I recently took a poll and asked our cross country team what shoe brand they wear for our easy distance runs. I was surprised by the results.

Back in the 1990s, when I was in high school, Asics was the most popular brand amongst runners. We believed that a serious runner should only wear a serious running shoe, and that brand was of course Asics. Our high school coach even provided the varsity team with one pair of shoes each year, which were always Asics with the famous gel cushioning. If an athlete was willing to spend extra money, they would usually buy the Asics Gel Kayano. Looking back, I find it amusing that a group of high school runners were wearing heavy, structured cushioned shoes

Asics Gel Kayano from 1993-2009- Not the best looking shoe!

When I moved on to run at Texas A&M University, we were sponsored by Nike. We had two choices of shoes: the Nike Pegasus and the Nike Structure. I wore both shoes and don’t remember having any issues, except for achilles tendonitis when I ran 110-120 miles a week during my senior year. That was due to overtraining, and I can’t blame the shoes for the injury.

We did workouts in a Nike flat (can’t remember the name), and races in the Nike Zoom Kennedy spike. Bob Kennedy was the greatest runner in the United States in the 1990s, setting American records in the 3k and 5km races. Running is different from other sports, as we usually only have a few famous runners to get excited about. Everyone still knows Steve Prefontaine, but in the 1990s, we had Bob Kennedy

Nike Zoom Kennedy- THE spike of the 1990’s

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TEAM SHOE POLL

1. Nike- 20
2. Saucony- 9
3. Hoka- 7
4. Brooks- 6
5. Asics- 5
6. New Balance- 1
7. On Running- 1
8. Adidas- 0
9. Under Armour- 0

Nike continues to be the champion in the shoe battles. I discussed this with some of our athletes and we think it’s because Nike’s shoes are readily available in all sports stores. You can visit Dick’s Sporting Goods or Academy and find a wide selection of Nike running shoes and apparel. Nike has also done a better job of creating shoes suitable for both slow, easy distance runs and intense workouts. Our athletes like the Nike Pegasus, Nike Zoom Invincible, and for hard workouts, the Nike Vaporfly.

Saucony is the second most popular brand on our team. The girls, in particular, seem to prefer the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 and Saucony Triumph.

Hoka has become popular among our team, with 7 athletes wearing shoes that were once only used by ultra-trail runners. Hoka’s are now worn by walkers, runners, and people who spend a lot of time on their feet at work.

Brooks is a popular choice among our boys team for easy distance runs.

The low popularity of Adidas was the most surprising result for me. They make good shoes, but kids aren’t currently interested in wearing them.