Cori Burns: Creating a Walking Shoe for Women’s Fitness
Cori Burns had always loved running, but eventually pregnancy pushed her to walking for exercise. She found she loved it, but quickly realized there weren't any shoes made for women who walked for fitness. So, she set out to create them herself.
In 2023 she launched Raesyn, a technical shoe company making shoes “for women who walk to sweat.” Cori shares how she spotted a gap in the shoe industry, what went into designing a shoe for women who walk for exercise, and the determination it took to turn her idea into Raesyn.
Hear Cori talk about:
What makes walking for exercise different from running
When she noticed there was a need for walking shoes
What she looked for in the ideal women’s walking shoe
The process to get from prototype to a shoe ready for market
Mentioned in this episode:
Raesyn Shoes — Cori’s footwear brand
Girls Who Walk Baltimore, the walking group Cori mentioned
Cori’s walking workouts and Substack
“I wanted something that made me feel effortless in my motion forward. It’s a different movement than running – it’s constant ground contact. So I thought to myself, there’s truly a gap in the market.”
Episode 21 Notes
Stacy: This is Tell Me What It’s Like. I’m Stacy Raine.
Cori Burns was a competitive runner in college. Later, when life got busier and more stressful, she realized that walking was the best way for her to exercise.
One day, she had a realization: there weren’t any serious shoes designed for women who wanted to walk for fitness.
There were shelves full of running shoes, but for women who preferred to walk — even if that included speed, weights, and inclines — there wasn’t much to choose from.
So Cori decided to change that.
Founding Raesyn
Stacy: She founded Raesyn, a company dedicated to creating walking shoes built for women.
Cori, welcome to the show.
Cori: Thank you for having me.
Tell Me About Your Company
Stacy: I’m so glad you’re here. I want to start by learning about Raesyn. Can you tell me about your company?
Cori: As you summarized in your intro, I grew up a runner. In school, I ran competitively and also studied biomechanics, which is the study of body movement.
I’m sort of an obsessive person, so everything revolved around running and learning how to get better at it. I was also always obsessed with shoes — from flipping through Eastbay as a kid, to my first job in a run specialty shop, to loving shoes my entire life.
With that combination of being a runner, loving shoes, and education, I was always interested in how the body moves and how to get better at running . I went on to work in the footwear industry as a footwear developer for over a decade.
I was blending all of those passions when life hit. I had three babies, started dealing with sleepless nights, a heavy workload, and then COVID hit. I was trying to balance it all.
During that time, I fell out of love with running and developed a real passion for walking.
Discovering A Gap In The Walking Shoe Market
Cori: All the while, with my obsession with body movement and shoes, I couldn’t find a pair of running shoes that I absolutely loved for walking. I wanted something that made my forward motion feel effortless.
It’s a different movement. With running, there’s a lot of bounding, while with walking there is constant ground contact.
I started to realize there was truly a gap in the walking shoe category. Most options catered primarily to seniors, with stiffer bottoms that felt more like fall-prevention shoes.
But women are walking to work out. You see it everywhere on social media with the weighted vests and incline walks. That was what I was doing, and it’s what I saw everyone in my neighborhood doing when they went out to walk for exercise.
How Raesyn Was Born
Cori: So I thought, why don’t I try to build a model that offers flexibility in the forefoot, constant ground contact, and a rocker-style motion that keeps you moving forward. I wanted a little more arch support and a little more heel cushioning.
That’s really how Raesyn was born.
And because I’m a woman, and those are the people I know best, I decided to start with women and build Raesyn — walking shoes for women who walk to sweat.
Stacy: I love that — “Who walk to sweat”.
Walking Is The Best Exercise You Can Do
Stacy: So it’s fitness. It’s a way to exercise. Do you think walking is sometimes an overlooked way to exercise?
Cori: Absolutely. When I first started, it almost felt shameful. As you know, runners sometimes scoff at walking, and at first I thought, you know what?
But I fell in love with it. I felt it then, and I still feel it today — that moving away from running and transitioning almost fully to walking, I haven’t lost a beat in my fitness.
And so I started studying the science behind it. Walking is truly one of the best exercises you can do for mental health, which ultimately affects how your body responds to exercise. There are physical benefits as well, including fat burning.
There is real science behind why walking is so effective. And when you get out there and do it, people may scoff at you as a walker, but everyone is out there doing it too.
The myth that walking is only an exercise for seniors is completely debunked when you see people everywhere wearing weighted vests or pushing through a few miles.
