For me it was the 1974 Nike Waffle Trainer. These were my first really serious running shoes that I bought in the fall of 1974 at the start of the high school cross-country running season. Bought them out of the trunk of a guys car - read on!
A personal, “Thank You” to long time Slowtwitcher Dennis McMinn who very graciously gave me a tour of the Nike Campus recently and also tipped me off to, not park in the parking spot with the sign for “Michael Jordan”!
1995 and I was already well into my running career but I’ll never forget these.
Nike Air Rift…they were the running shoe industries first crack at mimicking barefoot running with the split toe (ninja Boot style).
I loved these shoes but look back and have no idea how I ran in them. My love of running shoes and its ever evolving technology started with these.
The Reebok ERS (energy return system) trainer. The amount of energy they returned was awesome…oh wait no they sucked bad. Nevermind.
Seriously though late 80’s early 90’s for me it was the Nike Waffle Racer. When I slipped them on for a race it was like ‘Game on!’. I even wrote ‘Bye’ on the back of each heel because I was that bad arse.
My all time favorite trainer is the Nike Air Huarache, the Air Mariah is probably my favorite flat. As someone else said I loved the Air Rifts. Most of my favorite shoes have been Nikes, but overall I have probably owned more Asics with at least 1 of every other brand thrown in. Loved the Gel Lites and LD racer.
Andre Agassi’s Nike air tech challenge (ca. 1991) was the first shoe that made me realize a shoe can be more than the mass of synthetic materials that keeps sticks and rocks from plunging deep into my feet as a barrel through the woods at break-neck speeds. I was about 12 at the time, and far from my running days, but I wore those things until they died sometime in 1993. From there, it took me well over a decade of beating around in old school Vans and Converse all stars to rediscover performance footwear.
A pair of green suede Lanzera indoor soccer shoes. The soles were thin enough that I could feel the texture of the pavement and I remember running my first road race in them because, to my then 14 y.o. self, they felt better than my built up Asics, especially when running on my toes. Sadly, my 14 y.o. self didnt know anything about run training, so I spent the next 3 days hobbling around with severely tight calves, unable to walk up and down stairs.
It was a used pair of Osagas back in 1979 from a friend when I was 14. I think they were called the KT-26. To this kid, they seemed light years ahead of their time. I had always run in my Nike or Adidas court shoes prior to the Osagas.
Nike Air Jordan 8 when I was 8 years old. Black and red with the “bunny ears” straps. Air Jordans have always been at the cutting edge of technology and style. Been addicted to shoes ever since.
The Reebok ERS (energy return system) trainer. The amount of energy they returned was awesome…oh wait no they sucked bad. Nevermind.
Seriously though late 80’s early 90’s for me it was the Nike Waffle Racer. When I slipped them on for a race it was like ‘Game on!’. I even wrote ‘Bye’ on the back of each heel because I was that bad arse.
I absolutely loved my Reebok ERS pump’s from when I was a teenager, I’ve been looking for a re-released retro pair for a while now.
My first pair of real running shoes was a pair of New Balance 1060 series runners, before that I never ran anything more than 5k.
Well, there’s two shoes here: one that got me going with shoes, and then the other one that got me into running more specifically:
Nike Air Stab:
The shoe that made me realize that sneakers can look cool. Plus, one of the original stability shoes…so for those sneaker geeks, it’s more than just a cool looking shoe: it’s a piece of history.
As for the shoe that got me running: the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6:
The first time I could run without severe shin splints…I crushed these poor shoes. I haven’t worn the latest rounds of Adrenalines, simply because the arch in Brooks is now too high for my taste. But I could run forever in these.
