Nike Roadrunner 1970s vintage sneakers

Here's a cool old piece of Nike history with this ad from 1975 for the rare and awesome Nike Roadrunner shoes. Check out the old school Blue Ribbon Sports logo on the lower left hand side.

Ad info is below:

THIS SHOE IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY 

NIKE ROADRUNNER 

(IT'S ONLY FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE BEST) 

A NEW VERSION OF AN OLD FAVORITE. THE NEW NIKE ROADRUNNER IS A REAL EYE-OPENER. IT COMES IN LIME GREEN NYLON UPPERS, MOD BLUE SWOOSH STRIPE AND HEEL TAB, AND MARIGOLD YELLOW ACCENT. IT FEATURES AN EXTENDED HEEL COUNTER AND REINFORCED TOE FOR STABILITY AND DURABILITY. THE SPENCO INNERSOLE, ARCH SUPPORT, AND CUSHIONED MIDSOLE PROVIDE MILES OF COMFORT. AND THE LONG LASTING CREPE SOLE INSURES MILES OF WEAR. NOT ONLY DOES THIS SHOE HAVE EYE -OPENING COLORS, BUT IT ALSO HAS AN EYE OPENING PRICE., $19.95 

ASK YOUR LOCAL NIKE DEALER FOR THE NIKE ROADRUNNER or for information write 

BRS
6175 S.W.112 Beaverton, Oregon 97005
4 Jeffrey Ave Holliston, Mass. 01746

Puma Super Long Distance vintage sneaker ad

Today we've got another old school ad from 1975, this time for the Puma "Super Long Distance Shoe."

Ad info is below:

PUMA 🐅

...made to go the distance.

When you run 100 miles or more a week in all kinds of tough terrain you need a top quality shoe that can really take it. The Super Long Distance Shoe by Puma. Thick foam wedge tapering from heel to toe cushions your foot, soaks up shocks. Ankle and achilles tendon pads. Uppers made of nylon, leather reinforced. Soles are tough rubber with special long wearing treads. Comes in blue, red and yellow with Puma stripe. Next time you run for distance, treat your feet to a pair of Puma Super Long Distance Shoes. At your nearest sporting goods dealer or write: Beconta, Inc., Sports Division, 50 Executive Blvd., Elmsford, N.Y. 10523 or 340 Oyster Point Blvd., So. San Francisco, California 94080.

PUMA from BECONTA

adidas 1982 Oregon Bill Dellinger vintage sneaker ad

Here's another track coach ad, this time Bill Dellinger of the University of Oregon in 1982. Bill Dellinger replaced Bill Bowerman after he retired as coach of the Ducks track team in the 70s. In this ad he is endorsing the adidas Oregon, Atlanta and Lady Oregon shoes.

Ad info is below:

adidas reports:
addas U.S.A. 1982 

Bill Dellinger has discovered a new use for Newton's Third Law of Motion. 

As most of you know, Bill Dellinger is the University of Oregon's running coach; and he will be doing the same honors for the United States Olympic Team in 1984. He has become world-renowned for getting the most out of some of the finest runners around. But now, he's about to become equally famous for getting extra performance from a gentleman who had his peak many years ago. Because he and adidas have developed a way to harness Sir Issac's fundamental law that will make a fundamental difference to runners. 

Distribution of impact shock. The Dellinger Web. For runners, its a loophole in the Third Law of Motion.

Newton's dictum states that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. Until now, for runners, this has meant that what goes down (in terms of initial heel shock), must go up (as an equal shock transmitted straight up the leg). But The Web disperses part of the heel shock throughout the entire sole of the shoe, where it is not felt by the leg. So in effect, what goes down goes sideways as well as up. The Web: What it is and how it works. The Web is a unique polyamide netting that covers the midsole from heel to toe. To a runner, this simply means a type of construction that can significantly reduce leg fatigue. When a runner's heel strikes the ground, it compresses the netting in the heel area. This compressed netting in turn pulls in on the rest of the netting throughout the entire sole of the shoe. The resistance of the netting and sole acts much like a torsion bar to absorb part of the impact shock.

Close - up of The Web.

