high prices were probably necessary as no other customers had stopped by during my twenty minute visit.  Yet despite the fact that the store remained empty, the Chester County Running Store has become successful enough to open a second store in Pottstown, located in Northern Chester County.  Before I can make any real decisions, however, I need to stop by DSW to see what a chain store offers in terms of athletic footwear.