Trapped in Shoe Purgatory

It's happened again. The shoes that I absolutely love have been "updated" and the newer version is a complete POS. I've been running for the better part of a year in the Adidas Supernova Cushion 6's, then the 7's. I had purchased 2 pair of the 7's back in November and at the beginning of April found out they have been replaced by the Supernova Glide. Replaced? WRONG! I'm not sure how they came up with the name "glide" because these feel more like 2 pieces of plywood with laces for your feet. Luckily I went to ebay and found a couple of pairs of the 7's and purchased them immediately.

I'm not just picking on Adidas here. Over the years, Nike, Asics, Mizuno and probably a few others that I've forgotten about have done the same thing to me. Trust me, you are completey screwed as soon as a shoe is "renamed" or you find out it's been "replaced with the..." (insert POS name here).

Here's a bit of a marketing suggestion for the shoe companies, and forgive me because if this seems like a revelation to you, then you need to work for a shoe company - Ready - Drum Roll - If a shoe is selling well and the majority of the people wearing it are happy, don't change it, don't update it, don't rename it, just leave it alone (can you say "Nike Pegasus" back when it was the biggest selling running shoe of all time and the people at Nike stopped making it for a couple of years???!!!).

In closing, a word of advice to the newer runners - If you find a pair of shoes you LOVE, buy as many pair as you can get your hands on, number them on the heels so you can tell them apart, and keep a mileage chart so that you'll know when to retire them.