RUN BETTER PROJECT

Protection from water and dirt, from heat and cold. For more comfort or faster times. From hunting tool to running tool, there are plenty of reasons why we run in shoes today. Together, we look back hundreds of years – to a time when people wearing shoes still looked like beings from the future. A journey through the history of (running) shoes. Read chapter 1 today.

One look at the shoe wall in a specialty running store will suffice to see that running shoes differ not only by brand, model, or color. Above all, they are also distinguished by sole technology. Because when it comes to running, it is crucial that the running shoe meets the runner’s demands for more comfort, more performance – or a lower risk of getting injured. Four different sole technologies currently dominate the shoe walls in specialty stores. Each with its own approach. Learn more about neutral, support, rocker, and U-TECH™ sole technologies. Why were they developed, how do they differ from each other – and what do they aim to do for us as runners? 

Neutral, Support, Rocker and U-TECH™: All four midsole technologies are designed to help runners make their runs better, more comfortable or healthier - with posts, carbon plates, maximum cushioning, minimum cushioning or a horseshoe shape. Different ideas for different needs. But which technology might help meet my individual needs? Studies from all over the world provide impressive results.

The perfect running shoe? Different for everyone. The first impression, the first time you slip them on, is crucial. Despite our individuality – this is exactly where we runners are not all that different after all. Because we all love comfort. Reason enough for running shoe manufacturers to start here, to develop comfort anew and to think it further. Thick midsoles, comfortable uppers, padded collars, an optimized fit – there are endless ways to make a running shoe as comfortable as possible. However, comfort is subjective, difficult to measure, and depends – precisely – on our individual perception as runners. An excursion into comfort. Learn more in Chapter 3 (Part 1).

Comfort is more than just a particularly supple upper or pleasantly soft cushioning. Comfort allows us to run wherever and whenever we want. As an offset to our stressful everyday lives or as a way to keep ourselves healthy and fit. In Chapter 3, Part 2 of our Run Better Project, you will read the very personal story of a runner and learn what running comfort means to him.