I have big flat feet. I once had a podiatrist who told me, “With feet like that you shouldn’t be running marathons.” Naturally I found another podiatrist.
When I first started running, I got something called compartment syndrome which is where your feet roll and cause the small muscles under your shin to expand, similar to if you were doing bicep curls. When these expanding small muscles hit the shin bone it quickly escalates from severe discomfort to excruciating agony.
The solution was to wear stability shoes with orthotics. I was told that the best stability shoes on the market were the Asics GT-2000s so I bought a pair, ran my first marathon at the 2002 Johnson Crane in 3h37 and have run every marathon since then (including a handful of trail marathons and ultras) in my trusty GT-2000s.
I do have to admit that I did once stray. When Vitality first came out with their shoe benefit, partnering with another brand that offered a large discount (50% or more), I could not resist the temptation and cheated on my Asics. Shortly thereafter, I picked up a STD (Stride Technique Dysfunction) injury and have stayed true to my GT-2000s ever since then.
Towards the end of marathon #296 (at Red Hill in Fish Hoek, Cape Town) I got chatting to a long, thin, bean pole of a runner in Atlantic AC kit called Sean. He was so tall that I was still looking up at him when I was running alongside on the pavement. I can’t remember how it was steered in this direction but the conversation turned to shoes and I mentioned my big flat feet (we had the same sized feet despite a massive height differential) and my devotion to my GT-2000s.
The conversation quickly moved on to other running related topics, we ended up finishing together and parted ways as I headed to the Fish Hoek AC club bar and Sean presumably to his club tent. I did wonder where Sean fit into the running industry when he said, “I’ll probably see you at the Two Oceans launch on Wednesday.”
It later turned out that Sean was the new CEO of Asics South Africa and organized this stunning pair of custom 300th GT-2000s to honour my 300th marathon finish (thanks to Allan Smith and Dennis Rehbock who I understand were also involved). This is a lovely and memorable touch and, not that there was ever any doubt, ensures that I will be running my next 300 marathons in Asics GT-2000s as well.
Great to see such loyalty. And well done Sean.
Congrats Stuart.
Amazing milestone and worthy of a little celebration
Here’s to your next 300!
A wonderful and very thoughtful contribution towards your 300th marathon. ASICS used to be the brand favoured by me during my running days. I hope their generosity is well rewarded for their kindness towards you.
Well done Stuart. Now you only need 700 marathons to catch up with Julian.