An Irishman Abroad

Trainers, kicks, runners or whatever you like to call them are the subject of today’s conversation with two Irish sporting icons. The big business of athletic shoes has boomed in the last 30 years beyond all recognition. Today’s runner is expected and recommended to have not one but several pairs to wear on rotation throughout their training week. Jarlath asks Sonia if this is really necessary. Or are shoe companies deliberately making their running shoes less like all round trainers and more like specialised tools? Does the weekend Park Runner need a Swiss Army knife shoe rather than a shoe designed for Kipchogie to run a sub 2 hour marathon? Sonia weighs in with the shoes she loves from today’s selection and the ones she loved back in Cóbh as a teen preparing to take on the world. We get her review of the London marathon and then Marcus O’Sullivan drops in for a quick shoes chat from Villanova University. His tale of taking his spikes to a cobbler with an unusual request and Sonia’s luminous shell suit stor