38
Health & Fitness
FEELGOOD FACTOR
feelgoodfactor@standard.co.uk
Proper running needs the right shoes.
Sophia Money-Coutts discovers the
best way to get that vital perfect fit
What is it? An exclusive foot scanning
technique for runners at Asics new
flagship London store, the Japanese
sports brand often cited as the worlds
best manufacturer of running shoes.
Why go? For proper, top-notch advice on
the right running shoes for your feet.
When I started running a few years ago,
I had no idea that there was an entire
industry developing the exact science
behind shoes. Surely, I assumed, you just
pull on whichever pair you happen to
own at that moment and bound out to
the park? It was only when a niggle in my
knee blew up that I limped off to the
physio for a stern talking-to. There, she
wiggled my feet about, announced that I
had feet flatter than a duck and should,
with all haste, go and kit myself with a
pair of Asics trainers to avoid the problem
of landing like such a lump, or
overpronation in my case. Sure enough,
despite being an alarming shade of
orange and uglier than Quasimodo, they
sorted out my jarring leg joints.
Ive been a convert since, and now
appreciate that all runners, whether
novice or pro, should visit a professional
store each time they have to go through
the relatively expensive process of
buying a new pair, normally after 300-
400 miles of wear.
At Asics, sourcing the right type of
shoe is a two-step procedure. Firstly, I
had to peel off my socks (how mortifying
it is to reveal naked feet with chipped
continued from page 37
from 24 to 20 weeks, Professor Nico-
laidess views on abortion are clear, if
slightly contradictory. Women must
have the right to choose, he says. But
the medical establishment, including
his own body, the Royal College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, is to
blame for resisting early testing which
could have spared many women late
terminations.
I hate abortion yet I support a liberal
law on abortion. But I find it intolerable
that we have to use the excuse of having
a very late termination at 24 weeks
because the NHS and the medical pro-
fession cant deliver a service to diag-
nose that abnormality at 12 weeks. I was
at war with the institutions because by
fiddling around for the past 20 years,
fighting against the evidence, the insti-
tutions were instrumental in our fail-
ure to deliver a service to women.
His daughter Despina, 11, and son
H
nail polish in public) and place each foot
in a 3D scanner. Using laser beams and
micro cameras, the little box coughed up
an entire page of measurements and 3D
images of my feet within seconds. Its
the only store in the UK to own such a
detailed machine, and Asics owns the
full rights to it for a year.
Armed with my individual feet
dimensions, I then tried a range of
different trainers while running on to
the treadmill, also known as gait
analysis. I spent 30 seconds jogging in
each pair, my lower legs and feet filmed
from behind me. The results were
watched on screen and analysed by the
lovely Danka who ummed and aahed
over my bendy ankles and matched me
to my shoes. Most pairs hover between
the 70 and 100 mark, often a
frustrating expense for something so
ugly but one thats non-negotiable.
The verdict: suitably Japanese and zen-
like. The trainers are unbeatable, the
staff informed and the whole service
much appreciated. Frankly, on these
darkening autumn days running is often
quite hard enough without having the
excuse of poorly-fitting, uncomfortable
shoes to fall back on.
Cost and contact details: foot scanning
and gait analysis costs 20 which is
redeemable against a pair of trainers.
Asics, 29 Argyll Street, W1 (www.asics.
co.uk, 020 7494 4701).
Get it right:
running is no
longer a matter
of grabbing the
nearest pair of
shoes and
heading out
the door
Caption Kicker
Herodotus, 14, live very happily in
Greece with their mother, a former girl-
friend. The relationship didnt work out
because: Im intolerable. Their mother
found it completely unacceptable that
Id arrive home at 10pm with research
fellows, swarm into the kitchen and start
cooking. I expect a lot from them (his
children) but Im sentimental I love
them to bits and they manipulate me all
the time. And there is no question that
they will both become doctors.
