I am a penguin. I can waddle for miles and miles and miles. I'll get there, not necessarly quickly, but in the end, I'll cover the same distance. Currently training to waddle a half, then on to a whole.
Have you seen March of the Penguins? They're nature's endurance athletes.
And as for shoes, I'd go to a running specialty store before I'd go to a New Balance store. There might be another brand that would work better than New Balance, and at a good running store, you'd have access to all the brands. Mizunos have always felt better during my test runs than any NB have, and that's what I've been wearing for a few years now.