{"id":2451864,"date":"2013-04-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/uncategorized\/deconstructed-rise-minimalist-running-shoe\/"},"modified":"2022-12-05T11:44:57","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T18:44:57","slug":"deconstructed-rise-minimalist-running-shoe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-gear\/run\/deconstructed-rise-minimalist-running-shoe\/","title":{"rendered":"Deconstructed: The Rise of the Minimalist Running Shoe"},"content":{"rendered":"
1960: <\/strong>New Balance introduces the Trackster, generally recognized as the first shoe seriously designed as a daily running shoe.<\/p>\n September 1960:<\/strong> Abebe Bikila (pictured) wins the Olympic marathon barefoot.<\/p>\n 1976:<\/strong> Brooks introduces the Vantage, the first running shoe with an EVA midsole and \u201cpronation control,\u201d a big step toward what conventional running shoes look like today.<\/p>\n 1977:<\/strong> Jim Fixx\u2019s Complete Book of Running<\/em><\/a> tops the New York Times<\/em> bestseller list; Fixx wears Onitsuka Tiger racing flats on the cover.<\/p>\n 1993\u201395: <\/strong>Tarahumara Indians win the Leadville 100-miler in Colorado wearing handmade sandals.<\/p>\n 2004:<\/strong> Nike introduces the Free as a \u201ctraining tool\u201d to strengthen the feet and lower legs, an acknowledgment that most running shoes of the time provided no such benefits.<\/p>\n 2009: <\/strong>Chris McDougall\u2019s Born to Run<\/em><\/a> becomes a bestseller, ushering the nascent minimalism movement into the mainstream.<\/p>\n 2010:<\/strong> Just four years after the shoe was introduced, Vibram FiveFingers account for 2 percent of running-shoe sales.<\/p>\n January 2010:<\/strong> Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman publishes research in Nature<\/em><\/a> supporting the idea that conventional running shoes alter \u201cnatural\u201d running mechanics.<\/p>\n May 2010:<\/strong> The backlash begins. The Hoka One One<\/a>, a so-called maximalist running shoe with an eye-poppingly oversize midsole, debuts.<\/p>\n January 2012:<\/strong> Meb Keflezighi wins the Olympic marathon trials in Skechers, one of dozens of mainstream brands now making minimalist shoes.<\/p>\n March 2012:<\/strong> A class action is filed against Vibram for deceptive claims about the health benefits of its FiveFingers<\/a> shoes.<\/p>\nSee Also: You Don't Know How to Run<\/h3> Inside the Minimalist Running Movement<\/a><\/div>
Making the Switch<\/h3> Scott Douglas weights the pros and cons of making the switch to minimalism<\/a>
\n<\/div>The Minimalism Starter Kit<\/h3> Easing into the barefoot revolution<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n