On Nov. 2, I will be running the New York City Marathon in bright orange and black Adidas Supernova Boost Glide 6's, a pair that features an American flag on the backs of the shoes, and my initials - JAM - scrawled on the outside of each.
If you know the Boost Glide, you're probably asking how I found an orange and black women's pair when the most common offerings are gray, aqua or pink. Their orange option is more of a sherbet-colored accent on pale gray - very different from what'll be on my feet. That's because I custom ordered a pair, just for me, just for this race.
Customizing running shoes is easy to do through manufactures' online portals. This is the second time I've done it - and I've done it for a lot of reasons.
I looked into customizing shoes at first because of my frustration with shoe color trends of women, which in the last few years have leaned toward gender stereotyped colors - and that's not my personal style. I also like being a little bit different, and for the New York City Marathon, I wanted something unique to myself out of 50,000 other runners.
Interested in having a pair made for you too? Here's my advice.
1. Don't do this for a new-to-you shoe. And don't buy a shoe just because you can customize it. Not getting injured, after all, is the primary goal of your running shoe choice. In the case of my custom Nike Frees and Adidas Supernova Boost Glides, I had worn pairs bought at a running store before I went custom. The Nikes didn't work out as running shoes, so I made a pair for walking around after long runs (and made them a color that would go with dark wash jeans). I was about 150 miles into the Adidas shoes when I decided I'd run the marathon in that shoe style.
2. Give yourself plenty of time. Adidas gives a three to four week timeline from order to the shoes arriving. For me, delivery took just under four weeks. Still, I almost forgot I wanted to do this until a friend asked what colors I chose. If I'd have waited another week, the shoes would have arrived right before the marathon, and I'd have either have run in shoes I didn't break in, or gone with my older pair.
3. Meet RW+ Members. These shoes are not exchangeable or returnable (unless the manufacturer makes a mistake). This makes sense. I doubt Adidas could find another JAM who wanted black and orange shoes in my size. I checked over everything in my order five times before I hit the final buy button. That last thing I needed was for the shoes to come in the wrong size, or to order a men's instead of a women's pair, because I was rushing.
I debated for a long time whether or not I should do this. I was already paying a lot of money to run the New York City Marathon, and even though spending an extra $20 to make a unique pair of shoes doesn't sound like a lot of money, I buy running clothes on eBay because I like to save a buck or two where I can.
But for most people, myself included, marathons are very hard things to do. The New York City Marathon will be my fifth full marathon, and I'm still nervous about the challenge ahead. Having some sort of talisman or something special made just for me is one of the small things that will give me a boost that day. When I was asking myself about whether or not I wanted these shoes, the question went from "why" to "why not?" And now I'll run New York City in style - my style.
