Running specialty store RUNNR opened a second branch last Saturday at Ayala Center in Cebu, and I was one of the many enthusiasts of the sport who checked the establishment out and tried its foot-type and gait analysis system called Footworx.

RUNNR offers to customers for free its foot-type and gait analysis system called Footworx.

Through the footdisc analysis system component of Footworx, I learned that my feet have high arches, the least common of the three foot types and the most prone to injuries according to runnersworld.com. Most runners with high arches are underpronators or supinators; their feet fail to roll inward enough to cushion the impact of their footstrike resulting in more shock going up the legs.

In my case, though, I do the exact opposite. I have high arches, but I overpronate — my feet roll too far inward than normal — when I run. To determine my gait type, I had to undergo high-speed video gait analysis, the second component of Footworx, where I was made to run fast for a few minutes on a treadmill as a camera captured the whole thing. Trained RUNNR staff reviewed the results and measured the angle of my leg against my foot as it hit the treadmill during the run.

Sportsinjuryclinic.net says overpronators run with excessive foot motion since their arch rolls sideways too much, causing the lower leg to turn inwards and putting the knee and hip out of alignment. According to the same website, this type of gait, just like its opposite, also causes quite a number of injuries.

The foot on the right side of the picture depicts overpronation.

Fortunately for runners who overpronate or underpronate, preventing injury may just be as easy as a custom insole or wearing the correct shoes. Those in Cebu who have only began running just recently are doubly lucky since there is already a specialty store devoted to the sport here.

The staff at RUNNR said I need stability shoes based on my results, and the store has a wide range of running footwear to choose from. RUNNR is the only store in Cebu to carry the Newton brand; plus, it can create customized insoles aimed at correcting overpronation or underpronation while the customer waits. The flashfit custom insole molding process is the third component in RUNNR’s Footworx system.

Running is hard enough on the body as it is; doing it when you’re feeling pain can seriously put a damper on the whole thing. Take it from someone who has suffered and ran through two months of patellofemoral pain syndrome and tried all kinds of cure for this injury commonly known as runner’s knee.

So before you start running, get some good advise from the pros. Have your running form analyzed at RUNNR through Footworx. It’s for free.