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WHY Wear A Running Sock?
  Be registered! Get coupons, discounts, free shipping!  "I have always done my trail running in my regular running shoes. Traditional "trail running shoes" always felt heavy and stiff with a tread pattern similar to hiking boots. As it turns out, I am the target market for the XTERRA Footwear designers." Read more about his XTERRA Footwear Review on his blog. Kevin Leathers Running Coach http://www.CantStopEndurance.com "I'm a huge XTERRA footwear fan, I've had an increase in performance and a decrease in overall time for my triathlons, can't beat a shoe that makes such a difference." Hannah Cornett Actress, XTERRA Pro-Athlete, Model http://www.hannahrcornett.net I was an avid runner for years, but over the past couple years I have been injured or too busy to run. When you gave me the XTERRA XR1.0 shoes I was in a real slump in regards to my running. I had tried a number of shoes from other running shoe brands and was not finding the right fit. The XTERRA pair sat on a shelf for a month or so before I put them to use one day when I had forgotten my usual running shoes. Well, I have never looked back. The XR1.0 running shoe was a perfect fit with just the right amount of support and cushion. The lightweight top part breaths very well and enhances the entire running experience. I give this shoe my highest recommendation. Thanks again for the opportunity and do not try and get them back from me. Dr. Gian Corrado Team Physician Northeastern University The XTERRA XR 1.0 women's shoe is a surprisingly light trail shoe. I often like to run on both trail and road. The XR1.0 provides the stability needed for the trails and the lightness for the roads. I find this to be a diversified shoe to fit all my running needs. I wear orthotics, and the foot bed is deep enough for my feet to sit appropriately in the shoe. I do not have my heel sticking out, which I find with many other brands. I have a narrow foot, but the toe box seems to give the perfect amount of space. I have raced 5ks to half marathons in the XR1.0 and have been very pleased. I even switched from a brand of running shoes that I have worn for the past nine years. I would recommend this shoe to anyone looking for stability that is found in a lightweight shoe. Heidi Campbell Accomplished age group runner Portsmouth NH I love the XTERRA XR1.0 - they provide great stability for me and keep my ankles from rolling over! I can run faster on the trails without the worry of twisting ankles! Cindi Toepel Littleton, CO XTERRA Athlete & Ambassador 2009 USA age group Champion 7 time-age group regional champion XR1.0- These are my babies! Right from opening the box I liked the look of these. Half an hour later they were on my feet, without socks. I went for a 4 mile run, they felt like a well worn in pair of my race sneakers. I don't know how you did it but the inside of the shoe is so smooth. The stability is awesome. I have been using road sneakers in the woods all of these years because I couldn't find a good pair of trail runners that didn't feel like I was wearing work-boots. I like the aggressive tread pattern that bites into leaves and other slippery surfaces. The wide stable sole does well on the beach too, especially in soft sand. There is plenty of cushioning for running on the road, but they are stiff when you are running over and on rocks. Thank you for filling the long time void in the off-road racing shoes! The XTERRA XR1.0 is "the ultimate running animal." I used the XR1 in most of my races 2009 season. I raced six 5Ks, in the past I had always used flats. The XR1 has helped me perform well and stay injury free all season. However where they really shine is on the trails with the stability. Two of my races this season went through deep water. The XR1 drains well with no sloshing. Ken Robins Cutchogue, NY XTERRA Athlete & Ambassador 6 time-age group regional champion Problem solved. Working with athletes for over twenty six years has taught me they want their doctors to "know the deal" on what is new and what works. Be at the forefront in shoe prescription by recommending XTERRA footwear. Light, responsive and shock absorbing, they fill the bill for you and your active patients. Doctor Neil King CEO King Chiropractic Institute http://www.kingchiropracticinstitute.com "Having come from the volleyball world, I need comfort and durability, XTERRA has it!" Gabby Reese Pro Beach Volleyball Player, Model, Sports Announcer "LOVE my XTERRA shoes and stoked to wear them for my upcoming races, I've already seen an improvement in my running and times." Jeremy Jackson Actor/Singer "Huge fan, stoked on the new XTERRA shoes" Michael Copon Actor |
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Shoe Startup Aims High with XTERRA Line Monday, November 10, 2008 After designing for the majors - from Nike to Puma - this duo is ready to snag their own piece of the lucrative athletic-shoe market. By Maggie Overfelt NORTH HAMPTON, N.H. (CNNMoney.com) -- The office of Ashley Brown and T.J. Gray is littered with what could be relics from some eclectic sporting-goods museum. There's the pair of lightweight Puma cleats the duo designed for Johnny Damon when he played outfield for the Boston Red Sox; the award-winning $15 basketball shoes they created for New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury; the lacrosse sticks they crafted for Brine, the nation's largest seller of lacrosse and hockey equipment. For the past 15 years, Brown, 37, and Gray, 40, have designed top-of-the line gear for almost every major athletic company. They