Northampton Running Company Shoe Philosophy

Our company philosophy is to help each customer choose the right shoe for their needs
and desires. We pride ourselves on being open minded to different trends and ideas about
running shoe technology. Our Number 1 goal is to help YOU, the customer, find the best shoe
for YOUR needs. We offer a wide range of shoe types to accommodate many different types of
runners and many different types of feet. We take the time to ask you questions that we feel are
important in helping you choose your footwear. We are open to listening to your thoughts on
different types of footwear. We believe that there is not one correct answer when it comes to
footwear choices. We have helped fit literally thousands of runners over the years in many
different types of footwear and have watched them train happily, consistently and successfully.
We strive to do our best to help each customer find the shoes that work best.

The current discussion surrounding “minimalist” shoes is helpful for all runners. An open-
minded discourse will help the running community by making us all think a bit more about what
we put on our feet. While some people believe that “minimalist” or barefoot running is the most
natural way to run for the human species, our society has chosen to become “shod” with
cushioned and often supportive footwear. If one decides to move away from our society’s more
conventional footwear options, we are here to help them understand the process needed to make
that transition in a way that will minimize any negative affects to this change.

If you want to try a “minimalist” shoe, there are many things to consider:

- This is not an overnight “fix” or change – we do not recommend switching to
minimalist shoes completely, but gradually introduce them into your running regimen
- Keep your “minimalist” running to no more than 10% of your typical running
distance for the first several weeks
- Then gradually increase mileage by no more than 10%–20% every couple of weeks
- If you ever start to feel pain during a run, stop! You can always try again in a couple
of days
- Alternate “minimalist” days for the first several weeks
- Stretch before and after each run, focusing on calves and feet, because running will
stimulate these muscles