Unwittingly, I have become..

As a runner, I am impartial to the make or colour of shoes. In fact, I take some pride in ignoring the colour of my shoes when I have to make a choice. Nisa has seen me, more than twice, told the store assistant that colour was not relevant when alternative colours were brought out for us to see (all in the same size). And this is how it's been this while. It was only the last pair that I brought that Nisa chose the colour for me.

But, but, I have never considered New Balance shoes because they were ugly..I hate the "N" on the side of the shoes. No doubt they are just as good as other premium running shoes, and certainly they are mentioned in the same breadth as Asics, Saucony, Brooks (and sometimes, Nike). The stupid "N" just bothers me. The fact that each model does not have a name but if differentiated by numbers also bug me; of course every runner knows NB refuses to use names because it wants to avoid a cult status on the name, losing the focus on the shoe but if you produce great shoes year after year, this will never happen! NB seems to have relented recently with their "minimus" line of shoes but this detracts from what I feel.

Money influences everything. Coupled with the fact that we change our shoes so frequently, we need to spend as little as possible on shoes, without compromising quality. Recently, we have (and will, in a few weeks) participated in NB badges runs. NB runs are the only events that give out discount vouchers for their products and on that, I bought the RT769 last year, and the 758 recently. One is the racing shoe, whilst the other is the trainer. In this stage of training, in the lead up to the half at the end of the year, I needed another trainer. I bought the 759 over the weekend and took it for a spin yesterday. A little stiff in the forefoot but I have been told the shoe needs some running-in time, as was the case with the 758. All the 3 NB shoes are working out decently and I am growing to like how they feel, fit and perform.

Unwittingly, I have become, a NB person. Even their apparel seem to appeal to me. Brooks will be upset since their only hold over me has been their apparel.