Running Shoes History

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Unlike a running competition, the race to create the best running shoe never ends. A person must first be able to walk before learning how to run and, in the development of running shoes, things must first be simple before they can become intricate. Many things that were once thought as impossible are now thought of as old-fashioned, and the possibilities of human innovation remain seemingly limitless. The idea of a shoe designed for running might appear to be a simple concept, but over time the basic running shoe has been redeveloped and redesigned countless times. While the basic function of a shoe has always been the same, the radial evolution of shoes has branched off in many different directions. The running shoe fits into one of these …show more content…
The idea of using these shoes for running did not initially catch on when athletes first began competing. From the first Olympics, which took place in 776 B.C., to many years later, athletes did not run in shoes because the basic design would have just hindered athletic performance (Wolkomir). The athletes competing in the early Ancient Greece Olympics eventually saw a need for change, however. “The running sandal was invented in Ancient Greece for use in the Olympic Games. The discovery that the sole of the sandal increased traction was the beginning of the track shoe, and that basic idea is the essence of track shoes today” (Jordan). The Romans took the idea that shoes could help runners further by creating the first shoes designed specifically for a right and left foot. The Romans also came up with the idea that shoes could be designed to be attractive and aesthetically pleasing (Wolkomir). These developments and innovations were all introduced to create a viable running shoe even before the first running boom in the 19th …show more content…
From sandals to sneakers and beyond, running shoes have been innovated and altered countless times to become what they are today. As long as humans continue to run, running shoes will continue to be changed. With all of the changes that have occurred throughout history, the running shoe has been greatly improved. Improved comfort, safety, and performance from shoes are all beneficial to runners. The sport of running, however, is still the same in essence and has not been greatly altered by the revolution of its shoes. Running will always be a sport in which people put one foot in front of another repeatedly to improve no matter how running shoes change. Running shoes have evolved, developed, and grown from a humble origin into seemingly advanced devices, but the innovation and the evolution of running shoes will ceaselessly continue as a pattern in history so that one day even the shoes of today will seem
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