Encinitas, CA
1980 - 1984
Before the Running Shoe Geeks facebook page, before Believe in the Run and long before super shoes there was the early 1980's. If you were running at that time your shoe information came from Runner's World. The running shoe industry was catching up to the runners and many of the shoes you run in today can be traced back to this time. Before that though we have to talk marathon.
1981 - London Marathon
On March 29, 1981 the first London Marathon took place. It joined Boston, Chicago, New York City and Berlin. These 4 marathons along with Tokyo much later would begin to shape the global running calendar.
1984 Olympics
The big city marathons had allowed women to run since the mid 70's. One of the greatest if not the greatest women of all time Grete Waitz started winning the New York City Marathon in the late 70's. She would go on to win it 9 times. The Olympics however did not allow women to run the marathon until 1984 in Los Angeles. In that marathon Joan Benoit, running on the streets of Los Angeles with her trademark white hat won. That race was broadcast all over the world. More people watched that marathon than any other marathon in history to that date.
Saucony Jazz
In 1981 Saucony released the Jazz to the world. Runners wanted cushioning and they wanted durability at the time. The complaint of the day was "My shoes wear out too fast". Saucony introduced a shoe with 5mm lugs and pillowy cushioning. Today the Jazz is called the Saucony Ride.
Nike Air Pegasus
The very first Air Pegasus was released in 1982. At that time Nike could only imbed their air unit in a Polyurethane (PU) midsole. The Pegasus had a PU midsole in the heel and an EVA midsole in the forefoot. It also had the famous waffle sole in the forefoot. This introduced PU to the rest of the industry. It became a standard for a decade or more and it would be a pre-curser to many of the foams we run in today. PU was a more durable running foam and its cushioning properties were off the charts for the day. There were two problems. First, it was a heavier foam. It was difficult to create a light weight shoe with PU. The other problem PU had was a relatively short shelf life. Anyone who ran in those shoes at the time might remember their shoes rotting away. The foam would begin to fall apart after time.
Nike Air Mariah
Runners of this day will swear to you that the Air Mariah was the best racing shoe ever produced. Better than the Vapor Fly! The Air Mariah was one of the first shoes you could put on and feel faster. Road Racing was the thing. Setting a PB (PR) in the 10K was the goal. In the big cities there was a 10K every weekend from March through September. The Air Mariah was a shoe of choice for many if not most.
Looking Ahead
The Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, HI are this Saturday. It's the women's turn to race this iconic course. If it's anything like the men's race in Nice, turn on to watch the marathon.
Chicago Marathon is on Sunday. The next World Marathon Major with close to 50,000 runners and notoriously fast times will be held. Conner Mantz will be aiming for the American record in the Marathon. Weather right now looks good, not great but good.
