| I
tried a number of other orthotics and finally came to the
conclusion that metatarsal support, or support in the center
of the foot behind the forefoot, was one of the keys to my
comfort. I'd found a few other orthotics that offered
some relief and when comparing them to my Birkenstocks®,
I concluded that the "hump" which supported the
metatarsal was as important as arch support on the inside of
the foot.
I started running slowly, maybe three
miles three times a week, with some of the latest orthotics
which were made of hard plastic and soon developed pain in
my right knee. My feet were still sore but they didn't
seem to get any worse.
With my background in engineering, the
footwear industry, and experience with foot pain, I knew I
could develop a better orthotic. It took over two
years of research and development, working with a number of
different wear test volunteers, designers, a medical doctor
and others, but we finally developed a product which
eliminated my foot pain along with the pain of most of the
wear test volunteers. With my manufacturing
contacts throughout Asia, we commercialized the product at a
reasonable price. The final outcome is the Soleutions™
orthotics that we are now selling.
|
|
I started increasing my running
mileage slowly and finally made it up to 50 miles a week
without any foot or knee pain. I went back-in-time and
started training again for a marathon. I had my life
back! On September 15, 2002, I ran the Montana
Marathon (26.2 miles) and am still enjoying normal life
again. I was never a track star and never will set any
speed records but running and being active is an important
part of my life. I'm proud of my marathon medal and
can't wait for the next one.
|
