272009 –
Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run becomes a best-
seller. If there was a single catalyst that started the minimalist
running movement, it was this book that warned about the
dangers of modern running shoes, and advocated for run-
ning with less shoe—even actually running
barefoot. New runners might have missed
this trend, but earlier this decade, it was
all anyone wanted to talk about when run-
ning shoes came up. It’s why you still see
people running with Vibram shoes or
even barefoot, and it’s why shoe com-
panies and publications like this one
list the heel-to-toe offset for every shoe
mentioned.2011 –
The Color Run was founded, which added a whole new idea of racing:
It was truly about the journey, because the events weren’t the least bit
competitive. Participants simply ran from station to station to get blasted
with bright, chalky colors that gave each participant a head-to-toe tie-dye
look, and pose for a lot of pictures with their friends. The event’s nationwide
popularity left older generations of runners scratching their heads, wondering
why anyone would run a race that wasn’t timed, and lamenting today’s youth
and their love of selfi es. The Color Run is credited for bringing thousands of
non-runners into the sport.2012 –
Nike introduces Flyknit uppers. While
most shoes for years utilized cut-and-
sew construction to fi t the vamp, quarter
and heelcap of a shoe
together, Nike’s
Flyknit was a single,
seamless piece of
stretchy textile. It
was an instant hit,
and nowadays,
most shoe brands
have figured out
one-piece knit
uppers.Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoud release Hoka One
One shoes. After years of a minimalist running trend that sold
plenty of new models of shoes and left a lot of runners injured
or with sore Achilles tendons, Hoka went the other direction in
a big way. A Hoka shoe’s midsole looked comically enormous
at the time—but the brand has been a runaway success, in
part to their shoes allowing those with knee pain to run more
comfortably. It all led to a trend referred to as Maximalism.Strava’s app is released. Everyone knows runners love to
share info about their run. Strava allowed them to fully join in
the social media revolution and literally share the exact details
about their run, and view everyone else’s athletic endeavors.
It not only brought running into the social media age, it also
instantly became a useful training tool for data geeks, those
in search of new routes and workouts, or people looking for
some friendly competition.While
most shoes for years utilized cut-and-
sew construction to fi t the vamp, quarterseamless piece of
stretchy textile. It
was an instant hit,
and nowadays,
most shoe brands
have figured out
one-piece knit
uppers.dangers of modern running shoes, and advocated for run-
ning with less shoe—even actually running
barefoot. New runners might have missed
this trend, but earlier this decade, it was
all anyone wanted to talk about when run-
ning shoes came up. It’s why you still see
people running with Vibram shoes or
even barefoot, and it’s why shoe com-
panies and publications like this one
list the heel-to-toe offset for every shoeCM0617_FEAT_30YEARS.indd 27 5/11/17 5:15 PM