History Of Running Shoes

When you look at the variety in running shoes today you will be amazed not at just at the different kinds of shoes but the various styles, designs and more importantly the technologies that power them. Running shoes are getting sleeker; they are looking smarter and are being produced by some of the most leading footwear brands in the world today. However, it would be foolish to assume that running shoes were always this popular or that they possessed such variety as they do now.

In fact, running shoes have evolved along with the changing needs and lifestyles of people, always adapting in design and performance.

Earliest records of running shoes are from the 1890s, when a company called the J.W.Foster and Sons remodeled some shoes by fitting spikes to the underside of the shoe. This helped the runner in getting more grip and increased his speed while running. Running and racing were two passions of J.W.Foster and he worked tirelessly in trying to improve the models of shoes so that runners could run more comfortably. The Foster Company of yesteryears is today known as Reebok!

In 1917 special shoes called plimsolls were introduced into the market. These were manufactured using a special technique called vulcanization. This process used heat to fuse together rubber and cloth, creating a pair of shoes that were not only comfortable but were extremely lightweight. In fact, they were so easy to use on the feet that a person wearing plimsolls could go about without anyone hearing a squeak from the shoes. This gave the shoes its popular name ‘sneakers’. The Keds shoe company was the first to manufacture and market these running shoes on a mass scale.

Later in 1925, the idea of using spikes was refined even further by a German by name Adi Dassler who found that different runners had different kinds of feet and by changing the spikes used, he could design shoes that fit them perfectly. Due to his efforts, new lightweight materials were found that made shoes even lighter and allowed runners to run even faster. Incidentally, Adi Dassler is the founder of Adidas!

Running shoes today have come a long way – from a single model being refined by individuals to thousands of models being manufactured by major international corporations. Today, it is common for most brands selling running shoes to invest heavily in research and develop shoes that are designed to match the requirement of many different kinds of runners. These models vary based on the shape of the feet, the surface of the runner, the kind of running they do and so on. For this, the companies spend a lot of time and effort in understanding the significance of various factors – how the shape of the feet affects one’s running, how shock-absorbent material can make shoes more comfortable and how motion-control devices can aid runners run smoother and faster.

These technologies have made the simple running shoe of the past into a technological wonder today with great improvements in not just design but even in performance.