Good shoes can be sweet music to the feet

Winthorpe P. Coltrane, some call him Roscoe, I call him Trane, started jogging on a treadmill at a local gym about ten years ago. He was 62 and had never been much of an athlete or a musician.

Four times a week, sometimes more, Trane shows up with a smile and a kind word for anyone who crosses his path.
Courtly is an adjective not used to describe guys at the gym but it fits the gentle man who is somewhat vague on how the nickname Roscoe came about. The character does not fit but I think the moniker has something to do with the sheriff from TV's Dukes of Hazzard.
Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.

Today, Roscoe or Train, breezes through two miles on an indoor track at a beautifully laid out facility on the Lou's south side.

Sleek,140 pounds of lean mean running machine on a 5'8" frame. An efficient, no wasted motion runner. A slight bounce to each step. Eyes set, arms pumping not unlike a locomotive. Train, that's Roscoe.

Running can be demanding on the joints of older adults. It can also be demanding on the shoes.
Roscoe figures he's put nearly 300 miles on a pair of two year old moderately priced joggers. He had also begun to complain of sore feet...tired legs...and thought maybe age was catching up. That he was running to much, when a friend suggested  new shoes.
Roscoe purchased a new pair and, "I'll be darn if I didn't feel better from the get-go," said he.

Folks who pay attention to these things, experts and so on, say shoe stability starts to break down after 300  miles.... depending on running style, body weight, and running surface.
Even if the shoe's outward appearance looks okay. It's internal structure, the guts  that makes it a good shoe, maybe shot.

A shoe's mid sole layer provides stability and a shock absorbing cushion. It usually wears out before the out sole shows major signs of wear, says Elizabeth Quinn, an exercise physiologist.
When a mid sole wears out the shoe looses functional stability. It is this loss that leads to increased stress and risk of injury to runners.

Roscoe was half right. Age indeed was catching up...just not his. It was the shoes. The new pair confirmed what his friend had suggested.

Back to full strength, Trane completes his daily double with a 60 yard dash...so spirited....that you'd expect a touch down dance afterwards. Good shoes can be sweet music to the feet..

Quinn Tips for buying Running Shoes

• Shop in the afternoon (or after a work out) feet swell during the day.
• Measure your foot while standing.
• Try on both shoes with the socks you plan to wear.
• -more tips

Names have been altered to protect the guilty.