Up to ten percent of the shock, in fact. Ten percent that the runner doesn't ever feel. Which means that the runner has ten percent more energy to devote to running instead of shock absorption. As if that weren't enough, there's even another advantage to The Web. The heel impact puts The Web in a state of tension, with some areas compressed and others stretched. As the runner rolls forward into the next stride, The Web springs back, giving a trampoline effect. And all of this is accomplished without sacrificing stability, and with no gain in thickness or bulk. Dellinger's Law: "You pay for the whole shoe, why not use it?" As we've explained, most running shoes only use part of the sole most of the time, an inefficiency your whole body pays for directly. But now with The Web, you can have a shoe that does part of the work you've been used to doing. The adidas-developed Web is currently available in the Atlanta, Oregon, and Lady Oregon. Only from adidas, the company that can bring the laws of physics to heel. 

Atlanta

Oregon 

Lady Oregon 

adidas

Puma Easy Rider 1977 vintage sneaker ad

This week I'll post some of the 'Track Coach endorsement' ads. After Nike and Bill Bowerman became a model of success other footwear brands began finding track coaches to use as part of their marketing and advertising materials. This ad for the Puma Easy Rider running shoe is from 1977 and features Don Riggs who was the distance running coach at San Jose State University. Don is all about the 'toe-off' advantage in this ad.

​Ad info is below:

Who makes the best jogging shoe? 

by Don Riggs The distance-running coach at San Jose State University examines the new Puma® 'Easy Rider: 

Distance-running coach Don Riggs.

A startling find.

I've tested every major brand of jogging shoe and I've come to a pretty startling discovery: Puma is the only one that toes-off properly— that bends the right way under the ball of your foot. Only one other brand comes even close. Is this important? You'd better know it! Improper toe-off can lead to all kinds of foot and leg problems. But don't take my word for the way Puma toes-off. You can test it for yourself. Grab hold of the new 'Easy Rider' and bend the sole (see photo-graph). The bend is exactly where the foot bends, at the head of the metatarsal, and it's rounded the way your foot is rounded. Now try the same thing with other shoes. Some bend too sharply. Some bend in the wrong place altogether. I've even found shoes that bend right in the middle, which can tear the heck out of your metatarsal. 

Puma is the only big-name shoe that toes-off properly, says Riggs. 

A 1,000-mile sole?

The sole on the new 'Easy Rider' is going to make a few people sit up and take notice. Look closely and you'll see it's covered with rows of truncated cones— in two different heights. The tall cones give you traction and help to cushion impact and insulate your foot from surface heat. The comfort is fantastic, but that's only half the story. When you run, the tall cones are squashed down. This is when the short cones come into play. They're placed where the greatest wear occurs in a shoe — at the heel. They act like firm little bumpers to keep the tall cones from mashing down and wearing out too fast. Going by the three years of testing I've done — and this depends, of course, on weight, running surface, and how hard you run — don't be surprised if you rack up a thousand miles on this sole. 

The 'Easy Rider' sole. Note the two different heights of the cones. 

Beware of mushy counters.

Another way to spot a first-class jogging shoe is by checking the counter— which is what they call the part that surrounds your heel. You take a poor shoe and push against the side or back of the counter with your thumb. You'll find it's soft and mushy. When it breaks down, your heel is going to start wobbling around in there, which can cause anything from shinsplints to knee problems. Avoid this kind of shoe like the plague. Now try the same test with the 'Easy Rider: The counter is strong, firm (like the photograph shows ). It holds and protects the cal-caneus (or heel bone) and its muscle group all the way down. I like the way Puma pays careful attention to details like this. 

The 'Easy Rider' stays firm when you push here. A poor shoe is soft and mushy. 

Should you wear Puma?

Run your hand around the inside of an 'Easy Rider' and you won't find a rough edge anywhere. Look at the nylon outside and you'll see why the rate of breakdown is so phenomenally low on Puma: all the stretch points are reinforced with leather. That kind of careful thinking goes into all the other new Puma jogging-running shoes: the soft-leather `Stud' with its ventilating holes... the less-expensive `Rocket:.. the 9191 'Pavement Jogger' with its tradi-tional herringbone sole ...and the 'Whirlwind: built on the Puma spike last for cross-country competition and interval training. I'll tell you the same thing I tell my athletes: A good shoe can make a difference in how you run. If you take pride in what you're doing, you've earned the right to wear Puma. You've earned your stripe. 

