Sneak Peeks

It's new sneaker time: Your old pair either has holes or cruddy cushioning -- or even worse -- smells like a hunk of Roquefort cheese. Begin your shoe quest online, where you can preview the latest styles, get prices and find a nearby retailer.

The very best sneaker sites, though, are those that offer something extra like fitness tips or walking, running and hiking trail info. Here are the shoe-ins:

New Balance has a list of the 46 most breathtaking U.S. running trails, with a detailed description of each route and an interactive race calendar, searchable by region and month.

Limber up with Reebok's Walker's Guide to Fitness, an online newsletter currently demonstrating stretches that should be part of any athlete's foreplay. Kudos to Reebok for using a healthy-looking non-model!

Check out the women runners' newsletter put out by Brooks, the first major athletic shoe company headed by a woman. In between the corporate mumbo-jumbo, there's useful advice on preparing for a marathon.

Feel sore and don't know why? Check out Etonic's article on injuries for detailed explanations of what can go wrong when you run and how to avoid getting hurt.

Merrell Boots, the hiking shoe company, has a list of its own hiking centers, trails in ski resorts around North America, with a brief description and a link to the resorts' homepages. Don't forget to yodel!

Hagar Scher is a New York City-based freelance writer.