Forever shoes. That’s how people who buy and wear running shoes for daily wear but are not really runners seem to view their rubbery footwear.

Example: Standing in line one morning behind a woman wearing a pair of near-legacy New Balance running shoes, it struck me that the rubber heel and midfoot area had aged to a decomposed-looking gray-green patina. That is a sign that the rubber in those shoes is far beyond its expiration date.

The sad truth is this: That woman is far from alone. Millions of people seem to think that running shoes simply never wear out. They will wear their running shoes until they literally fall off their feet or turn inside out from the stress of trying to hold up under their bio-mechanical deficiencies. I have seen running shoes so broken down from pronation (collapsed arches) that the inside of the shoe is literally touching the ground. Likewise, there are people who supinate (lean their foot to the outside) so profoundly the fifth metatarsal is scuffing the ground like windsurfer in a full gale.

Not a good strategy for foot or leg health. That holds true whether you run or not. If you are an actual runner and your shoes look like that, you do not deserve to set foot on the pavement or any other running surface. You are too delusional to run.

Sorry, it’s the truth.

The problem of “overwearing” running shoes is common, and found near and far. I once asked my own mother-in-law how long she’d had a pair of running shoes and she told me, “Six years.” And then my own  brother-in-law showed up to a family gathering in a similarly ancient pair of Nikes. His were 8 years old. I quickly reminded them that running shoes are not designed to Last Forever.

Neither of these beloved people in my life are stupid. But many people do like to stretch their luck in life. Otherwise casinos would be out of business.

Here’s the truth about running shoes. After a year or so the rubber begins to degrade. The support slowly (and sometimes quickly) gives out. Pretty soon a person with any sort of bio-mechanical deficiency is essentially walking around in a pair of shoes that actually make their foot and leg problems worse, not better. And people wonder why their bodies hurt?

The trend in purchasing running shoes for casual wear is reportedly on the increase. That trend was documented in the business news in 2012. Yet a current Google search turns up more information about fashion advice on the merits (for better or worse) of wearing running shoes as casual wear. In fact most men’s advice columns warn against wearing running shoes, especially so-called “retired” running shoes for any fashion situation.

For one thing, old running shoes often stink. Guys: women really do not like stinky shoes in any situation, especially in their carefully coiffed apartments. Plus running shoes really do not look as good with jeans as you think they do. Get a decent pair of boots for your jeans. If you must wear running shoes with your shorts, have the common sense to buy some low-cut socks. Otherwise you will look like the character Kip from the movie Napolean Dynamite.

But the women I’ve known who have stinky feet go to great lengths to hide the fact, until it becomes so evident they just cave and admit, “My feet stink.” Which is something most guys never have the class to do. Because usually they don’t notice. And that is far worse than copping to the fact.

Wearing running shoes for casual wear is a favorite thing for seniors. Usually they buy the absolutely hugest pair of running shoes they can find, like those New Balance shoes with nine different layers of rubber between your foot and the ground. Of course seniors who fall off a shoe that high have been known to kill themselves or at least break a hip or leg bone. So it seems the greatest risk to seniors who are purchasing running shoes for casual wear is the sum height of the footwear. Anything over 3″, which is about how thick those NB running shoes actually seem to be, should be avoided for those with crappy balance.

New Balance seems to be one of the favorite brands of running shoe footwear for non-runners to buy and wear around. Something about the design or the name or the look and feel of New Balance shoes appeals to non-runners. Perhaps it is the big N on the side that makes it look a little simpler, and therefore remedial in nature. Maybe New Balance buyers think it will actually teach them to walk again. That’s what New Balance means, right? No more stumbling over curbs or stubbing your toe on furniture.

Some models of New Balance shoes are so huge your foot and toes cannot possibly enact with the chemical or molecular composition of the universe.

And that brings up another point: It may be that New Balance shoes are actually anti-gravity shoes in disguise. No one has actually tested this theory, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Take a close look at those moon boots on Neil Armstrong on the moon. Those shoes he’s wearing look a lot like an early model New Balance. There may actually be a large N on the side, but none of the pictures seems to show that clearly.

Of course there are some people who think the whole lunar landing scene was fake. That does not change the fact that Armstrong might have been the first person to wear true running shoes for casual footwear. It was the 1960s after all. True running shoes were just being invented. No one knew not to mix their sport with their general appearance. It took all the 1970s to figure that out.

Then came the 1980s and absolutely no one knew where to draw the line. I mean, for God’s sake, we elected an actor as President, who turned around and appointed an End Timer in James Watt as Secretary of the Interior. By extrapolation that means at least half the country who favored such policies apparently thought the world was officially coming to an end and it didn’t matter what you wore out in public. That explains the years 1983-1989 pretty well. And the music too. The Big Hair. And shoulder pads in women’s clothing.

I will myself admit that in the 1980s I wore a pair of New Balance training shoes until the soles wore clear through. But my explanation was that I could not help myself. I was obsessed with running like no one you’ve ever seen. 80-mile weeks. 24 races a year. I just kept running and running in those shoes because they fit so well I could not tell they were wearing clean through. Then one day I felt water in my sock and came to a cold stop on the road. I took off my right shoe and looked at the sole and discovered an actual hole in the bottom. “Well, sonofabitch,” I said out loud.

But this is what amounted to sole searching in the 1980s. We all operated at a rather shallow level. After all, we had an actor we called the Great Communicator for a President. And he was followed by a Dana Carvey imitator.

But at least I did not retire those shoes to casual wear or try to make them last another 6 years because the rest of the sole was not worn out. Even I had more sense than that.

But now it’s time to skip ahead 20 years or so, and get real about our current situation. There are still people walking around in the world today who don’t know when to retire a pair of old running shoes. For God’s sake, people! Do you actually think we should return to the 1980s, the most superficial decade in history?

There are still people that superficial, who buy their running shoes at Kohl’s or K-Mart when those products are not even the real thing. The manufacturers all know they can pump out inferior crap and innocent people will buy it at those stores simply because it says NIKE or adidas on the side. That is the power of marketing at work.

I have personally tried those discount store running shoes and they are definitely not the same as buying running shoes at a real running store like Dick Pond or some other local merchant who actually cares what you put on your feet.

Even Dick’s Sporting Goods has the real thing, but you can’t trust ever other major retailer.

Here’s a simple rule if you’re a real runner: Buy your running shoes at a real running store. If you’re a basic consumer who will never run in your shoes, then at least trade them in every couple years. Otherwise you are breaking the Sane People’s Code (SPC) which is to not push your luck. But again, lots of people buy lottery tickets too. Shove them aside at the counter of your local quik mart. They are also delusional.

It’s actually okay to buy running shoes for casual wear. Just give a little consideration why you’re buying them, rather than the fact that they just make your feet look cool. They actually can help you walk and enjoy life if you get them fit to your feet and are actually purchased in mind with the type of walking or standing around you do in life. Let your running shoes help you, even if you never plan to run a step in them.

But always remember; running shoes are not Forever Shoes. Retire them after one year, two at the max. Don’t be cheap, because that’s stupid.

And always remember your casual and especially your “retired” running shoes really do stink. Everyone’s just too polite to tell you.