We were invited to talk about our shoes at Competitor.com’s booth at The Running Event, this past December. Great time meeting Mario Fraioli and his crew.

We talk a little about what makes the FORM shoe so unique. Watch the video here.

The Running Event (TRE) earlier this month in Austin, TX was SKORA’s first trade show and brand launch. Pulling off an event like this is not exactly…relaxing. But, hard work has its rewards.

For us, the greatest reward was finally being able to share our story, face-to-face, with shoes in hand. With so much buildup, excitement, speculation, you name it – the moment the booth was complete with lights on and shoes hanging – was the moment it all felt so Real.

SKORA’s reception was fantastic. Everyone – from the retailers who had never heard of us, to those who have been following us faithfully, took great interest in what we are doing as a company.

We set out to create the best running shoe, because as runners, we deserve the best. And more importantly, to help runners stay injury free, for life. When it comes to running shoes, we believe that performance can be beautiful.

To those of you who have been following, encouraging, and believing in us, we cannot thank you enough. Thank you for spreading the SKORA love, helping us get the word out, and being the driving force of what we’re trying to achieve. We hope you stay along for the journey. Run Real.

Our first real photoshoot reaffirms SKORA’s (long-awaited) launch is nearing ever closer.

Our day started early on a foggy Portland morning, the last weekend of October. With a crew of five: photographer, assistant, digital tech and two athletes. We took on the challenge of shooting in 5 locations throughout Portland, guerrilla-style…

We were fortunate to work with an amazing sports photographer that gets what we’re about, and real runners that happen to look great in front of the camera lens.

The shoot was a great success, and we can’t wait to have the completed catalog early next year. We shared a few photos from the shoot on our Facebook page, see them here.

“I can’t wait for these shoes!”
“What’s taking so long?”
“We have to wait until February?”
“Why do they cost so much?”

We thought it might be time for a little introspection.

As many of you know the SKORA journey started years ago when David was trying to find solutions to his chronic injuries, and discovered barefoot running. After finally being able to run pain-free, he started looking for performance shoes that would enable him to realize the benefits of barefoot running, while still offering some of the protection and comfort of shoes.

We figured there must be other runners out there like us… We were faced with a lack of options that truly met the needs of runners. Three years ago we embarked to make our own.

As we began designing our concepts, sourcing for suppliers and building early prototypes we realized how complex and resource heavy performance shoe manufacturing really is. No wonder you don’t see new running shoe brands springing up every year. But we pushed forward and knew we could make better running shoes, otherwise, why bother?

Our basic design philosophy is to remove as much as we can from running shoes that gets in the way of a natural running gait. We wanted a zero drop shoe, that allows for great feedback with every step. One that is shaped, and performs, like your bare feet, and yet provides some protection from rough running surfaces or foul weather.

We were committed to make our shoes out of premium materials. We never quite bought into the “rotate your shoes” or “you must replace your shoes every 300 miles” marketing hype. We believe that runners deserve the best. We’re not cutting any corners or sourcing cheap, second rate materials.

It took time to find the right suppliers and factories that shared our vision. We expected such a high degree of detail and quality that quite frankly it wasn’t easy to find a partner that appreciated a return to building things better.

After countless pullovers, adjustments and samples, we believe we have it right. SKORA shoes are fantastic and the feedback we are getting is overwhelmingly positive. But we’re just getting started.

Are our shoes the answer for everyone? No. But they’re the performance running shoes we wanted to make when we first started this long journey… and it was worth the wait. Run Real.

We really wanted to get some big miles on the shoes and hear from real runners about what we did right, and most importantly, what we did wrong when we designed our shoes.

Runners filled out surveys that helped us determine which runners would be the best suited to give us fast, helpful feedback. It was very important for us to find runners that could put some miles on the shoes in a short period of time. With any minimalist shoes, ours included, there is a transition time to get the proper mid-foot/whole-foot stride and we wanted folks that were used to running barefoot or with minimalist shoes so they could ‘hit the ground running’ (sorry).

There were questions around running style, types of shoes worn, miles per week, etc. Unfortunately, the most important questions was, “What shoe size do you wear?” as we only had men’s size 9 and 10 for the tester shoes…

After selecting our testers they were sent either a pair of blue Base or black Form shoes. We set up surveys online for the testers to report their first impressions and more surveys to complete after they were racking up the miles. The SKORA shoe testers ended up being a great variety of real runners from all over the world and we were able to see how our shoes perform in a variety of climates and terrain types.

We had great feedback all the way along and a big thanks goes out to all our testers as they generally confirmed what we knew all along: we have some kick-ass shoes.

One tester in particular deserves a special mention. Kyle Kranz, from South Dakota, liked his tester pair of Base shoes so much he contacted us and asked if it would be alright if he used them in an upcoming race. Seemed fine to us, and then he mentioned it was a 100 mile ultra.

We were a bit nervous as this was to be the first Ultra ever attempted in SKORA shoes and he’d be running in test samples too… Kyle seemed confident, so we said go for it.

We’re pleased to report that both Kyle (and his shoes) survived the event and you can read his race report on his blog.

The test program helped us confirm changes we had been planning to make for our final production shoes. It was great to hear the feedback that confirmed the direction we are heading with our shoe. Run Real.

