Vintage Style Running shoes

[Atterbury Dodd]

Hello!

I have recently been getting into exercise a lot. I have always been naturally athletic but I want to start running and really work on it hard. Anyway, I would like to do this with vintage flare and style and I wondered what you other Loungers like to wear for athletic shoes. If you have any photos or suggestions let's get right into it!

 

[davestlouis]

This is one place where I'd stick with modern shoes...why suffer with outmoded technology? Your joints will thank you later.

 

[Gijoe]

We life in the year 2010.
Vintage Sportswear was not very stylish !
Running with Vintage Sport Shoes on hard ground gives problems with the feet and knees.

 

[cptjeff]

Chucks.

And if you're thinking that modern shoes are much better for your joints and such, think again. A lot of research recently has basically said that modern shoes cause a large number of problems by encouraging us to strike heel first- which are bodies are simply not built for. It puts much more force on the skeletal structure then if you run with a midfoot strike, which transfers the energy to muscle instead, leading to much less stress on joints.

Not to mention that the loads of padding keeps the muscles in our feet from properly feeling the terrain and adapting to keep us stable.

You're best off with only what's necessary to protect your foot. Some people run barefoot and just build up the toughness of their skin. Some buy those vibram 5 fingers foot glove things. I just go with a pair of chucks.

 

[Gijoe]

A Few years ago i used Chucks in the Gym. Not bad but a modern shoe works much better ! A Realy bad experience was 2 Months runnigen with hard soled Shoes like the Chucks. They are ok für running on the paded ground around a footbal field , but not for hard Streets !!!!

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

I think it comes down to what you're comfortable with. To be honest though I do think most shoes of today are actually over padded. This leads to underdeveloped feet that can't support themselves and need heavy amounts of padding to be comfortable. Myself I need arch support and that's about it. I can't stand extra padding--gets stinky.

What about something like this?

 

[Paisley]

Barefoot Runner Set Record in 1960 Olympics

From "Games Courties Play" in Newsweek, July 26, 2008:

On the final evening of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, a little-known Ethiopian stepped to the starting line of the marathon, barefoot. He raced in the shadows of ancient ruins, including the Axum Obelisk, which Mussolini's Army had looted from his country more than two decades earlier. "In bare feet, dark red trunks, bright green shirt, the two vertical lines of No. 11 defining his narrow, bony back—that was Abebe Bikila," writes David Maraniss in his fact-packed new book, "Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World" (Simon & Schuster. 496 pp.). Bikila set a world best of 2:15:16 and became the first black African to win a gold medal.​

(emphasis added)

Read the rest here:

http://www.newsweek.com/2008/07/25/games-countries-play.html

Personally, I think running is hard on your joints regardless of footwear.

 

[Ed13]

You could try Tretorn. I know they have their vintage style tennis shoes and may have running shoes as well.

 

[Optionseeker]

I completely agree that most modern shoes promote a cushioned heel strike which will end up causing most people to injure themselves. Start running a few k at a time in a more minimalist shoe and eventually your feet will become stronger and then you can increase the mileage. I love my Chucks but wonder if they are too heavy for long distances.

I love Nike Free's and have run a few half marathons in them. Recently bought a pair of Adidas AdiZero Bostons... nice light weight, long distance trainer. These are likely to become my regulars. I am just about to put them on and head out for 19k.

Vintage? Well, how about the merino wool t and socks that I have on?

J

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Wish it was still possible to get these:

 

[poetman]

As a runner, I strongly suggest you get a modern shoe that has a vintage look. The amount of support and stability you'll get will give you a much better run and really support your joints.

 

[StetsonHomburg]

Wish it was still possible to get these:

Man, those are the nicest pair of "runners" I've ever seen!
I wish I could get them too

 

[Edward]

Wish it was still possible to get these:

I'm sure I've seen something very like these recently.... PF Flyers, I think, do something very similar to it.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

I'm sure I've seen something very like these recently.... PF Flyers, I think, do something very similar to it.

They were PF's.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Here's some more pics since we can never get them

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[DAJE]

"Vintage-style" sports shoes are the easiest vintage-correct item in the world to find: Converse All-Stars have been in continuous production since 1917, though they didn't catch on in a big way until Chuck Taylor's name got added to the mix in the early 30s. There's no need to look anywhere else for "vintage-style" running shoes.

The History of the Converse All Star.

I'm a big fan of Cons and have been wearing them since I was a kid - I'm in my 40s now, and my feet are just fine, despite leading an active and mobile life, walking a lot, and playing actual sports, while never having worn any other kind of sports shoes. Modern sports shoes are complete hype, in my opinion. A total rip-off, as well as being hideously ugly.

The only problem I see is that the company is now owned by Nike, who are, frankly, evil. I personally will not buy anything from Nike, so I buy knock-offs now, but if you're cool with your money going to support evil, you can get vintage-correct style runners very easily indeed.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Modern sports shoes are complete hype, in my opinion. A total rip-off, as well as being hideously ugly.

I agree DAJE. This has been my experience so far.

The only problem I see is that the company is now owned by Nike, who are, frankly, evil. I personally will not buy anything from Nike, so I buy knock-offs now, but if you're cool with your money going to support evil, you can get vintage-correct style runners very easily indeed.

If you don't want to directly fund a bad company you can usually get used stuff on Ebay. I understand 100%, as I always try to avoid companies that are, as you say evil.

Would you mind posting pics of the shoes you run in? Slightly rough as it is around here I'm almost wondering if I should go for ankle hight converse style shoes or low cut for lightness.

 

[DAJE]

Would you mind posting pics of the shoes you run in? Slightly rough as it is around here I'm almost wondering if I should go for ankle hight converse style shoes or low cut for lightness.

I don't have any photos of my Cons, but they're just standard Cons, like any others. I wear the higher ones, but I don't lace the topmost set of holes, which I find makes them a little more comfortable for running.

The sport I play in them is cricket, which is mostly standing around with occasional sprinting, and they work just fine for that. Some other players on my team wear Cons, too. I also walk a lot, amounting to a couple of miles a day averaged out. I wear Cons for walking pretty much exclusively during warmer half of the year.

I've never had any blisters or anything, and I don't need to re-adjust to Cons after 6 months of wearing boots. (I wear work boots most of the time that I'm not wearing Cons. Australian vintage-style woorkboots, in fact.)

Obviously everyone is different; I'm very thin, so there's not that much weight on my feet. In American, I'm just under 6 foot and around 130 pounds. I'd expect someone with a heavier build might have more potential for damaging their feet, so I suppose it's possible that all the padding in modern sports shoes is worthwhile if you're, you know, around my height but twice my weight. But for me, I'm light on my feet, and Cons are fine. People won Olympic medals wearing Cons in the days before steroids and multi-million-dollar endorsement deals, for what it's worth.

Since I usually wear workboots, Cons feel very light on me. I don't think there'd be much difference between the low cut and the high cut in terms of weight. I like a bit of ankle support, so the high-cut ones work for me.

That's about all I can think of to usefully say. Go to a shoe store and try some on, see how they feel. One of the good things about wearing them is that they're not at all hard to find.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

I think will go ahead and check out Converse. I may try some on but will probably end up getting some on Ebay if I like them.

Anybody ever heard of Keds?

 

[repeatclicks]

I think will go ahead and check out Converse. I may try some on but will probably end up getting some on Ebay if I like them.

Anybody ever heard of Keds?

Nope...