Top ten

Part 2

Running Spikes

From a quick glance you'd be forgiven for thinking that running spikes looked pretty similar to any other pair of trainers. They are generally lightweight, colourful and have a certain amount of cushioning in the sole to make them more comfortable to run in. However, the obvious addition of several short metal spikes in the toe and ball area of the shoe means that their utility is strictly limited. You wouldn't want to wear them around town , you'd ruin the spikes on the pavement and slide all over the place due to lack of grip. If you wore them into the house then you wouldn't be thanked for the effect those same spikes had on any carpets you might happen to be standing on, or lino or laminate for that matter too. In fact the running track is the best place for them and really the only place for them. However, given the recent cold weather we've been having it has crossed my mind that they could be pretty good on ice too.

Surprisingly for a specialised activity shoe, these are not difficult to get in larger sizes. Adidas, who seem to be the champion of the large shoe, offers a running spike in a size 16, and other manufacturers such as ASICS offer them up to a 15.

Boxing Boots

Like a lot of sports, you could probably get by in boxing wearing just a pair of trainers. However the need for constant changes of direction and a little bit of ducking and diving could soon see you wishing you had invested in a pair of proper boxing boots instead. Boxing boots have a high cut to give your ankle a lot more support whilst you run around the ring swinging wildly at your opponent and trying to avoid having your face brutally smashed in. Laces usually run the entire length of the boot and they are lightweight and flexible so you can move quickly and comfortably. Its also quite important that the soles are good and grippy, so when you crash to the mat its because your oponent has landed the KO, rather than your feet sliding out from under you.

Again, Adidas seems to be the go to brand for large sizes, although some of their boots do look a little “fruity” to me. Still, I wouldn't be saying that to any boxer who was big enough to be wearing them.

Water Skiing

Water ski bindings are designed to perform a similar function to snow ski boots. They hold your foot firmly to the ski and give you limited movement in certain directions, whilst providing a high level of ankle support to help prevent injuries and to give you greater control over the edges of your skis. The obvious difference though is that ski boots are generally designed to keep out water (whilst frozen in the form of snow) and water ski bindings are designed to let it in and then straight back out again.

They tend to go up to an XXL, but what that works out to in shoe size is anyone's guess apparently.

Running Shoes

Okay, going out running generally works better when you have a decent pair of trainers on, but you don't need to wear them. In fact you can go running in pretty much any sort of shoe you like, although whether you'll enjoy it or not is quite a different matter. Running shoes aren't particularly unusual either, most people have a pair of trainers of some sort which they could run in. So why bother mentioning it?

Well, recently some brands have been trying to market a new type of running shoe under the auspices of being a “barefoot” shoe. In essence, they argue that, with a thin yet protective sole, the effect is like running in your bare feet in terms of how your foot impacts the ground and how the muscles of the rest of your body are used when running. It is therefore meant to be better for you than using all of the artificial supports which you find in standard running shoes. Again though, most of these barefoot running shoes don't like very different from the outside. To see how specialised these things can get though, we need to look at the Vibram Five Finger running shoe. Vibram, better known to most people for making the rubber soles on their walking and hiking boots, came up with the idea of making their barefoot shoes even more authentic by having a separate sleeve for each toe. Really, they need to be seen to be believed. Unfortunately, they only go up to a size 10 or 11 UK.

Cycling Shoes

Unless you do quite a lot of cycling or are quite serious or knowledgeable about it, you might not realise that you get special cycling shoes too. As with a lot of sports, your normal day to day shoes will often be more than sufficient if you are a leisure cyclist. But if you want to get more power with every drive of the pedals and get more performance from your footwear, then specialised cycling shoes are a must.

Shoes exist for all types of cycling, from BMX road racing, cross country to trials riding. For road and mountain bike racing you can get shoes which fit into special bindings in your pedals. The shoes have a special cleat which fits on to the bottom of them and you can then clip this in and out of the binding. Generally, twisting your foot away from the bike will disengage you from the binding, meaning you can put your foot down when you stop rather than collapsing in a heap on the ground.

These shoes also usually have a stiff sole so that your foot doesn't flex when you are pedalling, meaning more of your effort goes into moving the bike forward. Unfortunately this also means that they aren't much good for walking in.

Some manufacturers do slightly larger sizes, but SIDI do their shoes up to a 52 European, which is approximately a 16 UK.