Building a More Inclusive Running Shoe Starts With Women

WHEN I PIN BALLED among the booths at 2021's The Running Event, an annual trade show held in Austin, Texas, I was happy to see that the primary focus wasn't on so-called super shoes.

- AMANDA FURRER

Yes, I talked shop about upcoming trainers that have a carbon-fiber plate, but the conversations almost always shifted to women runners.

The running shoe industry has long been criticized for “shrinking and pinking men's shoes and selling them to women. (Had I video-recorded all my conversations at this recent TRE, I could have made a “shrink it and pink it” super-cut.)

The earliest purported women-specific running shoe was released in 1978. Incidentally, it didn't have a feminized palette of pinks and purples. The blue and yellow Nike Lady Waffle Trainer was advertised with the tagline There's nothing more powerful than a shoe whose time has come.” A boastful statement, sure, but the ad even mentioned how the shoe was built on a narrow last, especially suited to the bone structure in most women's feet. (Props to the marketing team for adding “most.) Other brands followed suit and made shoes tailored to women, but over time the distinction faded, and running shoes most recently have been limited to the same construction for both men and women.

Asics is one of the companies that has different shoes designed for each sex, altering its Trusstic System-the middle part of the shoe made from a resin that stabilizes excessive foot twisting-to support a lower arch height. The women's midsole is also different, with a honeycomb pattern embossed on both the heel and forefoot to absorb shock; there's less of a honeycomb pattern on the forefoot area of the men's midsole.