Retirement will never be an option for
Nicolaides, now 55. I wouldnt know
what to do, he says softly. His work
engages him completely and there
are always new solutions to be found
for patients, not just here but across the
world. For example, after lobbying the
Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres,
Nicolaides secured a promise that Pal-
estinian doctors would have free access
to a special foetal medicine conference
he was hosting in Israel.
I will never walk away I met the
The bigger the better: when it comes to eyelashes, minimalism is not the answer
Lashings of mascara
Alice Hart-Davis on this seasons trend
for heavy lids and very big eyelashes
E
YELASHES and luscious
ones at that are where its
at this autumn. Teamed with
strong lips and velvety, pow-
dered-down complexions
(think urban Dandy meets Brideshead)
huge eyelashes are standing out this
season. And whaddayaknow, the newest
mascaras all come with a USP to help
you achieve the maxi-lash look.
Givenchys PhenomenEyes (17.50,
Harrods), comes with its very own spiky,
spherical tip to help reach those tricky
little lashes in the corners of your eye;
Diorshows Iconic High Definition
Lash Curling Mascara (18.50, avail-
able nationwide) has a bias-cut brush
and special polymers to enhance curl.
But the real jaw-droppers are the vibrat-
ing mascaras (yes, you read right).
Este Lauders TurboLash (28 at
Harrods) and Lancmes Oscillation
(28, Selfridges) each buzz away at a rate
of some 100 micro-pulses per second,
the better to work the mascara into the
roots of the lashes and cover them more
evenly.
I love the concept, though neither of
them took my breath away in practice.
But then most of us dont have the sort
of long lashes that require only one coat
of mascara to look their best in
which case body-building lash-scaffold-
ing is required.
You could always use an undercoat of
Clinique Lash Primer (12, www.cli-
Afghan ambassador in India and, while
theyre bombing terrorists everywhere,
theyre allowing one woman in 10 to die
in labour. Pregnancy can unite people
in ways that other aspects of life can-
not.
The money he makes from his private
work more than 1 million a year
is ploughed back into the FMF for
training and research. He draws a basic
NHS salary and his tastes are simple:
reading and keeping up to date with
current affairs.
The controversy Nicolaides has
attracted depresses him at times
because all he wants is to do his best for
everyone.
There are times when people have
unrealistic expectations of God to sort
out their problems. I try my best. I dont
Rebecca Reid
believe Im playing God. There are
many times when Ive had enormous
dilemmas about what Im doing. But in
the end, you just have to make a
choice.
Tuesday 14 October 2008 evening standard
Camera Press
nique.co.uk) which acts as a thickening
base for mascara or push the boat out and
invest in a potion that you paint on each
night, like a clear eyeliner, that encour-
ages lash-growth. They work but they are
expensive and Ive found the lash growth
can be a touch uneven. Revitalash (020
8997 8541), Dermalash (01306 886 425) and
Jan Marinis Lash Enhancer (020 8868
4411 or www.jmsreurope.com) all claim
to make your lashes stronger, longer and
darker after three months use (each tube
will last six months but will set you back
about 95).
And because most of us need a
quicker fix, false eyelashes have lost
their drag-queen reputation and are
considered acceptable again. Super-
drug do a big pack of singles for 4.45,
Shu Umueras lovely, superior falsies
cost from 11, at www.spacenk.co.uk,
and Revlon has glorious ones called
Fantasy Lengths with a strip of glitter
along the base-line for instant pizzazz.
Alternatively, you could go for broke
with eyelash queen Sue Marshs latest
web lash extensions (80, at Daniel
Galvin, 020 7486 9661) which last for
weeks.
Whatever you do, the principle is simple
more is more, though I fear I may have
overdone it with my cobalt and amethyst
lash extensions. Girlfriends think theyre
fabulous but I caught my husband mum-
bling Clockwork Orange under his
breath when he saw me.
Completely absorbed: Professor Nicolaides with an expectant mother at his clinic
5THE
OFfive
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