We have curated a list of thirteen surprising facts about running shoes for you. So, let’s dive right into it.

• Interestingly, a majority of the innovations in the fabrics used in running shoes and apparels have developed from women’s lingerie. This is because the material used in women’s lingerie is soft, stretchy, fitting and supportive, which make an excellent fit for running shoes.
• A common notion that runners should comply with the three types of shoes – stability, motion control and neutral, based on how they pronate has been disputed by British Journal of Sports Medicine.
• The word ‘Nike’ originated from the Greek goddess of victory. The company was initially called ‘Blue Ribbon Sports’. It was formed by Oregon-based track coach Bill Bowerman and track runner Phil Knight in 1964.

• The American pronunciation of Adidas has been doing rounds for quite a while. However, it is not pronounced ‘Uh-Dee-Duhs’, but rather ‘Ah-Dee-Dass’. It is named after the founder Adi Dassler.
• Research projects aiming at learning about running patters often employ real runners, high-speed video, robotic legs and 3-D modelling.
• Berkshire Hathaway owns Brooks Sports. Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate which is run by Warren Buffett.
• Just like Brooks Sports, many other brands are owned by more prominent parent companies. For instance, VF Corporation, a conglomerate owns The North Face, Wrangler, Smartwool, Lee Jeans etc.
• The British shoe brand, Inov-8 started off by building fell running shoes. Fell running is basically a British version of trail running. However, today, Inov-8 has already achieved a mark in manufacturing of American trail running shoes and CrossFit shoes.
• Steve Prefontaine has always been associated with Nike. This is due to the fact that Prefontaine was coached by Bill Bowerman, Nike’s co-founder. Additionally, he was Nike’s first sponsored runner.
• Several running shoe brands have tried to incorporate technology into shoe models. However, none of them has been successful yet. Among some of these brands are Puma RS-100 Computer Shoe (1986), Adidas 1 (2005), LA Gear CrossRunner Shoes with red LED lights (1992) etc.
• The running shoe market has seen a growth rate of competition and more so because of the entry of new running shoe brands such as Skechers, Hoka, Newton, Under Armour Zoot and Altra.

• Nike and New Balance are two of the brands that have been increasingly working on 3D printed shoes. By employing a leading-edge 3D printing technology, the brands have successfully created shoe parts out of nylon polymer materials.
• Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian athlete, won the 1960 Olympics marathon barefoot. Later in the 1964 Olympics, he wore a pair of Puma shoes, which is disputed by ASICS as they claim that Bikila wore a pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes.