"I believe in keeping running simple and, in regard to shoes, that would mean no gimmicks, unnecessary cushioning, etc"
About this Quote
Rodgers is selling an ethic as much as a shoe philosophy: strip it down, trust the body, let the miles do the talking. Coming from a marathoner who defined an era when American distance running tried to look less like a boutique hobby and more like a blue-collar craft, “simple” lands as a quiet rebuke. It’s not anti-technology so much as anti-excuse. If your gear is “gimmicks” and “unnecessary cushioning,” the implication is that you’re outsourcing discipline to a product cycle.
The phrasing matters. “I believe” sounds personal, even gentle, but it’s also a claim of moral preference. “Keeping running simple” turns a sport that can be endlessly optimized into something almost stubbornly plain: a pair of legs, a road, repeat. Then he narrows to “in regard to shoes,” as if the real fight is cultural, not biomechanical. Shoes become the battleground where companies promise you speed, safety, identity, status - all the things that distract from the unglamorous truth that endurance is built, not bought.
Placed against today’s sneaker arms race - carbon plates, maximal stacks, algorithmic foams - Rodgers reads like a reminder that running’s appeal is its low barrier to entry. The subtext isn’t nostalgia for worse equipment; it’s suspicion of the story that comfort and performance must be mediated by constant innovation. In a sport prone to evangelism and consumer guilt, his minimalism is a kind of emotional relief: you’re allowed to keep it basic, and still take it seriously.
The phrasing matters. “I believe” sounds personal, even gentle, but it’s also a claim of moral preference. “Keeping running simple” turns a sport that can be endlessly optimized into something almost stubbornly plain: a pair of legs, a road, repeat. Then he narrows to “in regard to shoes,” as if the real fight is cultural, not biomechanical. Shoes become the battleground where companies promise you speed, safety, identity, status - all the things that distract from the unglamorous truth that endurance is built, not bought.
Placed against today’s sneaker arms race - carbon plates, maximal stacks, algorithmic foams - Rodgers reads like a reminder that running’s appeal is its low barrier to entry. The subtext isn’t nostalgia for worse equipment; it’s suspicion of the story that comfort and performance must be mediated by constant innovation. In a sport prone to evangelism and consumer guilt, his minimalism is a kind of emotional relief: you’re allowed to keep it basic, and still take it seriously.
Quote Details
| Topic | Fitness |
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