The Market Has Built Shoes For Only Runners
Stacy: I have this image in my head of you going out on your walk, and you have these figures swirling around your head about how the running shoes you’re wearing aren’t working! And then you pass other walkers and think their shoes aren’t doing for them what they should either. Were you constantly looking around and thinking, I have to do something about this?
Cori: I have always been a princess-and-the-pea when it comes to my shoes.
I remember my track coach being annoyed with me because the issued product was never good enough. I would always have to go buy my own shoes, and he’d say, “Can’t you just wear what we are issued?” But I never could. I was always saying, “This just doesn’t feel right, and this is why!.”
He would laugh about it and joke when I did get into footwear development, that he couldn’t have thought of a better role for me.
For me, it felt crazy when you think about the actual percentage of runners versus walkers. The entire market has been built for runners, when in reality it’s something like an 80/20 split of people who walk versus run.
I was really excited to tackle that opportunity. I started developing the shoes in 2020, but I didn’t launch until 2023. During that entire time, I was constantly testing prototypes.
It’s hard, because when you’re out there walking, all you can think about is your feet — what you like and what you don’t like — and that gets annoying after a while. Sometimes I’d come home from a walk, throw the shoes down, and say, “This isn’t it,” and then keep iterating.
But overall, it’s been a fun adventure, and I was really excited to bring this new product to the market.
Footwear Development for Over a Decade
Stacy: You were already in footwear development. It’s not like you didn’t have experience developing shoes — you’d done it before. Is that right?
Cori: Oh yeah. Right after school, I went on to work at one of the big brands and got my foot in the door. I wasn’t in the footwear category at first, but they were just beginning to launch shoes at the time.
After about a year in an entry-level role, I moved into footwear development. I worked on everything — running, training, basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, and golf. I was involved in pretty much every type of shoe they created.
At one point, I led the category in development, and it was such a passion for me. I just have such a passion for building shoes. At one point, I built shoes for professional and collegiate athletes, and I just loved listening to what that specific person needed and then developing a product that solved that problem.
Was There One Specific Moment?
Stacy: When you decided you had to make this shoe, was there one specific moment where it clicked, or was it more of a slow build that you thought about over time?
Cori: I’d say it was more of a slow build. I had a clear idea in my head of how I wanted it to feel, and getting it there was certainly an iterative process.
Four Rounds Each Year, Up To 12 Rounds
Stacy: How many prototypes does a company usually go through before they find the one that works? I’m guessing you were the tester too, right? You were developing and testing — you were all of it.
Cori: I was the main tester, yeah. In a big brand, you usually get about 24 months to get something right.
For me, especially since it was just me and another buddy working on it, we took the full three years. I’d say we probably did about four rounds each year, so around 12 in total because the process of figuring out what you want to do, then opening molds, cutting the dies that fit to that solution takes a while. So I’d say it was probably up to 12 rounds before we got to our first initial model.
Stacy: Oh, wow.
The Very First Prototype
Stacy: What was it like when you got the very first prototype? When it arrives in the mail and you open the box. I’m guessing it comes like that?
Cori: Yeah. Oh gosh. It wasn’t what you wanted. Even from opening it up, it isn't what you wanted.
Stacy: You could see that right away?
Cori: Oh yeah. It was rough. It's really rough. But coming from the industry, I knew that the first round is often very rough unless it’s a version two of a model that’s you’ve put out before.
So the first time I opened a prototype, it definitely needed work. I put miles on it, and my feet would come back not feeling great. Then it was about figuring out where to go next.
But, each time it gets better and better and you hone in on both the build and the look that you like just to get there.
Now we’re in year five since we started, and we’re on model two. What’s in the market now really excites me. I’m very proud of it.
It’s never a shut case, though. I’m always listening to feedback and thinking about how we can improve or what we need to add next. People will email me and say, “Have you thought of this?” And I love that, because it means they’re paying attention, they want to see us succeed, and they must love it if they want more.
Extremely Nervous To Launch It
Stacy: When you first got the prototype in — I mean, you’d put in… what did you say, three years before that first prototype?
Cori:Three years until we launched. So we were doing prototypes for about three years.
Stacy: I see. So it was a little while before you got that first prototype. Were you nervous to start this business? I mean, I know you’d been in the shoe industry and you had plenty of experience, but you were working on a product that had been largely ignored, and you knew it was going to be a long road to get it to market.
