How to buy the perfect pair of running shoes: we go shopping in Hong Kong with a foot expert
A specialist in sports shoe design, Dr Jason Cheung explains the five key criteria for selecting running shoes as we visit big brand shops on Mong Kok’s Fa Yuen Street, where seemingly little is done to help customers make the right choice
It is a rainy weekday afternoon in Mong Kok, and Fa Yuen Street is buzzing with shoppers.
This section, just south of Argyle Street, is popularly known as Sneaker Street. It is jammed with just about every conceivable brand, design and colour of sports shoe imaginable, attracting locals and tourists alike.
The ground floor of the large glass-fronted Nike flagship store is swarming with customers jostling for access to the extensive display rack of the latest running shoes mounted on the far wall.
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Dr Jason Cheung Tak-man, a specialist in sports shoe design, watches the scrum of bodies. “People are buying running shoes but they have no idea what they are really buying – it’s all about the looks,” he says.
To call Cheung a specialist is an understatement. During his PhD in foot biomechanics at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he used a computational technique called finite element analysis to build a sophisticated 3D computational model of his own foot based on multiple MRI scans. He later worked at the University of Calgary’s Human Performance Laboratory in Canada, researching optimal support and load distribution between a person’s foot and sports shoes.
“There is no such thing as the best running shoe, only the best running shoe for you,” Cheung says, adding how easy it is to buy the wrong type and cause serious damage.
