“BANNED” RUNNING SHOE SPIRA FOOTWEAR MAKING STRIDES AMONG ELITE RUNNERS

Runners Wearing Spiras Sweep Top Five Men's and Top Two Women's Spots In Sunday's Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon



HB Meeks
Editor-in-Chief
Tell Us Detroit



Spira Footwear, the innovative running shoe company featuring the controversial and banned spring technology, continues to gain in popularity among elite runners as the top five male and top two female runner from Sunday's 30th annual Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon competed in Spira shoes.

Christopher Kiprotich of Kenya was the men's overall winner, finishing the 26.2 mile course in 2:15:15. Countryman Hillary Lelei, the 2003 winner in Detroit, came in second with a time of 2:18:1. Henry Githuka of Kenya finished third in 2:21:52, followed by Dmitry Sivou of Belarus with a time of 2:22:25. Jaroslaw Chichoki of Poland received fifth place in 2:23:22.

In the women's division, Anzhelika Averkova of the Ukraine and a member of the Foot Solutions Elite Racing Team was the overall winner with a time of 2:34:50, narrowly missing the course record by 24 seconds. It was her personal best time by almost eight minutes.

"The shoes were super," said Averkova at a press conference following the race. Wioletta Kryza of Poland, the 2005 winner in Detroit, finished second in 2:41:50.

Since debuting on the market five years ago, Spira Footwear has been providing runners with comfort and protection from injury with its spring technology placed in the soles of the shoes. Spira's patented WaveSpring technology reduces impact force on a runner's body, which leads to an efficient recovery and less overall stress - signifying that the WaveSpring technology may be the most significant technical advancement achieved in the footwear industry in recent years. Spira's shoes - and its WaveSpring technology - violates rule 143.3 (a) of the USA Track and Field which specifically bans springs in shoes for competition. The rule has yet to be enforced, but that has not stopped Spira from pushing the issue.

"Amazingly, this rule has the effect of putting our shoes in the same category as steroids," said Andy Krafsur, CEO for Spira Footwear. "While we're pleased that the rule has not been applied to disqualify runners who compete in our shoes - such as the top five male finishers and top two female finishers - the fact is that competing in Spira violates the plain language of the rule and we would like it overturned.

"The same issues were present thirty years ago with the introduction of the oversized tennis racquet and the metal driver. Often the rules of sports don't keep pace with technological advances. We implore the governing bodies not to stand in the way of progress and change the rules," Krafsur said.

Spira Footwear a staple at Foot Solutions
Board Certified Pedorthist Joe Dyament, owner of Foot Solutions in St. Claire Shores, MI states, "Unlike traditional coil or conical springs, the WaveSpring is laterally stable, compact and lightweight. As a result, Spira has developed a remarkable energy return technology for footwear."

According to a biomechanical study conducted by the Shoe Lab at Michigan State University, WaveSprings return an astounding 87-96% of energy otherwise lost to the ground. The highest energy return score of any shoe ever tested.

Dyament concluded, "Spira shoes allow people to participate in physical activity for longer periods of time with far less stress on the body. Recovery time following vigorous activity is greatly reduced."

For more information on Spira Footwear, go to www.spirafootwear.com