Michael Sandrock: Running shoe ‘Cool’ revealed in Metzler’s new ‘Kicksology’ – The Daily Camera

When Brian Metzler was an impecunious, ex-collegiate, half miler and nascent journalist living in Boulder in the spring of 1995, he did what many of us do when trying to jumpstart our running — he hightailed it over to a running store to get a new pair of running shoes and some inspiration.

In this case it was Runners Roost, then in a basement on the Pearl Street Mall, a spot once taken up by Frank Shorter Sports, one of the first of the specialty retail running shops in Boulder.

There, Metzler found his tribe. Lean runners, in a “subterranean” cave, surrounded by talk of workouts, long runs and the latest in shoe styling. He felt at home, as he always did when visiting a running store and talking about shoes. Metzler had pressing needs, such as paying for an apartment and working to advance his writing career, but first things first; he had to buy a pair of running shoes.

Not just any shoe, but rather the groundbreaking Air Max, the just-released colorful Nikes. They featured an innovative air pocket in the heel, the first of the “visible technologies,” as Metzler describes it in his comprehensive new book on the history of running shoes, “Kicksology,” published by Boulder-based VeloPress.

With not much money to his name, dropping $140 on the Air Max was quite a reach. But Metzler was willing to sacrifice in order to pursue his passion. The shoes looked good with jeans, as a friend told him, but, as he soon discovered, were not so good for his running, being too clunky.

Why a major shoe company would emphasize marketing and advertising over performance was a question Metzler began thinking about and which eventually led to “Kicksology,” which is sublited: “The Hype, Science, Culture and Cool of Running Shoes.”

That purchase gave Metzler an early, important insight: “How a running shoe looked was as important as how it performed. Maybe more important.”

“Kicksology” is a fascinating read, giving us an insider’s look at the running shoe business that Metzler has been involved with since his days at the University of Illinois. He has been a self-proclaimed “shoe geek” from a young age and wears the moniker proudly. It is that obsession with all things relating to shoes that gives “Kicksology” its breadth and depth and the reason it has been drawing national and international attention.

“I vividly remember the day I got my first pair of kicks,” Metzler writes, in explaining his life-long  passion was evident even at age 5. “They were cherry red, and they made me feel really fast.”

In the 1970s running boom, shoes were made to help runners race faster, Metzler writes. That began changing the following decade, when a new generation of “hobby joggers” began taking up the sport, and running shoes began their trend to hipness that continues unabated.

Metzler, however, still wants to run fast. He is unique in that he continues racing distances from the mile through 100 miles, in places from Lickskillet Road near Gold Hill to the trails around Chamonix, France. He is a former Camera sportswriter who knows how to tell a story (you had to learn that skill working for the late Camera editor Dan Creedon), and it is the stories in “Kicksology” that give it flavor and make it a significant addition to the history of running.

In his post-Camera jobs as founder of “Trail Runner” and “Adventure Sports” and as an editor at “Competitor” and “Running Times,” Metzler found his niche as a prolific writer and shoe reviewer, gaining access to top designers, marketers and elite runners.

He draws on those connections in “Kicksology,” which includes much relating to Boulder, such as how Newton was born here, as well as Hoka One One in a sense; “favorite shoe” stories from Kara Goucher, Deena Kastor and Scott Jurek; stories about innovators Danny Abshire, Mark Plaatjes, Johnny Halberstadt and the late Micah True; and an exploration of studies that took place in the University of Colorado’s locomotion laboratory.

Much in the book was new information for me, such as Metzler’s description of the origin of the famous Nike “Just Do It” ad, and how the Beatles’ song “Revolution” was used in the campaign despite the wishes of Apple Records. There is a look at “six patents who changed running shoe design,” as well as predictions on what is ahead in running shoe development. Along the way, he answers questions such as: Why do shoes cost so much? Why are some models discounted? Why do so many runners continue to get injured?

Metzler sums up the lessons from his long athletic and journalist career by writing that running shoes are no longer about “just running.” Rather, “they are a vehicle for self-expression, footwear that is meant to feel good and make you feel good.” What is truely important, he adds, is that the hype, coolness and innovations perhaps don’t matter “as long as you’re lacing up your shoes and running with passion.

“Your kicks are simply the vehicle, taking you wherever and however you choose to go.”

Follow Sandrock on Instagram: @MikeSandrock.