I might have taken some great strides in becoming a minimalist in many aspects of life, but when it comes to running shoes (and fountain pens), I am a total maximalist. I have not let gone of a single pair of shoes that I have ever run in.

Retired a few of my shoes today (nearing 300 miles each) and activated a few more. Right now, I have hoarded 35 pairs of running shoes over 11 years spanning six brands – Brooks, Asics, New Balance, Nike, Adidas and Reebok.

If the shoes could write their own autobiographies, that would be an amazing anthology for I am run in some truly beautiful settings and some real extreme weather conditions.

The pair on the top shelf second from right – Brooks: Every other shoe owes them something – that is how I got started in running.

The pair on the second shelf from the top, third from left was my first competitive half marathon at 1 hour 54 mins (Dallas White Rock Half Marathon).

The orange pair at the bottom shelf – that was my only marathon ever at 5 hour 5 mins in Greece this year.

About fifteen pairs of shoes have run in foreign countries and almost the same number have won some kind of medals.

You can even see in the middle row my fling with minimalist running (also called barefoot running – although you do not run literally barefoot) for a couple of years till I got injured and switched back to supported shoes.

Ah! Little things please but little minds!!!