Altra Shoes - From a Self-Built Prototype to an Award-Winning Cult Brand
Altra founders and friends Golden Harper and Brian Beckstead have been running together since high school and early on tried to make their running experiences more enjoyable through "scientific experiments". Since Golden's parents owned a small running store, they were able to give free rein to their curiosity and created the first ZeroDrop™ (no height difference between heel and forefoot) shoes. The way there included a grill toaster to heat and shape the shoes, cutting out the midsole and levelling the cushioning foam. In addition to their own euphoria about the new running feeling and a lot of positive feedback from friends and running customers, they realized the full potential of the shoes a year later when Brian finished the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run with their first own prototype without a single blister and many hours faster than the previous year and burst into tears of joy after 150 km.
In 2011 they launched the Altra brand and the first official shoe. Already at the launch, the shoe was equipped with Altra's 3 core technologies: FootShape™, ZeroDrop™ and Fit4Her™. The distinctive shape of the trail running shoes, road running shoes and lifestyle shoes is mainly defined by this FootShape™ and the goal of giving the feet a natural imprint and the toes enough room to spread out. The result is a more efficient running style, less injury or pain and more stability. And for the specific anatomical differences between men and women, Altra has developed Fit4Her™ technology. That same year, the Utah-based brand won the Runner's World Best Debut Award. Many other awards followed, including Editor's Choice Awards for the best winter trail shoe, the most comfortable fit and the popular Escalante road shoe, as well as rapid growth.
Altra Trail Shoes – With Grip and Comfort over Roots, Stones and Mountains
The Altra Timp is a favorite of the MUT community. MUT stands for Mountain-Ultra-Trail and promises many ascents, dirt, technical passages and long days in nature. This is exactly what the heavily padded trail cruiser is built for with its extremely grippy MaxTrac™ outsole in addition to the familiar Altra fit. The legendary Lone Peak comes along with a slightly more dosed cushioning. Incredibly comfortable and yet elastic, the cult trailrunning shoe continues to prove what a shoe can achieve even under adverse conditions. For shorter distances or muddy cross-country courses, the more aggressive King MT or the Vanish XC are recommended.
Altra Road Shoes – Forget Tired or Painful Feet
Inspired by one of the toughest, hottest and longest running events in the world, the Badwater 135, the maximally padded Paradigm is a true miracle of comfort and stability thanks to the EGO™ midsole, StabiliPods™ and GuideRail™ guidance system. The Duo and Provision models are similarly supportive and biomechanically sophisticated. Less cushioning, less weight, the new Quantic™ midsole and a lot of speed is what the fan favorite Torin has to offer and is therefore, similar to the Viho, designed for faster kilometers. An absolute all-round talent and one of the most popular road shoes in recent years, the Escalante has a sock-like upper with a soft, light, flexible and direct feel. Fast training sessions, recovery runs in the morning, long runs on Sundays or relaxing walks: the Escalante can do it all. In the racing version as the Escalante Racer with a slightly harder midsole and higher energy return it can lead you to new personal bests, just like the speedy Kayenta or Vanish R.