Over a decade ago now, runners became obsessed with a “new” trend of running barefoot, which lead to a huge spike in Achilles, calf, knee and foot injuries. Whoops. Luckily we now have a happy medium with zero drop running shoes.
One of the first to hit the market was Altra running shoes. started when founder Golden Harper ran a 3:08 marathon at age 10.
Yup, you read that correctly!
It should come as no surprise that a boy who runs that fast was raised in a family that owned a running shoe store.
Or that they would tinker with shoes at home in the toaster oven…hmm sound familiar, remember that whole waffle iron story and Nike?? It seems all shoes start in someone’s kitchen.
Golden found he didn’t love the skin to pavement feeling and that there was some benefit to still having cushion underfoot, which lead to a new running shoe type that has exploded.
What is a Zero Drop Running Shoe?
Before you can understand what zero-drop running shoes are, you need to know what a heel-to-toe drop is.
Typically, regular running shoes offer more cushioning in the heel and less in the forefoot. This means that the heel is higher than the front of the foot. When you wear the shoe, your foot will sit at a slight downward angle.
And so, drop refers to the distance a shoe slopes from…
