A Timeline of Running Sneaker Innovation: From the First Track Spikes to Today’s Super Shoes

J.W. Foster and Sons, the company that would become Reebok, begins selling its first running shoes. These spikes were lighter than their predecessors and featured a band for lateral support. The British company outfitted many Olympians from the country including Harold Abrahams, who won gold for in the 100-meter race at the 1925 Summer Games.

Founder Joseph William Foster’s grandsons Jeff and Joe founded Reebok and absorbed their father’s company in 1976.

Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Factory, the precursor to Adidas and Puma prior to the split of Adolf “Adi” and Rudolf “Rudi” Dassler, is founded.

Adi had already been repairing shoes and producing spikes before Rudi began working with him in 1923. A year later, they formally registered the company and began operations in a workshop converted from a washroom in their parents’ home. They would then move into their first factory in 1927.

Puma, initially known as Ruda, is founded by Rudolf Dassler. Rudolf moved across the Aurach River in Herzogenaurach from the factory that was kept by his brother Adolf. The name “Ruda” for only a few months before switching to “Puma.”

Adolf Dassler begins using the name “Adidas.” He kept two-thirds of the employees from the business with his brother in addition to the factory. After the 1952 Olympics, Adidas acquired its Three Stripes logo from Karhu sports in exchange for two bottles of whiskey and 1,600 euros.

British runner Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the first mile in under 4 minutes. Despite myths of the feat being considered impossible, his record would last a mere 46 days.

Blue Ribbon Sports becomes Nike and launches its Cortez.

Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman formed the former company in 1964 as a distrubutor of shoes from the Japanese brand Onitsuka Tiger. The Cortez began life as the Bill Bowerman-designed Tiger Cortez before Nike began selling the sneaker as its own. Onitsuka Tiger filed suit, but a judge ruled both brands could continue selling the sneaker. Nike also got to keep the “Cortez” name, so Asics began referring to its version as the “Corsair.”

Nike is granted a patent for its waffle sole, an invention of cofounder Bill Bowerman. The legendary running coach and Nike founder created the tread pattern by quite literally pouring rubber into a waffle iron. Nike would then bring the breakfast-inspired innovation in grip to the market with the Waffle Trainer.

Brooks becomes the first to use EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), a lightweight and responsive foam, as an alternative to rubber in its running shoes with the Villanova. The shoe was named after the alma matter of runner Marty Liquori, who worked with Brooks on the shoe’s development.

Nike launches the Tailwind, the first sneaker to feature its signature Air cushioning. Initial problems did plague the tech, and Nike reported on customer complaints of durability in 1979. Still, a Nike manager said it was the “first shoe of what we think is a revolution” and teased a basketball sneaker with Air.

New Balance releases the 990 as the first running shoe to cross the $100 barrier. In a 1981 FN story on its release, the brand touted three years of development for the innovative sneaker featuring a polyurethane heel-cradle called the “Motion Control” device as a counter in stability to the flexible slip-lasting process employed in producing the upper.

Brooks launches the Chariot, the first running shoe with two densities of foam, in a bid for stability. Its Diagonal Rollbar made use of a thicker foam inside the midsole and widened at the medial side to prevent overpronation, when the foot collapses inward.

Asics launches its Gel cushioning technology on the GT-II and the Freaks. Two years later, FN reported on the brand outfitting New York City Marathon officials and volunteers with its footwear and apparel, as well as introducing the Gel-NYC model.

Fellow Japanese company Taica produced the silicone-based gel known as Alpha Gel, which was then injected into the EVA midsole for shock absorption.

Designed by Tinker Hatfield, the Air Max 1 becomes Nike’s first sneaker with a visible Air unit. A 1988 FN story on innovation highlights the shoe’s crossover appeal in streetwear. Tom Clarke, vice president of marketing for Nike, said, “There is an interest to generate sales that [go] beyond primary users.”

Hatfield, a former architect, was inspired to make the shoe’s technology visible by the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which had been designed to appear as if it was inside-out.

Nike launches its Torsion system, which gets a mention in a 1991 FN story on women being drawn to shoes that help with injury prevention. “We’re [seeing] women in aerobics starting to run,” said Michael Peveto, Nike running marketing manager. “The numbers are going up. People enter the sport leisurely and their commitments will go up.”

The tech employs a TPU arch underfoot to support the transition from heel to forefoot and has been fine-tuned for different shoes and sports to this day.

Mizuno introduces its Wave technology, which utilizes a corrugated synthetic plate under the heel to offer both cushioning and stability. Upon impact, the Wave plate stretches and then propels its wearer forward as it returns to its original shape.

Nike debuts its Free technology as the minimalist movement takes off. The Nike Free 5.0 V1 was the first shoe to make use of the tech, which consists of a minimal offset midsole designed to mimic the shape of the foot and a flexible outsole. Numbers in the franchise’s naming system denote its place on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 represents being barefoot and 10 a normal running shoe. Thus the “5.0” in “5.0 V1” denotes the model sitting at the middle point.

Vibram launches its Five Fingers silhouette with articulated toes as a hallmark of the barefoot running movement. Minimal structure underfoot creates more work for muscles that would otherwise be neglected, and the separation of the toes allows each to work individually.

Hoka releases the Bondi, its first road running shoe and a progenitor of heavily cushioned runners running counter to the barefoot movement then still dominant.

“With oversized, super-soft outsoles in candy-colored EVAs and with a slight pitch at the front and back, they could almost be mistaken as a new entrant in the rocker-bottom arena,” FN wrote.

Knit uppers begin their takeover, with Nike launching Flyknit shortly after Adidas put out its own Primeknit. The two similar technologies helped shed some serious weight in the construction of uppers and also cut down on the waste generated by cut-and-sew processes.

Nearly 10 years later, the two brands would engage in a couple of legal battles over knit sneakers. Adidas lost a challenge to two Nike Flyknit patents in 2020, and a 2021 lawsuit filed by Nike alleging infringement by Adidas was settled the next year with undisclosed terms.

Adidas sets off the race for highly responsive cushioning when it debuts the Energy Boost. Matt Powell, a go-to FN source, said: “Boost is a marriage of two previously counter-[positioned] benefits. It’s lightweight and provides stability — you didn’t have those things together before.”

A German chemical company called Badische Anilin & Soda-Fabrik (BASF) created the foam in 2008 as tiny “energy capsules.” It then discovered how bouncy they became when welded into a larger unit, and Adidas licensed the tech after seeing a demo revealing the superiority over EVA foam.

Nike begins the super shoe era, defined by advanced foams and a carbon fiber plate, with the introduction of its first Vaporfly model, the Zoom Vaporfly 4%. The percentage figure in its name refers to testing finding the shoe performed 4 percent better than others for the marathon, a massive gain when applied across 26.1 miles.

Controversy ensued at the highest levels of running with debates over the shoe possibly offering too much of an advantage, and World Athletics issued guidelines limiting shoes to 40mm of cushioning with no more than one rigid plate.

Eliud Kipchoge runs the first (unofficial) marathon in under two hours while wearing a Nike Alphafly prototype. The shoe added Zoom Air cushioning to the forefoot to technology developed on the Vaporfly and would release the summer following Kipchoge’s historic achievement.

Because Kipchoge utilized pacers, hyrdration from a bicycle and didn’t race in an open competition, the time wasn’t recognized by World Athletics.