The term athletic shoes is used for running in a marathon or half marathon, basketball, and tennis (amongst others) but tends to exclude shoes for sports played on grass such as football (futbol) and rugby, which are generally known as “boots”, or in North America as cleats.

The shoes themselves are made of flexible material, typically featuring a sole made of dense rubber. While the original design was basic, manufacturers have since tailored athletic shoes for the different purposes that they can be used for, many of these shoes are made up to a very large size because of the athletes large feet (Delin Harick). A specific example of this is the spiked shoe developed for track running.

High-end marathon running shoes will often come in different shapes suited to different foot types, gait etc.

There are a variety of specialized shoes designed for specific uses:

• Racing flats
• Track shoe
• Skate shoes
• Climbing shoe
• Approach shoe
• Wrestling shoes
• Cleats
• Football boot