We've made shoes for thousands of customers since 1983. They include world-class runners and racewalkers, people with special health and bio-mechanical conditions, and just plain folks. Many have been with us from the beginning, so that now some of our best friends are people we've never met in person. If you'd like a personal reference, chances are we can put you in touch with someone who has similar interests or problems, or who lives in your neck of the woods. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits from our letter drawer.


"Now, I'm not a runner, but I put at least a runner's stress on my narrow 14AAA feet when I'm on the job as a TV news cameraman. I'm often out in the field carrying 25 to 35 pounds of camera on my shoulder, and another 10 to 15 pounds on my waist. When you include all of that gear with the 195 pounds of body that my flat arches shoulder, then you can begin to understand what could be going on in my spine, knees and feet. Since I started wearing your shoes about 10 years ago, I've needed to buy only 3 or 4 pair. I need no surgeries, no chiropractor, only the very reliable podiatrist Richard Blake to mold my feet, and prescribe my orthotics, and my custom Hersey shoes. As it turns out, these are the cheapest shoes I've ever owned. Three pair are still active: the oldest for gardening, the 2nd oldest for hiking and covering dirty stories like fires and mud slides, and then my current everyday pair for normal use."
John Gammon . . . Oakland, California

"You have been making my shoes for 14 years now. By the time we reach the new millennium, I will have logged well over 25,000 miles in my Hersey Customs. I thank you."
Pete Malinowski . . . Beverly, Massachusetts

"I choose to wear your shoes and not worry about big company sponsors because Hersey Customs are the best for me, and I cannot sacrifice having the best in order to get "free" shoes that are mainly of a flashy nature. That's basically what I tell people when they ask why I wear your shoes -- because they are the best. I owe you many thanks for providing me footwear that has allowed me to excel and has kept me injury free."
Curt Clausen . . . U.S. Olympic Racewalking Team

"I would conservatively estimate that over the past 16 years I have purchased at least 250 pairs of shoes from you, and I consider them one of the best investments I have ever made. Between running and racewalking, I have logged more than 68,000 miles and 30 marathons, thanks to the correction you built in for my severe over-pronation problems. I have always been impressed that you are determined to make certain that the customer is completely satisfied."
Russell K. Smith . . . Houston, Texas

"Your shoes are the best. Nothing can compare. This is pair #5."
Carl Lochard . . . Cleveland, Ohio

"Your shoes continue to be outstanding. Enclosed is payment for pair #6."
Carl Lochard . . . Cleveland, Ohio

"I'm sure you don't remember, but I started buying Herseys in 1988, and I use them almost exclusively running mountain trails here in Southern California. Of course, the fit is superb, but the way they perform is even better. The carbon rubber trail sole works very well on dirt trails at lower elevations, and it really sticks to the high country granite trails. I've kept all my toenails for 10 years now, and I've averaged 57 miles a week, including a weekly 22-mile run. All of this has been in your shoes. I'm looking forward to the next 10 years."
Ted Winters . . . San Pedro, California

"As you know, I have extremely difficult feet -- very bony and sensitive. Your shoes have enabled me to keep walking four miles every day. In fact, I can almost keep up with my husband, David (Hackworth)."
Eilhys England . . . Greenwich, Connecticut

"As an ex-grunt, I have at least a million miles on my feet. Your shoes are letting me try for the next million . . . and keep up with my wife."
David Hackworth . . . Greenwich, Connecticut

"Just a little shoe update: my Herseys are wonderful!! I have now done several long runs, including a three-hour road run, with absolutely no blisters. I won my age group for the first time, in the La Luz trail race up the Sandia Mountains a couple of weeks ago. My feet, which are extremely mechanically challenged, felt good. In fact, they felt the best in I don't remember when."
Lynn Asbury . . . Albuquerque, New Mexico

"In the past, I suffered foot and leg pains that I eventually discovered were due to mass-manufactured shoes. I tried every brand on the market, but no matter how much I paid for them, none were comfortable and all made my pain more pronounced. As you know, jogging, walking and working out on my treadmill mean the world to me. I don't know what I would do if, God forbid, you ever went out of business. I owe you a great debt of gratitude."
Charlie Marqusee . . . Boca Raton, Florida

"Well, my Herseys came on Thursday, I wore 'em to work on Friday, and then on Saturday, off we went in the 24-hour race. During the event, I saw many of the veterans stop to cut the toe boxes off their shoes . . . even huge blisters off their feet! On Sunday morning, after more than a hundred miles, my new Hersey Customs were still intact, and I had no broken skin. Thirteen years later, my house is full of Herseys, so I'm thinking of adding on. "
Bob MacLaughlin . . . Cushing, Maine