Running shoes did not exist as a consumer product before 1965

Evidence

It will shock any American under the age of fifty to learn that, once upon a time, nobody in the United States “went running.” Indeed, you couldn’t go to the store and buy a pair of “running shoes” in, say, 1965—because such a thing did not exist. Sure, Phil Knight was somewhere out in Oregon, driving to track meets with a lightweight waffle-rubber-sole shoe in the back of his station wagon. And yes, there were spiked sneakers for Olympic athletes. But, basically, a pair of Chuck Taylor “All Stars” (canvas, flat, originally designed circa 1915) were pretty much still your best option if you wanted to go for a jog. — The Friends of Attention, Attensity!, 193

Categorization

• CANDY: A fun, tweetable fact: nobody went running in 1965 and running shoes didn’t exist.
• SHARE: Worth sending to a friend into fitness history or sneaker culture.