ZDA Marathon (Heritage Running Shoes)

The aim of the project is to investigate the applicability of materials and technologies used in the 1970s and 1980s and to compare it with current methods of producing running shoes. The project was part of a PhD thesis (2018, Thomas Bata University) focusing on hitoric research on footwear design and footwear manufacturing in socialist Czechoslovakia.

Heritage

Marathon shoes were very popular running shoes produced in Czechoslovakia in the 1980s. The shoes were produced under several Czechoslovak shoe brands including USA, Botas and Svit. The footwear was produced in a number of shape modifications, material solutions and colour combinations. The footwear was designed for the domestic market and for international export.

Marathon shoes, produced by ZDA Partizanske, 1980s

Durability testing

The footwear was produced in cooperation with the shoe company Inex/ZDA in Slovakia. The newly developed design has been tested in several international races including the Kilimanjaro Marathon (42 km, Tanzania), Xiamen Marathon (42 km, China) and the Ponitrian Hundred (105 km, Slovakia).

Kilimanjaro Marathon (42 km, Tanzania)

Xiamen Marathon (42 km, China)