Cori: Extremely nervous. Yeah. And still today, every morning you wake up and you’re still kind of nervous. You have to figure out how to continue to grow things.
I was extremely nervous to launch it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the reception in the beginning. That was fuel for the belief that this market could exist alongside the running market and that there really was a need for it.
At the time, I was working another job outside of the footwear industry. I had left my role at the previous organization I was with.
Honestly, ever since I was little, I wanted to do my own thing. I come from entrepreneurs. My parents had started companies when I was young, and I always knew that was something I wanted to do one day.
I actually left my role in the footwear organization to take on a role at a startup because I really wanted to learn how to build something from the ground up. It also helped with the non-compete, since I could create something on the side while being in a different industry.
So I was working full-time while building this whole thing. It certainly makes you nervous to put yourself out there with a product you know you love, but you don’t know if anyone else will, and to try to make a name for your brand and what you’re building.
Stacy: It sounds like if people are already emailing you and asking questions, you have a pretty devoted following already.
Cori: I do. I think I have a very loyal base. Every time I put out a new color or launch a new model, they’re usually the first ones to buy, which is fun.
It’s truly heartwarming how nice people have been. That was kind of a shock. I’d say about 98% of the people I interact with couldn’t be nicer. They’re excited to have this product in the market.
I feel like there are a lot more people like me who have transitioned to walking. I tell them my story as a former athlete, and they’ll say, “Oh, I was a former athlete,” or, “I did field hockey,” or, “I played lacrosse and I walk three miles a day.” It’s a much bigger market than people ever talked about.
Why Are There No Walking Shoes?
Stacy: Why do you think that is? I mean, I have the experience. I also love to walk. I would love to run, but I’ve just never been that person.
I’ve tried many times. I really do love to walk. I enjoy it, I think it’s therapeutic, and it’s a really good form of exercise.
I’ve had the experience of going into a big sporting goods store and looking at the shoes and thinking, “I don’t know which ones are for me because all of these have some other name on them.”
Why do you think that is? Why are there not a lot of shoes that just say, “These are walking shoes”?
Cori: I personally think it’s because the running industry has become so big. The big brands are focused on running.
They don’t want to cannibalize models they’ve already built the marketing behind, so they say you can walk in your running shoes.
And certainly, yes, you can walk in your running shoes. But there’s a better way.
“This Is It”
Stacy: I’m guessing you don’t necessarily know how many iterations you have to go through to find the perfect walking shoe for Raesyn.
But there was one. You finally got to it. What was it like when you took that pair of shoes out for a walk and thought, this is it?
Cori: Oh gosh, that was exciting.
I was getting to a stage where I started thinking, maybe I can’t do this on my own. Maybe I need all the bells and whistles of being supported by a big brand to make this happen.
As a small brand, manufacturing and sourcing are extremely difficult. Especially in footwear, where it’s a mix of the soft goods side — the textiles — and the hard goods side with the rubbers, midsoles, and componentry.
Getting all of that right is hard, even in a sample. Getting the attention of a factory and the supply chain is extremely hard as a small brand. And making them believe that what you’re telling them is going to improve the process and the product is hard when you’re essentially a one-person show.
I got to the point where I thought, what if I can’t get it to be perfectly what I want to hit the market? I can’t just keep iterating and prototyping for years and years. I have to pull the trigger — either go forward or not.
So when I finally thought, you know what, this is it, it was really exciting because I was starting to lose hope.
But it’s a great feeling. It’s a great feeling to finally see your work come to life, and to give you that hope that you’ll be able to launch something.
“Once You Say Go, They Go”
Stacy: It sounds like there’s so much that goes into it — being in that moment where you’re thinking, Is this going to work?
And then it finally does, and you’re out there, and you can feel it in your feet.
Were you skipping?
Cori: Probably.
But it also brought on a whole new level of fear. Once you get it right, you realize you can keep iterating and iterating, and that can prevent you from taking the next step.
Then it becomes, Okay, now we have to figure out production.
So while I was excited, it also opened up a whole new can of worms — fears, anxiety, and questions like, Where do we go next?
But yes, it was super exciting.
Stacy: Where did you go next? What happened after that?
Cori: We confirmed the product, which for the factory means they get authorization to begin purchasing production materials. Once they do that, you’re on the hook.
I took some trips overseas to make sure everything was meeting expectations. Then, in early 2023, I think things started shipping in January or February.
