We arranged for reader Barry Kenny to visit the Amphibian King shop at Dargle Road in Bray to be properly assessed for a pair of new shoes by owner Damian McKeever.
He emerged with a pair made by Brooks and was visibly deflated when they turned out to be not the most expensive. He readily acknowledges now, however, that they were a good choice . . .
"I thought the whole thing was excellent to be honest," he says. "Compared to so many of the people I'd bought shoes from in the past, it was entirely obvious that Damian knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Previously I've just tended to buy the most expensive shoe in the shop on the basis that it should be the best but clearly that hasn't been the case and I've had a few problems.
"The new shoes have definitely made a difference. I'm prone to my feet getting very sore but these are very comfortable and I'm happy that I finally have a pair that are suited to me.
"All I need now is something to help on the motivation front," he concludes with a laugh, "because that's proving much more of a problem now than either of the previous occasions when I've trained for a marathon."
What some other readers have had to say on the subject . ..
I have to recommend John Buckley's athletics shop in Cork. The shop was recommended to me and they were fabulous. They provided me with sound advice on training and impartial advice on brands. I even came away with copies of training run routes around Cork city.
Linda Kennedy
I went to Up and Running in Belfast, did the gait analysis thing on the treadmill and got very good advice from a girl called Caitriona. I really appreciated the fact that she didn't try to push the most expensive shoes on me but rather advised what best suited my running style.
Carol McMenamin
The first thing I've found is that the most expensive is not the best for you. The other thing is that just because one shoe made by a company suits you well doesn't mean another of their shoes will. Some of the smaller, specialised stores will allow a short trial run which will help people to find what's best for them.
John Freir
After suffering with ITB (Iliotibial Band Syndrome) I have a pair of top-notch orthotics which cost €150 but were well worth it. I went to a great physio, called Denise in Terenure. She works a lot with rugby players and used a "footmax" machine to get the right orthotic. It's made a huge difference.
Denise Murphy
There really doesn't seem to be a great choice of running shoes here in Ireland (at least when you look at the choice in the running magazines) but I've found Arnotts the best place to buy and the Asics Kayona to be the best shoe.
Bridget O'Sullivan