8 replies to this topic

[George Audley]

On tuesday May 5th I passed through my 126,000 Kilometre mark for training and races. I started running at the age of 45  22 years ago. During those years I have gained a fair bit of experience that I am willing to share including getting thousands of kilometres out of a pair of shoes. (2 pair to run across Australia) and very few injuries. If you have any questions then feel free to email me on audleyg@starwon.com.au

[tonyontherun]

That is 5727kms per year.

[Phantom Strider, retired]

George
Being a natural born cheap skate and not being in a 'price is no object' income bracket I'm always interested in getting the most of my running shoe investments.

I'm sure this is a hot topic for most people on this board and if you were to post some of your most pertinent thoughts and experiences on getting the most of running shoes here, then this would no doubt generate a fair amount of questions and comments in addition to grateful genuflections.

Looking forward to your accumulated wisdom on this matter

[George Audley]

How to saave on running shoes
If car tyres wore out as quick as running shoes there would be an outcry. When I buy a pair of new shoes (once a year if I am pushed) the first thing I do is replace the heels with car tyre rubber which I find along the road when I am running. If the tyre has the steel in then it has to be peeled away then a D shaped piece cut out to fit where I have trimmed the heel of my runners. Both surfaces roughed up with a grinder then the contact surfaces coated with contact adhesive then when it is touch dry pressed firmly together.
I am also a cheapskate so when these are worn down I pull them off and stick them on the opposite shoe and run again. What about the cushioning I know a few runners would say
Well when I started running 20 years ago the in thing to give you 90%+ protection against the shock was Sorbathane Insoles I bought a couple of sets and always use them except in track races. I have very few injuries so I will continue to use the inserts even though they say they are as heavy as a pair of racing shoes. Hope this helps  Phantom Strider
The Flying Fossil

[Grey beard]

Amazing George! If it's not a rude question how did you celebrate your 100,000th km? I've only kept records for 3 years and am still a few weeks off 5,000 km  - but I'll be arranging things so it is somewhere special.

[Phantom Strider, retired]

George, what an ingenious idea.
I'll be looking out for discarded tyres on my next training run. I can already see this board featuring discussions about the merits of different tyre brands and profiles.

I have some shoes lying around that are still serviceable and I'll certainly experiment to see how a tyre transplant will work on them.

[George Audley]

Hi Greybeard
My 1st Funrun was in 1981 in Albany and seeing it advertised got me out on the road to try to get fit. I did a couple of runs then had a go at the Funrun. It was after that funrun I started recording my distance as I trained for a marathon. 10.5 k's in 45 mins so 3 hours was my target for the marathon. 6 months of training and my 1st marathon. It took me longer as I died in the last 2 k's but I did manage 3 hrs 1 min 11 secs. I made the 3 hours a few months later in the 1982 Perth Marathon. The 100,000 k's came up in I think 1998 and as it was the time of the Albany Funrun again I adjusted my training so I went thorugh the finish line of the run for the 100,000 k's The local paper did a feature on it so it was a big moment for me. Next big feature the 150,000 if I am still around at 5,000 a year that would put me at about 73. So fingers crossed.
Doing 161 k's per week at the moment.
The Flying Fossil

[Razor]

Inspiring stuff. I love hearing stories like that.

[JodieR]

All i can say is WOW!!!