Shoe Reward for 50km Race

 

For some reason, I have been getting into buying some cool kicks and one of the brands that I like is Onitsuka Tiger (same people behind Asics brand).  Their shoes are quite comfortable and fashionable too. 

But...

I don't want to always buy shoes... we don't have that much space or money (plus the fact that my wife would KILL me).

So, in order to get some new shoes, I have a rule - it can only be bought once I deserved it and that is by completing a road race (with a minimum distance of 21km). 

So, does that mean I could buy two pair of shoes if I complete an ultra marathon with a distance of 50km or above?  Hmmmm..... Probably!

Nevertheless, I did buy one pair of shoes (well, technically, I had Alvin buy it for me) and I got it even before the race started!  Yes, I was afraid I would run out of sizes post-race but to be fair, I kept the box (with the shoes inside) in a corner of our bedroom and only opened it once I finished the 50km race.

Having a Shoe reward also added to my motivation that I should complete the race.  Failure to do so means I can't use the shoes until I complete another long race!

So it was like Christmas in the house for Yours Truly.  And what kind of Onitsuka shoes did I get?  Well, in the sample picture above, it's not an ordinary pair of shoes....

For one thing,   there's "42.195km" written on its side, and ANY runner would know what that meant!

Then, there's Paris written on the back part of the shoe.

Inside the shoes is a route map of, what else, the Paris Marathon!

Granted, I haven't ran that race before, but I did join and complete some full marathons so this was just an AWESOME pair of shoes especially for the exclusive marathon club that a lot of us belong to!!

Aside from the Paris edition, there is also the New York Marathon and Tokyo Marathon (limited edition) Onitsuka shoes.

I am definitely happy with my shoe reward but now I'm thinking of one thing every time I put it on:

When will I do Paris Marathon?

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!  :)