We launched around Mother’s Day in May of 2023.
At this point, it all feels like a whirlwind. I don’t know that I could remember it step by step, but once you say go, they go.
Mentors Along the Way
Stacy: Have you had any mentors along the way in this process? You had the shoe manufacturing background, and I thought it was really cool that you intentionally went to a startup so you could learn that side of it.
You really had a lot of the experience you needed, but I’m curious who was helping you along this path. Entrepreneurship isn’t an easy road to walk alone.
Cori: I’ve had great mentors in the past. With my parents starting their own businesses, that was always a guiding light for me. They were very supportive, and I knew from a young age that I wanted to do my own thing one day.
One of my first jobs was at a running specialty store when I was 17. The owners had just started, and I think I was employee number one working the retail floor. I loved watching them build something, and today they’re a very successful running specialty store in Maryland with eight locations.
Seeing both the pain and the excitement on their faces every day really stuck with me. I loved that.
Then, when I went to work for a startup in 2019, I realized how much I enjoyed that environment. It was a B2B startup, and we worked with a lot of other startups. I loved talking to those founders. Sometimes you could see the struggle on their faces, but they had such passion. It was infectious.
I think some people are built for entrepreneurship and some aren’t, and I hope I continue to be built for it as we grow. I’ve had a lot of people in my life who have inspired me, and I have people I can pick up the phone and call when I have questions or hurdles to get through.
Transitioned From Runner To Walking
Stacy: I want to transition and talk about walking a little bit, because I find it fascinating how you talk about how the movement of walking needs a different shoe.
I told you that I love to walk. I especially love to walk with a walking buddy. It’s such a nice way to get exercise and talk to a friend. Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve always looked for that one person who also likes to walk, and off we go.
You transitioned from being an athlete and a runner to walking. Was it because you had a walking buddy? What started that for you?
Cori: For me, it started with my first pregnancy.
I realized I did not like running while pregnant because I felt like I had to pee every step I took. So I decided that during that pregnancy, I was just going to walk.
I really enjoyed it. Because I was a runner, I told myself I needed to walk five miles to replace my run, and I loved it. I loved walking around the city where we were living at the time.
I thought it was good for my pregnancy, and I assumed I would go back to running after the baby was born.
Then the second pregnancy came, and it was the same thing. The third pregnancy, the same thing. After that baby was born, I realized I couldn’t go back. I didn’t like running anymore, and I couldn’t force myself to do it.
We had moved to a hilly neighborhood, we had a double stroller, and running became a chore. When I was walking, it felt like a total release, similar to how running used to feel for me.
I realized there was no reason I needed to go back. I don’t feel like I lost a step in fitness. Maybe I lost some speed, but there’s so much science behind how good walking is for you.
When you’re stressed all day — not bad stress, but good stress like infants, toddlers, work, managing everything, and at that time, a pandemic — adding more physical stress can throw your body out of balance.
For me, walking became that zen moment where I could collect myself while still getting physical activity.
Girls Who Walk Baltimore & Walking Workouts
Stacy: I feel like you’re starting a bit of a walking movement, especially where you are. You have a walking group now, and you also share walking workouts on your Substack.
Cori: The Girls Who Walk Baltimore is a separate organization, but they’re a great partner.
Those women are doing an incredible job. They started in 2024, and by their fourth walk they had 400 people, which really shows how big this market is. Everyone is out there walking.
We partner with them pretty frequently. They host at least one walk a month, and we rotate locations around Baltimore. There are chapters all over the country. I work with a group in Dallas sometimes, and also in Palm Beach, Florida.
It’s been really cool to see how fast they’ve grown. They tend to cater to a slightly younger demographic — younger than me — but it’s still really fun to watch that community build.
For me personally, I treat walking almost like I treated running when I was in college. In the summer, when the weather is nice, I’ll throw on a weighted vest and go outside.
But in the winter, when the weather isn’t great and you’re on a treadmill, walking can feel harder. So I think up workouts and share them on my Substack and on my website.
It’s about finding ways to mix it up. The 12-3-3 workout got really popular on social media a couple of years ago. It’s a 30-minute walk at a 12% incline and three miles per hour. If you need a good workout, that’s a great one.
I also share variations on that and ideas to make outdoor walks more engaging. Things like doing an out-and-back route, hitting a halfway point, and then trying to beat your time on the way back. Little things that make it more fun and give you a better burn.
