It’s 1958 and Bill Bowerman watches runners circle the University of Oregon track. As coach of the U of O track team, Bowerman was obsessed with the idea of making his runners faster. He tinkered with the track surface and created a Gatorade-like electrolyte replacement, but his biggest impact came with his runner’s footwear. What started with improving the strides of athletes he coached became a company you might have heard of.
It’s called Nike.
The company has become much more than performance apparel but extensive research into athlete performance has always been core to Nike’s mission.