There's an unsung hero I've yet to thank for helping me through the 12.5 kilometres of the Urbanathlon — my customised miadidas running shoes.

The pair has stuck by me through thick and thin — from the high-intensity Urbanathlon Bootcamp Training Sessions with Polar, to the water and mud baths in the actual race — and they never ever gave me one reason to doubt them. There were no blisters (which my doctor says I may be genetically more prone to than the average person), no discomfort, no malfunctions, and no stench.

It seems like we've been together for years, but our partnership is but a mere three months old. Now you must be wondering why I would wear a new, expensive pair of shoes to the Urbanathlon when I was fully aware that I'd have to subject them to soaking in filthy mud and water. Well, it's simply because there wasn't another pair of shoes I would have rather run in. After all, I wasn't confident any of my other (also relatively new) shoes wouldn't give me blisters or discomfort. And while dozens of soiled, worn shoes lay discarded and littered around the finish line of the Urbanathlon on race day, I brought mine home to nurse them back to life so I they can live to run another day.

Why are these shoes so damn comfortable? Because they're customised to my feet. Feet that are half a size apart, normal arches, and which overpronate ever so slightly when I run. Now I have to admit I was rather skeptical of this shoe customisation service from adidas at first, thinking it was some over-elaborate gimmick, but the shoes have obviously proven their worth as well as the usefulness of the service. I'll also confess the only reason I went and got these shoes was for the reason that I could have my name or whatever silly slogan I wanted stitched on to them after I had selected my very own unique colour scheme. My desire for them were born of vanity, but my current dependence is purely on the basis of utility.

The customisation doesn't just come with running shoes alone either. You can choose to start with up to 6 different adidas shoe lines as a base template for your custom shoes. These range from the mi Supernova Sequence running shoes (that's mine) to mi Predator X football boots and mi Barricade V tennis shoes (with a price range from $159 to $379).

But before you choose your shoe type, the folks at adidas will first put you through a series of tests to determine your individual feet sizes (both length and width), your arch type, and pronation. With that data, the resident shoe expert will then advice you on the best type of shoes in their range to fit your needs, whether you're looking at shoes for running, football, tennis, basketball, or other activities.

Once you've picked your shoe base, then the fun customisation process happens and you get to pick the colour scheme and embellishments for your shoes. (Apart from having my name on them in so someone else can't claim it's theirs, I also have the Chinese symbol for "war" stitched on the heel. Cheesy I know, but that's my own damn perrogative.)

The entire process takes no more than half an hour (if you're not too nit-picky and wishy-washy about your unique design) and delivery of your masterpiece takes about two to three weeks. All the data about your feet is also stored in the adidas database (which you can access online via a login). That comes in handy in the event you're so happy with your shoes (like I am) that you want to order up another pair with your specifications.

Now I'm not saying that you should go out and splurge on customising your own adidas shoes if you can find a pair off the rack that suits you just fine. I still think that's the best way to go, especially if you get a lot of mileage out of your shoes and have to replace them often. But if you're looking for a special pair for important races or matches, or if you have very unique feet which typical off-the-rack shoes can't provide a good fit for, then having custom-made shoes might be a good way to go.

For more information about mi adidas shoes, visit the adidas website. (Only available at adidas Sports Performance Concept Store at The Cathay.)