Weighted Vests
Stacy: Anna’s weighted vest seems to be taking the world by storm. I don’t have one, but what’s the deal with weighted vests? Since you know everything about walking, I’m curious.
Cori: There are definitely debates about how science-backed weighted vests are.
For me, it comes down to physics. You’re carrying a heavier load, so you’re burning more. I like them because you can feel the difference. You can feel that extra bump in your workout when you’re wearing one.
There’s also discussion about benefits like bone density and adding strength to your walk. For me personally, I feel it, and I like having that extra challenge when I’m walking.
Stacy: I appreciate you clearing that up for me. I haven’t tried one yet, but I can see why it would be helpful for people who want to push their workout a little further.
Biggest Thing You’ve Learned So Far
Stacy: This has been quite a journey for you. You said you’re on year five now. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned so far?
Cori: That’s tough. I feel like I learn something new every day.
One of the biggest things has been how challenging the manufacturing side is. On the other side, sales is also very difficult. When you have the support of a bigger brand, there are many things being taken care of that you don’t even realize.
When I was starting this more on my own, especially in footwear, I learned how manual the process really is. Shoes aren’t automated. There aren’t machines just pumping them out. You have to have extremely strict guidelines so that when the product arrives, it’s exactly what you expect.
That was a big learning early on. It’s gotten much better now because I have great partners who understand the mission, but early on, that was hard to find.
Another big learning is how quickly everything evolves. Coming out of COVID, social selling was strong, and that was great for me. I don’t think I could have started at any other time because I had incredible affiliate partners who loved the brand and helped get the name out.
But that has evolved. The way you present your brand now has to work across many different channels, and retail has become important again as people return to in-person shopping.
It’s been interesting because every three months, it feels like you wake up in a completely different world.
Stacy: I completely understand that.
“Walking on Clouds”
Stacy: I’m thinking about what you said earlier, especially how quickly the world of social media has evolved and what people are paying attention to now.
What are you hearing from women? I know you have different walking groups and your own walking buddies. What are people saying about the shoes?
Cori: I think people feel a difference as soon as they put them on. The first thing most people say to me is that it feels like they’re walking on clouds.
I also hear this from family members who don’t necessarily walk a lot but wear the shoes anyway, mostly because they’re family. They’re always shocked by how the shoes feel and how much faster they feel like they’re moving.
The most common thing I hear is, “Oh my gosh, these feel like walking on clouds,” which is a really good thing to hear.
Apparel And the Pinnie
Stacy: Absolutely. You’re starting to add apparel to your website now. I was reading about the pinnie and thought that was a really cool story.
You ended up wearing one of your son’s lacrosse shirts because you wanted to support the team, and then realized it was actually a great shirt for sweating.
Do I have that right?
Cori: That’s exactly right. It’s so funny.
All of my sons get these little lacrosse pinnies for pretty much every league they’re in. I wore one to support the team at a tournament because I didn’t have anything else with their name on it. Some of the other moms were doing that too.
It was a 90-degree day, and I was wearing it all day watching lacrosse. I remember thinking how comfortable it was. The next day, I decided to wear it on a walk just to see how it felt. It’s a lightweight mesh pinnie, and the airflow was great.
I thought, this is incredible. Why don’t they make these for adults or for people who work out?
So I sort of reinvented the pinnie, made it a little cuter, and launched it last June. That’s been really fun. It’s unique, and it’s another one of those things where you put it on and it just feels awesome.
With everything I do, or hope to do, I think back to my younger days as a runner. You were told which shoes were best for you, and usually they were really ugly. I want everything to perform well but not look overly technical, so you can wear it to the grocery store afterward and not look like you just finished a four-mile jog.
Stacy: I love that you said you’re making things cute, because that really matters. You want your shoes to be cute, your shirt to be cute — you want everything to be cute.
The Sport Of Walking
Stacy: What do you want people to know about the sport of walking?
Cori: I think if you give it a try, it won’t just make your day better — you’ll get hooked. It’s one of those things where once you get going, you never regret it.
And then there are all the benefits. There’s so much out there that people try to sell you where the benefits sound too good to be true.
Walking is one of those rare things where the benefits really do sound too good to be true because they’re actually true.
It’s incredible what simply getting out for a walk can do for you. Even if it’s on a treadmill, putting in the time or walking a mile can absolutely change your day.
Stacy: Well, Cori, thank you so much for joining me on the show to talk about your shoes and everything walking.
Cori: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. This has been fun.
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