Footwear Plus

Meet the man behind the $19K shoelaces.

Merrell's Evera MJ pump allows women to ride in style.

With gas prices showing no signs of dropping dramatically any time soon, not surprisingly bike racks in metros across the country continue to get their fair share of use as commuters increasingly ditch their cars in favor of more affordable two-wheeled transportation. For women, however, the trouble has been finding a shoe that they can comfortably and safely ride in, but also be stylish enough to wear around the office.

Birkenstock and its original recovery shoe move into the outdoor and specialty running channels.

Reebok tunes up its Classics division with Swizz Beatz at the controls.

Athlete endorsements are nothing new: Converse had Larry Bird and Magic Johnson; Nike had tennis rebel John McEnroe, the great Michael Jordan and (for the moment) Tiger Woods; and Reebok has featured Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal and Venus Williams as some of its legendary endorsees. Slightly newer, but no longer considered groundbreaking, are the musician endorsement deals. Rappers Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Nelly have all lent their names and faces to Reebok over the years.

Nowadays, you would be hard-pressed to come across someone whose life hasn't touched by the big bad 'C' word. Throughout the month of October, we fasten pink ribbons on our sweaters and run races in support of the fight against breast cancer and those who are pushing through it.