What was Lydiard's current favorite shoe?

Plenty of pictures of him wearing Asics DS Trainers here:

http://fleetfeetboulder.com/gallery/album13

I believe he said he liked the T3.

Asics was a tour sponsor.

but doesn't the T3 have a large medial post?

He did like the T-3. We talked about that. He also had been fond of Mizunos. His wife runs in them, but he couldn't recall the model. He pointed out that since he could no longer run he didn't pay as much attention to the shoe market. He used to love the Mizuno Supersonic, once calling it the best shoe on the market, so if you can remember the Supersonic, you'd reckon he'd like anything that resembled it closely. He liked the Brooks Mach I. I don't think he was really familiar with its successors.

He was sort of fanatic about a shoe needing to be flexible in the sole and as simple as could be. But as his knees failed, he couldn't really flex his feet and ankles much at all. So he found many shoes too stiff which, as Nobby pointed out to me, was probably more about his lower legs than about the shoe. I was trying to give him a pair of Moscow Limber Ups that were a half size too small for me, which would have made them about right for him. I find the MLU very flexible, but he thought it was too stiff.

Rafa-1's comment explains the photos.

him and his wife both have the nike free's and like them

he had to wear all asics stuff on the trip because they payed for some of it

He told me he was in love with the Monster Shox. Couldn't get enough of it.

PSnellie wrote:

He told me he was in love with the Monster Shox. Couldn't get enough of it.

Right. He used them to store his dirty laudry.

No particular model or brand. Anything that's light and flexible. He didn't even like some of his own Converse models because "manufacturers put too much gimmick for marketing." ASICS helped bring Arthur to the US for his last tour which should be recognized because without their help, many of you may not have had a chance to see Arthur for the last time. I worked on getting sponsorship from them and they have always been very good to work with and provided support for what we do. And I went to ASICS because Arthur always liked ASICS. Sure they have some stiff shoes, but he told me "they have got their last correctly. My foot never goes side to side in them."

Like everything else he says; it's not so much of 100-mile weeks, it's not so much of day-to-day training schedule that he's put down in his books. It's the principle to apply to what suits you. I got a pair from our previous sponsor. I started to walk in them by my arch started to hurt because they were too stiff. I ripped the plastic piece of the bottom of them and cut a groove into it. Arthur laughed about it but he also approved what I did.

I'll have to try Bass Ale.

There is a shoe which Arthur either designed or had a role in manufactured by Bruetting (or is it Brutting) in Germany. It is still available, but fairly pricey, and is on their website (bruetting.com; or brutting.com -- it's in German but if you look up under modelles or a similar word you will find . . . the description says something in German with the word Lydiard in the middle of it). Several months ago I e-mailed them about buying a pair here in the states, but they said they didn't ship here and had no vendor. Somebody should look into making these available over here, at least by mail order. As HRE knows, I am in the "simpler shoe" camp and I'd love to find a pair. -- Spidey

E. B. Bruetting (bruetting.com) and I recall an old black & white photo of AL wearing a pair. He is standing on a track facing at an angle away from the camera encouraging someone to lift their knees when running.

I recall the shoes distinctly but could never find them.

Now how do we get some?

I believe the shoe you're talking about is this:

http://www.bruetting.com/schuh8.html

Translated with Google (translate.google.com) the page says:

------------------------------------

Road Runner

beige (leathers)

Size: 3,5 - 14

recommended selling price 139.00 €

Bruetting road run shoe

The "Road Runner" was developed for running on fastened ways. It developed 1970 in co-operation with the Australian runner and long-distance coach Arthur Lydiard. The shoe is suitable with its handmade, impact-absorbing 3-Schichten-Laufsohle for harder soils. Surface material high-quality Rinderveloursleder. Trained joint doing TZE with heel and bundle bedding.

-----------------------------------------

139 Euros ain't cheap. Anyone on here speak German?

Nice work folks. I believe my e-mail with them several months ago was to the effect that there was no way to purchase them from the U.S. If anyone out there in the retail/mail-order business (or if Nobby and fivecircles has some special in with the manufacturer) feels inclined, I suspect there would be a small market over here among Arthur fans ( . . . who feel like dropping $160 on a pair of sneakers). Still, as an American capitalist, it bugs me that there is a company (even one in Germany) that doesn't seem interested in making a sale. I know I bought shoes from England before ("fell running" shoes, great products for serious mud), so shipping should be do-able. -- Spidey

Hey Spider, thanks for reporting back on your inquiry about the Road Runners. I was in on the thread a few months ago, and I'd hoped you'd be able to get some and then I'd know what to ask for this Christmas. Oh, well. Anyway, again, I can't praise them highly enough. Handmade really means handmade, that's where the roughly $170 US price comes from. The fit is, or at least was outstanding: they made 120-mile weeks on asphalt a pleasure, sockless right out of the box. Nothing I've worn since has been anything like them.

By the way, "...für das Laufen auf befestigten Wegen entwickelt" translates to say they were developed for running on paved roads.

Does anyone know when these would have been sold in the states? A friend of mine has a pair of 70's era shoes that he was told were "designed by Lydiard" and look a lot like the ones pictured on Bruetting's website (they've got the same logo). I'd like to be able to research them, but I have no idea when they might have been sold in this country. If I could narrow it to some range of years (hopefully narrower than 1970-1985) I could get old copies of running magazines through the library.

So how do we get them, and why in the world can't some OTHER manufacturer make the same thing?

$140 gets you NIKE shox...hello, anyone speak Deutsche and have a yen to take a chance in Marketing these?

Anyone heading to Germany?

I would offer '77-80. I recall the photo was in a magazine during that time frame.

I wore a pair of Lydiard shoes back in the day: '73-'74. The advertised ones were light brown but somehow our college coach got a batch of red ones where the die came off on our feet (sockless was the norm). Ha-ha. They were very comfortable, good cushioning and durable. In time, wore the proverbial hole thru each big toe area but continued wearing them for about 2000 miles...should've retired them at 1500m but they didn't cause injuries and there wasn't anything else like'em on the market.

If memory serves, coach also found some black versions. He was always in the market for decent shoes at a good price. Let's face it, this was the early 70's and good shoes were at a premium. Specialty stores were still a few years away. Nike had just been born. Wind briefs...ah, what I would've done for a pair. Good times.