A Story Of Running Shoes Improvement, Step By Step
The history of running shoes development may start with Mithridates, who ran the first marathon to warn his fellow Greeks of an impending invasion. The fact that he died after delivering his message is a reminder of how debilitating running can be.
There are doubts about the benefits of running shoes in some minds. Many people think it better to run barefoot. A certain Zulu chieftain would have agreed. He forced his soldiers to harden the soles of their feet until they had in effect built in boots made of their own calloused skin. They could run eighty kilometres over rough ground and fight a battle the next morning.
A man called Walt Webster thought up the idea of sticking a rubber sole to canvas shoes way back in 1832. They proved useful for tennis and croquet, and were also useful for thieves who found they could sneak around silently in them. Such items are still called sneakers.
The man who really started everything was Adolf Dassler. He prepared shoes for the 1936 Olympic Games, now known as ‘Hitler’s Games.’ They were popular, but forgotten in the heat of war. After the war, conditions had changed. Dassler had to use scraps of rubber and canvas for his shoes. He devised the idea of putting three strips of leather across the top of each shoe to strengthen it.
In the post modern period jogging took off as a leisure activity. It kept the blood moving, and was cheap and easy way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Thousand of feet pounding the ground every day meant that new purchases had to be made not only for new entrants to running clubs, but also for replacements. The demand for leisure footwear created a big new industry.
The materials used altered from plain leather and rubber to lightweight mesh on the uppers. These allowed for feet to breathe and were very flexible, allowing for ease of movement.
As the numbers of athletes lining up for world famous events grew from a few hundreds to ten or fifteen thousand the industry had scope to widen its research and development. Specialist models were developed for different kinds of foot and styles of running. The shoe salesman became an expert who could analyse a buyers style and recommend the exact model that would be most suitable.
To counter the incidence of injuries designs were created to lessen jarring and jolting. These can cause serious hip and knee problems in young and old athletes. One answer is to have gel built into the sole in order to create a sensation of lightness, or bouncing.
Faster personal best performances of women have far exceeded those of men in recent decades. The many thousands of female athletes have created demand for more attractive wear in delicate colours and fashionable designs. Manufacturers follow the needs of their customers, and also do their bit to nudge them towards needs they never knew they had. This too has marked recent trends in the history of running shoe development.
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