Footwear sole assembly

An article of footwear comprising:

• an upper adapted to receive a foot, the upper having a closed bottom and an undersurface;
• a sole assembly joined to the undersurface of the upper entirely outside the closed bottom of the upper and adapted to provide a ground-engaging structure between the foot and an underlying ground surface, the sole assembly comprising:
• a cushioning sole having a ground-engaging surface and a top surface, the cushioning sole disposed entirely outside the upper and not penetrating the closed bottom, the cushioning sole manufactured from a material having a first hardness;
• a support frame separate from the upper fitted onto the cushioning sole, the support frame disposed outside the upper and including a plurality of support members that are recessed into the cushioning sole, the support frame manufactured from a material having a second hardness substantially greater than the first hardness;
• and
• wherein the cushioning sole defines a support frame recess including a plurality of channels each configured to receive a portion of the support frame, the support frame recess including a plurality of bottom channels extending upwardly into the ground-engaging surface along a bottom of the cushioning sole, each of the plurality of bottom channels receiving a portion of the support frame, each of plurality of bottom channels being of sufficient depth that the portion of the support frame received in that bottom channel is fully recessed within that bottom channel such that each portion of the support frame received within one of the plurality of bottom channels includes a bottom surface upwardly offset from the ground-engaging surface.