Being an innovation speaker and inventor of a running innovation product, I like to keep up on the latest innovations in all industries, but especially in the ones I’m connected to, like the running industry.
I love the sport of running because it doesn’t involve expensive equipment, you can do it almost anywhere, and you don’t need other people to get started. Just put on your running shoes and run out the door. But just because running is simple, that doesn’t stop running innovators from trying to reinvent the wheel… or the running shoe.
One of the first things inventors do when they want to come up with a new innovation is start asking questions. Think about the problem and ask as many questions as you can come up with to help solve it. What if I could come up with a better system for hydration for runners? What if I could come up with a hands-free hydration system for runners?
What if your running shoes don’t have heels? That’s exactly what physiotherapist Adri Hartvelt asked the day he came up with the concept for his heelless running shoe. Hartvelt’s company Healus Technology came up with the prototype and partnered with Staffordshire University to develop and test the shoe.
The purpose of this new innovative running shoe is to avoid direct impact on the heel and therefore it helps to reduce running injuries and allows runners to run longer. Faster runners tend to strike the ground with the ball of their foot instead of the heel. Joggers tend to strike the ground with the heel, leading to more injuries.
The Healus shoe concept has been around for a couple of years. It makes me wonder what the next trend in running innovation will be.
Check out this interview with the inventor, Adri Hartvelt:
