If there is one company and one bunch of runners who deserve the credit for sowing the seeds for the growth of running as a mass participation sport it would be Nike and the Men of Oregon.

Throughout the 60s Oregon Track and Field dominated American athletics, Head coach at the time Bill Bowerman marshalled an elite bunch of middle distance runners and groomed them for stardom. Bill Bowerman planted the Running seed in America, on an earlier visit to New Zealand he had met with Arthur Lydiard and came home to Oregon with the idea that running was of benefit to everybody. He had seen that exercise and a healthy lifestyle were the key to good health and the idea that gentle running or ‘jogging ‘ could be enjoyed by everyone. Bill Bowerman believed that whatever your build or ability you could directly benefit from gentle running and coined the phrase “if you’ve got a body you are an athlete”.

Bowerman set up running groups in Oregon and encouraged anyone and everyone to take part in relaxed running sessions.

All the while Bowerman over saw the development of his University team. A key member of the team at that time was Phillip Knight . A talented middle distance runner Knight produced a study as part of a business studies project about an idea he had had to become an importer of Running shoes. He had become increasingly frustrated by the lack of choice and the high prices of the shoes offered at the time. Convinced that his project could actually have legs Knight set out to see if he could import Japanese shoes to the US . They would be cheaper then the shoes reaching the states from the European suppliers.

On a visit to Japan Phil Knight met with Japanese manufacturers and convinced them that he would be an ideal US distributor for their shoes. Thinking on his feet he had realised he needed to have a company name behind his quest to become a distributor and had hastily came up with the name of Blue Ribbon Sports.

On returning to the States as a distributor of performance running shoes and as principal share holder in the newly formed Blue Ribbon Sports, Knight together with the help of bought in partner Bill Bowerman began to promote their shoes. With the support of the respected coach Bowerman and with the influence of his fellow Oregon athletes the Japanese shoes hit the road running. At keen prices and with an organised supply chain Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman's Blue Ribbon Sports started to move shoes in good numbers. But all this was just the beginning.

With both Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman being so focussed on the market through their involvement with running at a grass roots level, they strived to improve the shoes they imported. They reduced the weight of shoes, they looked at ways of increasing cushioning and traction and pretty soon they realised that they could go it alone. Their new shoes would be made under a new name, their own brand. They had a proven supply chain that could reach the runners that mattered and with their technical innovations the own brand shoe idea would work.

With a range of shoes designed and orders placed, it was only when the boxes needed to be printed that the brand needed to be named. With the naming deadline fast approaching Phillip Knight needed to choose the name from a handful of suggestions and with only hours to spare settled on NIKE. All Nike shoes would be identified by the ‘tick’ logo which had been chosen by Knight after handing the logo project to an art student. The ‘tick ‘ logo was well chosen indeed, it was a positive symbol and was both distinctive and easy to identify. It looked as if it was never still, wanting to move and looked superb in motion on the feet of the athletes who were to give the brand early exposure.

The logo became known as the Swoosh and in the early seventies Nike running shoes began to appear on the feet of athletes of the day. Designed for runners by runners, it was easy to see why the distinctively soft and lightweight, well cushioned shoes became popular.

As running boomed and became a mass participation sport, Nike would grow and become one of the most successful sports brands ever and today finds itself at the very pinnacle of sports product development. With co founder Bill Bowerman's vision to promote the benefits of running to all, summed up by his phrase “if you’ve got a body you are an athlete” Nike can be proud of the role it has played in the world of running and can be considered as fathers to the modern day running movement.

With roots firmly embedded in running, Nike remains true to this day to its core values of running product innovation and sporting excellence.