First Ray Athletics

fall in love with running

introducing Holloway

smoother, softer, safer, naturally

naturally engineered

Introducing the HOLLOWAY from First Ray Athletics.

Our bodies are naturally designed to run and run well. That's why we make shoes that work the same way your body does.

It's a continual pursuit of the ultimate natural running experience.

Bridging the gap between our body's natural design and the man-made world.

Holloway is the only cushioned running shoe in the world that works just like your foot to deliver a better running experience. We wanted to replicate the experience of running barefoot on damp earth after a good rain - but without all the mud and rocks. We call it Natural+ engineering.

Natural+

Natural

Feel the joy of Natural+

5

Core Innovations

The Holloway features five core innovations that work together to awaken the natural mechanics of your feet.

01

Toes-up Bias

The pretensioned, elastic upper gently positions toes up and in a natural, dorsiflexed position between 35mm and 60mm high when unweighted, but allows for an immediate hinging down into a flat position upon ground contact.
This toes-up bias mitigates impact forces via pre-tensioning of the foot’s musculature. The tension also maintains the shoe's connection to the sole of your forefoot, enabling the use of just 3 lace crossings across the top of the shoe, and letting the forefoot’s long bones splay more freely side-to-side without impedance at the front of the shoe.
Slightly pre-tensioned muscles have been scientifically shown to 1) better absorb and dampen impact forces 2) increase peak muscle contraction forces and 3) improve muscle reaction times.

02

Ground FX Forefoot

The Ground FX Forefoot creates an independent suspension system that works very much the same way your bare foot works on natural surfaces, resulting in a super-smooth and stable ride.
Your foot's metatarsal heads are designed to move up and down, independent of one another, spreading out impact forces as your foot rolls across them. In physics this change to impact force by spreading it out over distance and/or time is called impulse, and our bare feet make use of it very well.
Our forefoot pods create key groupings of the foot's metatarsal heads, letting the ones that naturally move the most have the most travel.

03

Human Heel

Our Human Heel mimics the shape and width of a weight-bearing human heel in order to negate the ‘lever’ effect and resulting torque acceleration that traditionally flared, wider heels can create.
Theoretically, this should reduce rotational forces further up the kinetic chain. In any case, it is a more natural shape and size, so we use it.
When combined with the forefoot’s pre-tensioned upper, this creates an unparalleled fit that transitions the wearer from heel to stabilizing forefoot smoothly and efficiently, connecting you to the shoe in a way that simply feels like an extension of your own body.

04

Natural+ Foam

Our Natural+ foam quickly returns more energy and reduces pack-out or midsole breakdown over time. This results in a longer lasting, higher-rebounding midsole.
Varying widths and depths of flex grooves in the foam work in concert with your foot to maximize flexibility in just the right places. In fact, our flex grooves even run all the way through the entire midsole in some key places.
We also employ a tear-away strobel when attaching the upper to the midsole, which reduces the amount of material and glue between your foot and the foam. This innovative method of shoe-building is more difficult to do, so most companies don't employ it. It creates am extremely supple feel and ride, however, so we do.

05

True ZERO-DROP Footbed

Most zero-drop shoes are only the same stack height from heel to just behind the knuckles. Our True ZERO-DROP maintains stack height all the way from the heel to the tips of the toes, helping your toes - which are incredibly strong - be more active and fully engaged in stabilizing the foot.
The real world doesn’t typically taper beneath your toes. Your running shoe shouldn’t either.

01

Toes-up Bias

The pretensioned, elastic upper gently positions toes up and in a natural, dorsiflexed position between 35mm and 60mm high when unweighted, but allows for an immediate hinging down into a flat position upon ground contact.
This toes-up bias mitigates impact forces via pre-tensioning of the foot’s musculature. The tension also maintains the shoe's connection to the sole of your forefoot, enabling the use of just 3 lace crossings across the top of the shoe, and letting the forefoot’s long bones splay more freely side-to-side without impedance at the front of the shoe.
Slightly pre-tensioned muscles have been scientifically shown to 1) better absorb and dampen impact forces 2) increase peak muscle contraction forces and 3) improve muscle reaction times.

02

Ground FX Forefoot

The Ground FX Forefoot creates an independent suspension system that works very much the same way your bare foot works on natural surfaces, resulting in a super-smooth and stable ride.
Your foot's metatarsal heads are designed to move up and down, independent of one another, spreading out impact forces as your foot rolls across them. In physics this change to impact force by spreading it out over distance and/or time is called impulse, and our bare feet make use of it very well.
Our forefoot pods create key groupings of the foot's metatarsal heads, letting the ones that naturally move the most have the most travel.

03

Human Heel

Our Human Heel mimics the shape and width of a weight-bearing human heel in order to negate the ‘lever’ effect and resulting torque acceleration that traditionally flared, wider heels can create.
Theoretically, this should reduce rotational forces further up the kinetic chain. In any case, it is a more natural shape and size, so we use it.
When combined with the forefoot’s pre-tensioned upper, this creates an unparalleled fit that transitions the wearer from heel to stabilizing forefoot smoothly and efficiently, connecting you to the shoe in a way that simply feels like an extension of your own body.

04

Natural+ Foam

Our Natural+ foam quickly returns more energy and reduces pack-out or midsole breakdown over time. This results in a longer lasting, higher-rebounding midsole.
Varying widths and depths of flex grooves in the foam work in concert with your foot to maximize flexibility in just the right places. In fact, our flex grooves even run all the way through the entire midsole in some key places.
We also employ a tear-away strobel when attaching the upper to the midsole, which reduces the amount of material and glue between your foot and the foam. This innovative method of shoe-building is more difficult to do, so most companies don't employ it. It creates am extremely supple feel and ride, however, so we do.

05

True ZERO-DROP Footbed

Most zero-drop shoes are only the same stack height from heel to just behind the knuckles. Our True ZERO-DROP maintains stack height all the way from the heel to the tips of the toes, helping your toes - which are incredibly strong - be more active and fully engaged in stabilizing the foot.
The real world doesn’t typically taper beneath your toes. Your running shoe shouldn’t either.