The new Puma Easy Rider: 

PUMA
You've earned your stripe

UPDATE:

We recently covered the style changes to the Puma Easy Rider model in our Le Coq Sportif blog post because their Quartz model sneaker is along the same lines as the Easy Riders in this ad. You can see the differences here:

Puma Easy Rider 2019 vs 2017 style comparison

Asics Tiger TM-42 Tiger Arrow vintage sneaker ad

Here's a 1980 vintage ad for the Asics TM-42 Tiger Arrow running shoes which were worn by the winners of the 1979 Boston and NY marathons. Pure 🔥

This original vintage advertisement is available over at RewindRunning.com.

​Ad info is below:

Tough Through Thick‘n Thin!

TM-42 TIGER ARROW New extra-duty, all surface training shoe. Holes in the mid-heel for additional cushion. Nylon mesh upper with reinforced toe box. Excellent arch support. 

Asics Tiger Shoes—For the knowledgeable runner Top athletes of the world know how good Asics Tiger shoes are, so they wear them in training, in competition and in record-breaking attempts. They put their trust in Asics Tiger, because they have learned through experience that Asics Tiger is trustworthy. Whether for track and field, volleyball, soccer, jogging, or any other sport, Asics Tiger is the name you can trust. 

*Worn by winners of '79 Boston and New York marathons! 

asics TIGER® SPORTS SHOES 

ASICS Sports of America Inc. 

Head Office: 2052 Alton-Avenue. Irvine. California 92714. U.S.A.
Phone: (714) 751-0451. 0452 Telex: 233-685533

1980 Brooks Hugger GT vintage running shoe ad

Here's a 1980 ad for the Brooks Hugger GT running shoes. In this ad Brooks brings a little 1980 photoshop skill to the fore and takes on a trash talking combative tone with Nike, adidas, Etonic and New Balance and setting off the Great Sneaker War of 1980. 👊

Ad info is below:

PUT NIKE, ADIDAS, ETONIC AND NEW BALANCE TOGETHER AND YOU STILL WONT HAVE k THE BROOKS HUGGER GT.

There are plenty of fine running shoes. And they all have one or two outstanding features. But no other shoe has all five of the distance-building features the new Brooks Hugger GT has.

OUR FABRIC: GORE-TEX.
The Hugger GT is the only shoe in the world with a Gore-Tex fabric upper. Gore-Tex is waterproof and breathable, which means two things: your feet stay drier when it's wet and they breathe beautifully when it's hot. Either way, you'll run more comfortably in all kinds of weather.

OUR HEEL HUGGER STRAP. One other shoe has a stabilizing lace, but it's not our Heel Hugger Side Strap. Our Side Strap holds the entire heel counter snug against your heel which, in turn, makes the Hugger GT and your foot a more biomechanically efficient (and less injury prone) structure. It also makes the Hugger more comfortable for runners with narrow heels.

OUR VARUS WEDGE. Some shoes have a midsole wedge, but it's not the Varus Wedge. We slant the sole of our new Hugger GT 3° to compensate for the fact that most runners run on the outside edge of their heels and pronate inward. As a result, you'll notice considerably less heel shock in the Hugger GT and much less twisting of the foot and ankle during pronation, too.

OUR CUSTOM CONTOUR INSOLE. Most shoes have a soft insole, but it's not the Custom Contour Insole. The Custom Contour Insole in the Hugger GT actually forms to your foot as you run and stays that way. It's like having your Hugger GT's custom-made just for you.

OUR SOLE. Some shoes have a racing sole, but it's not our Racing Stud Sole. We triple-reinforce the outside edge of the Hugger GT Sole at the critical heel strike point. The result: our soles wear longer, which means you don't have to resole or buy new shoes as often. We also drill a scientifically aligned pattern of holes in our midsole, which helps the Hugger GT flex more naturally with your foot as you run and makes the shoe lighter.

OUR PRICE. EXPENSIVE, BUT WORTH IT. This new Brooks Hugger GT isn't for everyone. But think about it this way. You could buy four other shoes and still not get all five distance-building features the Hugger GT has. It's truly a sensational shoe.

RW5-STAR
*****

👟
The new Hugger GT. About 9 oz. in size 9.

BROOKS
1979 Brooks Shoe Mfg. Co., Inc. Hanover, PA 17331

Brooks Hugger GT 1980 vintage sneaker ad @ The Deffest