Olympians To Run in Asics with Rice-Husk Soles
by Allie Comeau on June 18, 2008 
2 comments
If you’re a runner, you know how crucial the right running shoes are to your performance. Whether you’re training or racing, the running shoes on your feet need to be comfortable, lightweight and supportive with durable traction soles. That’s why I love Asics so much - they have all that and more. I won’t run in anything else.
Neither will many Olympic marathon runners. Their Asics are a bit different, though. Japanese master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura, is making Asics running shoes for Olympians with rice husk soles. According to him, rice husks are not only eco-friendly, but they have superior grip on wet surfaces. Because the Beijing course will most likely be slippery, (from rain, misting stations, stone surfaces, etc.) runners need all the traction they can get.
Mimura first experimented with rice husk soles in the 1990’s, after trying everything from plastic to river sand. Rice husks offered the best option. They have everything a runner needs in a good sole…
“I found that rice husks are lighter, cheap and have a good grip,” Mimura said in an article in the NY Times.
Lighter is an understatement. The running shoes Mimura designed for Asics-sponsored Olympian, and reigning women’s champion, Mizuki Noguchi, weigh only 3.85 ounces! Compared to the 12 ounce running shoes the rest of the world is wearing, the rice husk shoes are practically featherweight. But when you’re running for the gold, every ounce counts.
The last time Noguchi wore a pair of Mimura’s Asics, she took one off and kissed it after crossing the finish line. She called them her “magic shoes.” Mimura is making her an updated pair for this year’s games.
“Samurai cannot fight without their swords,” Mimura said. “It is the same for runners and their shoes.”
If you’re looking for running shoes - or Asics - we’ve got ‘em. I don’t imagine the rice husk shoes will be available to us mortals any time soon, but we’ve got a great selection of awesome running shoes at savings of 35 - 70% off.
Thanks to Jimmy Buff for the heads-up on this great article!
June 18th, 2008 @ 9:43 am
That’s amazing. I had no idea that elite runners had such custom shoes. Especially a wizened old Japanese shoe-making master - sounds like the start of a movie plot. I wonder how long it takes to apprentice into something like that…
June 19th, 2008 @ 9:22 am
I know - isn’t that cool? Mimura has been crafting shoes for over 40 years - he started working for Asics when he was 18. He used to run marathons himself. Here’s an excerpt from the article that talks a little more about the master craftsman…
Mimura, the shoemaker, is something of a legend in running circles in Japan, a marathon-mad country. A former marathoner whose best time was 2 hours 28 minutes, he went to work for Asics 41 years ago, as an 18-year-old, gluing together the upper and lower portions of running shoes.
You’ve got to start somewhere!
Thanks for your comment, Turi. Have a great day!