There is a great representation of shoe companies at OR, and while most of them are more traditional in their footwear selection, there is a rising tide of minimalist shoes. Kigo, Altra, Vivo, Luna, Vibram, Merrell all had booths and were very busy showing off their latest shoes. Even the larger, more well known brands are showing minimalist styles even if (in our view) most of them don’t quite get it yet.

SKORA shoes won’t be available in stores until February 2012 so it was too early for us to have a booth. We did manage to give some folks a look at the samples we had brought along, and the reaction was even more positive than we could have hoped. The energy and support we received at the show was a great boost to keep us sprinting forward in launching our new company. Special thanks to Barefoot Ted (Luna Sandles), and the folks at Altra, Vivo and Kigo for being so welcoming and honest.

Upon returning from the OR Show, we’ve been showing the shoes to select retailers in the Northwest and so far folks are really liking the shoes. It looks as if this long journey of creating SKORA shoes is going to take off like a rocket… We just hope we’ve ordered enough shoes for the Spring.

[Image credit: ClintJCL]

For all of the articles that pop up out there about barefoot running and it’s benefits, there are some naysayers out there. Recently, Matt Fitzgerald wrote about the topic on Competitor.com.

The article goes on to raise a pretty hefty case against the barefoot/natural running movement, asserting that we should look beyond just feet when considering the biomechanics of barefoot running, and include potential spinal issues and existing bio-structural problems.

Despite the articles claims’ of a “surge” of barefoot running related injuries, it admits that “what is not known is whether barefoot runners are now disproportionately represented in physical therapy and sports medicine facilities—in other words, whether barefoot runners are more likely to develop overuse injuries than shod runners.” To that end, can any of the doctors and sports therapists interviewed truly claim that there is such a high incidence of injury? To back up this claim, the therapists interviewed point to the rise of plantar fasciitis. I’ve never heard this injury described as uncommon; I suffered from it myself before switching to barefoot running.

The piece goes on to state that not everyone is born to run, despite the claims, and that shoes aid people who might otherwise not be able to pick up the sport. Additionally, “one thing all of the medical professionals I interviewed for this article agree on is that many runners have no business even trying to run barefoot. ‘Runners who have what I call biomechanically disadvantaged feet need shoes, and often orthotics too,’ says Maharam.” Is this just another instance of the running shoe industry trying to over-engineer our natural stride?

Though well-researched and well-written, this article brings up a lot of controversial topics. While the article claims to not be skewed towards anti-barefoot running advocates, it feels as though there is a certain active encouragement to not pursue barefoot running.

It seems logical that some injuries would increase as more people try a new (old?) style of running. If folks are getting heel injuries while running barefoot, they’re not doing it right…

The article may instill fear in those who are just starting out, turning them from the potential path of barefoot or natural running.

Give it a read and let us know – what do you think? Does this change how you look at barefoot-style running?

Read it in full here: http://running.competitor.com/2010/05/features/the-barefoot-running-injury-epidemic_10118

There are ten major characteristics that we’ve identified that should be considered when purchasing a pair of minimalist kicks.

1. Lightweight – Pick up your average running shoe. Now pick up a minimalist shoe. Feel the difference? Every ounce of weight in your shoe adds weight to your foot and your stride.

2. Flexibility – When you run, is your foot able to flex and bend naturally? Or is the sole so stiff you feel like you’re clomping along? The more flexible the shoe, the stronger your feet will get the and more your stride will improve.

3. No artificial support – This just adds weight (see point 1) and masks your stride, meaning it’s easier to get injured because you are not as aware of your bodies cues.

4. No artificial stability – Like artificial support, increased stability takes you farther from your natural stride and makes it more difficult to run naturally and efficiently.

5. Minimal cushioning – The layers of thickness and cushioning in contemporary running shoes are a modern concept. Adding this extra cushioning just means you’re more likely to run into overuse injuries. So look for shoes with a thin yet firm midsole.

6. Zero-drop – Zero-drop means the shoe maintains the same thinness from toe to heel. A zero-drop shoe most closely mimics a barefoot stride.

7. Wide toe-box – This gives your toes the freedom to land naturally. Since your feet swell as you run, this leaves a realistic amount of space for your foot to grow comfortably throughout and still have freedom of movement.

8. Thin-soled – Like zero-drop, this allows your feet to feel the ground and react accordingly.

9. Rubber outsole with good traction & durability – These features ensure more of ease of running over a variety of surfaces, wet and dry.

10. Adjustable lacing and heel lock-in straps – These features encourage the closest and best fit of the shoe to your foot, minimizing the risk of rubbing or sliding.

So there you have it, folks. From our brains to yours, the best features to look for in a minimalist shoe. Until of course, you can get your hands on a sweet pair of SKORA’s.

Run Real,
SKORA

Over the past couple of months here at SKORA, one of our challenges was the fit and function of our strap system for our laceless shoe model. What started as a Z strap, then it morphed into a Y construct.

Sometimes a concept is just that, a concept. It requires testing and honest analysis and asking the tough questions; Can we do better? Our passion to create the very best running shoe drives everything we do.

We finally arrived at a X shape strap design, which, after 6+ edits finally achieved the level of comfort, performance and practicality we were after.





Here’s a sneak peek of just a side of the X-Strap design you can expect in the upcoming laceless design of our shoes.



We’ve got much more to share in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Run Real,
SKORA