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I am a 10 year experienced runner. I have been in some different sports since child, from soccer, swimming, slow-pitch, rugby, but some time ago I found a passion and lifestyle which I called Running. I was interested in running because of different reasons, one of them was to be healthy and change my lifestyle when I was younger. Beginning college at that time, all my activities were parties, drinking contest, fast food consumption and a type of life which caused me to be in a negative shape. Despite of that I always have been athletic, and interested in practice sports, but I realized that if I wanted to have babies in the future and play with them, I needed to be an example for them, stay healthy and instill the passion of sports in their lives. That is why I started to run a couple of miles and after some years I can proudly say that I had completed three marathons (Chicago, Miami and New York), and more than 10 half-marathons in my pocket. 

Because I was involved in this amazing sport, I started to analyze deeply the pace times, running gear, running watches, and of course running shoes, which I think is the most important asset for every runner. When I began I used some New Balance shoes, which I don´t remember the model and because my ignorance at that moment I did not choose wisely the pronation, arch support and other features which are important for a good performance and to avoid injuries. I used that brand for a couple of years until I decided to analyze my steps and listen some experts advices. At that moment I change from New Balance to Asics Nimbus. I did choose Nimbus because I am Neutral in my steps and I have a natural arch with a little help of some cushion and gel. I noted the difference, at that moment I fell in love with that model because together with more training and more competitions, my body asked for a better shoe to have a better performance. My body type is not skinny at all, I have pronounced calves, big biceps and tough adductor. If you want to have an idea, I don´t have the body type of a Kenyan runner, I have more weight and muscles, with some exceptions when I complete the 16-weeks of Marathons trainings when I get more skinny but never as Kenyan shape. That is why I need some cushion and gel in my shoes, and its because I started to use Asics Nimbus. If you run in the streets of a city, this shoe gives you stability and comfort, it protects your arch with the cushion support that it has, and it is middle lightweight. 

Years after, I tried to use the Mizuno Wave Creation 13 to have other options and styles since Asics is known that they do not make "cool style" models with "cool colors". My first impression of Mizuno´s was that it is a weird but interesting technology, with some open arch on the sole of the shoe made of strong plastic, but after tried on the streets it felt like you step on a hard brick platform without support. I think that I went in that case to more style rather than efficiency. I know that Mizuno is a great Japanese brand with a lot of technical features, but not always the last technology will fit well in the shape or needs of your feet. I left my Mizuno´s for do leg press or any other activity at the gym, actually I used a lot because I liked the style and they were expensive and I had to take all the possible advantage to make it worth. I returned to Asics Nimbus. I went from Nimbus 12 to Nimbus 18 and my impression was that the last models from 17 to 18, had some quality problem with the fabric cloth and materials. Some of them only last 7-8 months with a medium level marathon trainings, showed some deterioration of the shoe and the same sole, in comparison with previous models. That is why I started to research more about other brands and styles of shoes. I began with Adidas Adizero Adios or Supernova. It came interest to me because in all the competitions I always see that elite runners use those shoes. Actually is a good shoe, with some Continental tires technology on the sole because some partnering with Adidas, you know that German tech have a fame of good quality, but after talk with some people and look videos and testimonials I realize that it is a running shoe that is made for elite runners complexion, with skinny legs that do not need to much support but stability and do not have cushioning but it gives you speed due the lightweight air mesh material. I discarded this shoe and continue my research. I saw in USA marathons that most of the runners prefer to use other brands like Adidas, Nike, Saucony or Brooks, instead of Asics or New Balance. At first sight, I do not like Nike for this kind of activity, I don´t know why but I feel like they are in too much sports that maybe running shoes is not its strength or main focus, that is why I went to deeply look for Saucony and Brooks. Both are specialized brands with interesting facts. Both companies have a huge R&D departments and hear real runners advices and testimonials to produce their shoes. For my type of running and feet, in Saucony I looked for Ride 9 or Kinvara 7 model, and for Brooks I looked Glycerin 13 and Ghost 9. It was weird that in my research of those models, I did not found too much that brands in Houston and Chicago in shoes stores and running specialized stores. Most of the shoes were Nike, Adidas, Asics and even other brands like Hooka. Finally I found Ride, Glycerin and Ghost, all to compare which models feels better. I tried them and made a couple of steps. Saucony Ride felt good but you know that I am a "look" lover, and the styles and colors that they had were too formal and black/white, in other words were boring. There were something that I did not like it in my ankle when I tried on a running mill (I am a street runner but wants to tried there). Then I tried Ghost 9 and I completely felt in love with those shoes. They were comfortable, neutral support level, medium arch and normal width. The weight was very comfy and I gave a shot on them. I tried Glycerin but I knew that Ghost 9 were the shoes that I was looking for. At the end my lovely wife gave it to me as a birthday present and I already tried on the streets with a 15-mile training and I really enjoyed. Sometimes you have to make a good research to find the shoes that you want and need for a good running performance, and I am happy that I did it because now I have shoes for a while. Next year maybe I will give a try to Saucony Kinvara or any other brand to continue researching this interesting world of run.