I love the history and heritage of products and want to share as I continue to go through the archives of products and documents in my office.
I want to share some of the footwear that has been inspiring to me and my teammates at Nike. The products are designed to master the fundamentals of the sport.
Each evolution of the spikes I show this week evolve in functionality, materials and performance each year.
I have to admit it has been fun for me to research some of the spikes and remember those early memories of my first few sets of spikes in the 1970's. I have also loved hearing from you providing additional inspiration and insight into the products.
Somehow I ended up with a sportswear replica of Kenny Moore's Cortez Training shoe upper that Bill Bowerman crafted and assigned to him. What I find amazing is the simplicity in the upper and the Cortez was created to help with Moore's achilles tendon strain with the first wedge in the midsole of the shoe. It was magical hearing Kenny tell that story at the gas station where he stopped his training run outside of Eugene. 
Shown below is a custom version of the Waffle Racer. I had these made in the CYO Track Club colors that I coached a few good athletes in middle school that went on to win multiple state championships in Oregon and then compete at the Nike Team Nationals in the early 2000's. I still have a couple of extra pairs that were left over from the team issue and happened to find these in my closet. Low profile, great waffle grip, open toebox to let the feel flow and lightweight water resistant mesh upper.
The London Olympic Games were flooded with the color Volt Spikes including the Zoom Victory Elite. This product took the Flyknit technology both integrated into the upper and the external structure. The history of these products can be found here:
For those of you that have not seen this link the Nike Track Spike History has some of the best and some that were not the best in class over time.
This particular product, the Nike Zoom Victory Elite (2012) took the London Olympics with a flash of "Volt" that showed how many athletes wore Nike product during the London Games. It was an onslaught and one of Nike's best Olympic displays.
I started examining this 1/2 pair that must have been donated for a school auction. The more I looked at the signatures the more impressed with what I found.
Galen Rupp
Matthew Centrowitz
Alberto Salazar
Cam Levins
Mo Farah
and a signature that I cannot identify
This concludes the week of "If Spikes Could Talk" stories. I am thankful for the quiet time being able to reflect and go through some of the memories that were left by my Dad capturing the history as well as researching and recalling my own to share with you.
These shoes were not only used by my Dad but they were photographed, displayed and shared as Nike continued to innovate in the world of Track and Field.
I would get the request to check them out for designers and innovators to use in their presentations.
I wanted to celebrate at spike a day this week to honor all of those athletes out there not being able to compete and gather to celebrate the sport of track and field.
Next up...Blue Ribbon Sports ( BRS, Inc) and a high school runner got started at a company that would lead to over 30 years of adventure and passion. I embodied Fearless Innovation Together and gave myself the Permission to Dream. Contact me to learn how I can transform your organization or team.
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