OK guys, a blast from the past. These shoes are 25+ years old and have a lot of miles (not recently though). Note the small suede patch at the toe and the blue cushion section of the sole. Nylon all around. Interestingly, these weigh more than my Cubato's, although that's probably due to the dirt and shoe goo! Are these Pintos or Cubs? Thanks.
I would bet dollars to doughnuts that those are the marathons (see 2nd post of this thread for a description from the 1973 Runner's World Booklet of the month). What does the sole look like? That would be the more telling sign for me.
Sorry those are not Marathons. Marathons lacked that blue stuff above the sole. These may be a variation that had a Finnish name?
My Marathons from '71 did have the blue padding above the sole. Those sure look like Marathons to me.
Geez, look at us. Discussing the fine points of shoes.
The marathons in the pic on the prior page have suede that wraps around the toe and a roll around the ankle which these don't have. I'd like to try a pair of marathons if I could get my hands on some as it's probably the closest I'll ever get to these. These also came in maroon and the padding part in the sole was also maroon.
pre841 wrote:
What does the sole look like? That would be the more telling sign for me.
It's sort of diagonal ribs, maybe 2 or 3 to the inch. You kind of see them in the side view. The arch had nothing, sort of cut-away. The heel and forefoot had the same rib pattern.
I think it's the Marathon. I remember the Marathon as having a tiny bit of that blue stuff. The Boston had a bit more. Got the Lydiard lacing as well, eh?
I will try to bring my 1973 Runner's World booklet to work tomorrow and scan in the page with the Marathon.
I bought a pair last summer in my mall. They still sell them in the US, brand new pair and everything and there are still pairs there. Onitsuka Tigers, White with red and blue stripes, i believe i paid $60
I suppose I could help this argument by posting a photograph of my original (1971ish), used (but not a lot), Tiger Marathon shoes. They are exactly as the photograph above but without the mud. In Scotland and the rest of the UK there was no way that those shoes would be used often for x-country as we had mud up to the ankles at times.
They, alongside their predecessors (Tiger Cubs) were primarily a road racing shoe used by many or even the majority of road runners. They might have been employed on track for longer reps or races too.
I've thought of putting them on ebay but not sure of what they'd fetch.Any ideas?
Perhaps 10-12 years ago I found a pair of Marathons in a discount bin at a shop for $4. They were half a size too big for me, so I just had them as a collector's item. About this time, the guy who owns the local running shop was putting up a display of some vintage running shoes. I let him put the Marathons in the display. One day, some guy walks in and buys them for $200.
Now that's what I call a good investment!
BTW, at the time (circa '74), I didn't know that was called Lydiard lacing. It just sort of made sense to me so I did it. As a matter of fact, I had never heard of Lydiard while in HS. There were only a couple of names that really stuck in my brain at the time: Shorter, Wottle, Ryun, Keino, & Bannister. Just a HS kid from the 'burbs w/o the Internet or even decent running books/magazines in the library.
The marathons on the previous page are the reissue version.
As Homer Simpson would say
"D'oh!"
One of the previous posts refers to an eBay listing for $65, but they appear to be pristine, if that helps any.
Maybe someone is pirating these out? I am wondering how fossilized they would be after 30+ years?
I recall that model being around $12 in '70. They used to be sold at a place called Blue Ribbon Sports.
I recall Old Johnny Kelly (may he rest in peace) was wearing a pair of those in the 90's. It may have been his last or penultimate full Boston Marathon. The last years he ran the final 5K.
Perhaps TIGER made a pair especially for him?
(Don't get the idea I'm knockin' ol' Johnny...if I EVER get to age 90 I will be happy if I remember to how to put my pants on, never mind run a 5K!)
My pair arrived today. They weren't the red and green, but a more sedate grey & red. I haven't run in them yet, but they feel a bit more substantial than the old marathons. I'll report back after I run in them. Check out the Harputs site. The guy I talked to said they have a pair of Corsairs in stock.
Harputs is out of them. They said they have gotten a few calls on them, but did not stock that many.
Bummer.
[quote]Pre Boom Runner wrote:
Harputs is out of them. They said they have gotten a few calls on them, but did not stock that many.
Bummer.[/quote
Did they say whether they planned to restock? I never got my order.