started as staffers for Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) in the late 1990s and most recently were independent contractors assisting Under Armour launch a line of football cleats. But late last year the two launched their own company, 20 Degrees North, and started seeking their own piece of the $46 billion outdoor-recreation market. "It's probably not the best time to start a shoe company," Brown says. "But we've been designing for everyone else for years, so why not do it ourselves? How hard can it really be?" Last month the duo launched their first product, a line of bright-colored running shoes for the 40 million American joggers who run on off-road trails, where the uneven terrain of mountain passes, beaches, and forests necessitates a wider, more stable running shoe than those worn by track-and-field athletes. About a dozen companies, including Adidas and Asics, already sell trail-running shoes, but 20 Degrees' founders say the market lacks a clear leader. "Standing at the finish lines of these races, we watched as about 90% of the 500 racers coming through were wearing regular running shoes - today's running shoes are too heavy and overbuilt," Gray says. "It's a perfect niche for us to build on, a place where we can come in and be the first true, authentic brand." Brown and Gray, who run in three to four triathlons annually, have spent nearly a year perfecting their new shoe. For research, they examined photos and Internet footage of big cats' paws, discovering that their pads - not claws - wrapped around rocks and uneven terrain to give them better stability. "Other companies look at putting hard teeth and large pieces on the bottom of shoes to give them stability - that adds weight," Brown explains. Instead, 20 Degrees fitted the bottom of its shoes with lightweight, blown-rubber traction pads and grooves to make them work more like paws. The company also used an injection-molded manufacturing process that is generally associated with Crocs (CROX), not high-performance sneakers. And although that makes the shoes almost twice as expensive to make, it resulted in a trainer that is almost two ounces lighter than competitors'. But no matter how light and agile their shoes are, it's hard to break into the shoe market, especially in such a niche. Mass exposure "Die-hard trail runners tend to find a brand they love and stick with it," says Elinor Fish, managing editor of Trail Running Magazine. "Then this company faces the challenge of convincing specialty running stores - who have limited wall space - to stock a brand they've never heard of." To build credibility among die-hard athletes, 20 Degrees is targeting the some 28,000 runners that participate each year in Xterra races, a series of triathlons held all over the world. (The Xterra athletic brand is not related to the Nissan SUV of the same name.) In 2007, 20 Degrees inked a deal with Team Unlimited, the Maui firm that runs the Xterra races, and is selling its shoe under the Xterra name. The Maui location is also the inspiration for 20 Degrees' name: Hawaii is found at 20 degrees latitude. As a result, the Xterra shoe will get exposure at races and on Xterra Planet TV, a sports cable network that, according to Team Unlimited CEO Tom Kiely, gets about 50 million viewers a year. The company also has access to five Xterra-sponsored athletes, competitive runners who have been testing 20 Degrees' shoes since spring. "I started wearing the shoes in May and now wear them almost exclusively," says Cindi Toepel, a software developer manager based in Littleton, Colo., who has competed in Xterra races for five years. "I have a tendency to roll my ankles when I run, but since wearing these shoes I haven't done that. And they're lighter than they look." So far 20 Degrees has financed itself with $500,000 of personal savings and the extra income Brown and Gray make from consulting jobs. They're hoping it's enough to manufacture and market about 10,000 pairs of trail-running shoes. If all goes well with the first batch, 20 Degrees will break even in 2008 and 2009, and then turn its first profit in 2010. To help make that happen, Brown and Gray recruited two shoe industry veterans to service as senior management. They appointed Greg Niel, a former sales executive at Adidas, as CEO, and Mark Kilgore, an ex-product developer at Nike, as COO. While Niel will help sell and market the brand into stores across the country, Kilgore will handle the manufacturing and sourcing end, something he was responsible for at Nike. "It's probably not the best time to be developing new shoes," says Kilgore, 43, noting that the cost to manufacture goods in China has gone up about 5% to 8% due to rising raw material costs and the country's new labor wage rules. "But I wanted the chance to own something, and TJ and Ash - those guys are really good at doing footwear." Brown and Gray have already started designing Xterra hiking sandals and slides, and later next year they hope to introduce more running shoes. "Today's athletes don't want to be indoors at the gym - they're migrating outdoors," says Niel. "Once we've established ourselves as the leading brand in trail-running, we believe the rest of the outdoor market will come right at us." But what happens if Nike decides to launch a new trail-running shoe to snag its lost market share? "If they wanted to, they could crush us," says Kilgore. "But I just don't see it happening right away. Our market is insignificant to them in the big scheme of things. They won't notice us until we become something huge." 
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