Sheffield marathons must have been tough with basic footwear of the past

I was walking through my local park recently when a runner ran past me, not an unusual sight these days, not even deserving of a second look.

In the 70s, joggers or runners were a peculiar sight, very rare indeed.

The London Marathon, the biggest running event in the world hadn’t started yet, fun runs and park runs weren’t even a consideration.

The Great North Run wasn’t run until 1981 the same year as the first London Marathon.

Sheffield's first big modern day running event -Marathon-didn’t come along until 1982.

Although records show marathons were run in Sheffield in 1929.

Running for the bus was just about the limit for most back in the 70s, trainers and running shoes were few, and far between, all the large sports manufacturers hadn't quite cottoned on to this multi billion pound industry.

Although the big companies had been around for some time, running for the general public or sports clothing as a fashion item wasn’t a concept.

When I was a kid I loved to run and play football as often as possible, but what did we play in?

I don’t remember ever getting any trainers until I was at least a teenager, or tracky bottoms or tracksuits.

I remembered the black plimsolls we had at school for P.E. and they lived in a plimsoll bag from September to July, when we brought them home at the end of the school year.

These would then serve as our playing out footwear for the six week holidays.

A thought popped into my head as to how these plimsolls could have lasted a full year, with all these quickly growing children,I only remember getting one pair a year.

I now realise the ingenious elasticated membrane across the front of the plimsoll ensured that if parents bought a slightly larger plimsoll, the elastic front would ensure the shoe fitted at least the width of the foot, extending the life of the very basic shoe.

They were the extent of my training and sports gear back then.

We played, ran or skipped every day back then, we didn’t have specialised footwear, we wore whatever was available.

Some of us also had Jelly shoes, which we would wear when we went to the seaside - if we were lucky.

Not very comfortable or nice to look at, but ideal for the beach.

I wonder what effect those plimsolls will have on our joints in later years - so far so good.

Even when I joined the RAF in the early 80s we were issued with plimsolls, these were white with laces.

We ran numerous miles in these zero cushioned “trainers”.

Now back up to 2022 we have a multitude of shoes to wear for every leisure activity you could name.

For every activity, there's a shoe that fits the bill, the sports manufacturers finally caught on.

I have numerous different kinds of footwear for all different activities.

I have sturdy walking shoes for leisurely walks in the parks as well strong more rugged boots for more adventurous outings in the Peak District.

For every activity there's a shoe to match, promising to protect, and make you experience better, and more stylish than everyone else.

You can buy and wear running trainers with no intention of running a single step, but as a fashion statement.