Should your running shoe feel soft and cushiony or firm and supportive? What's the proper way to lace up? This shoe feels snug—should I go up a size, or do I need a wide width? Good luck getting answers from the teen working in shoes at your local department store. "Uh, Nikes look cool," is about what you should expect in the way of running shoe advice until you go to Luke's Locker. A visit to the second-floor shoe department at Luke's begins with an analysis of your gait, in which the salesman determines how your feet pronate (i.e. how your foot impacts the ground). Based on that information, a measurement of your foot size (we were surprised to find out we should be wearing both a half-size larger and a wider width) and other info, several pairs of running shoes are presented. You can test these out on the faux indoor track at Luke's. We stretch our arms over our head as the crowd cheers, and the finish line ribbon breaks against our chest like a scene from a movie. Re-enacting scenes from Chariots of Fire may draw strange looks from the clerks, but we'll gladly buy shoes from a store that makes us feel like champions.