Article of footwear having medial and lateral sides with differing characteristics

An article of footwear, said article of footwear comprising:

• a sole having a midsole and an outsole, said sole having and medial and lateral portions, said midsole being substantially longitudinally divided into medial and lateral portions, said outsole including a lateral outsole portion, and a medial outsole portion having front and rear portions, said rear medial outsold portion having a first region facing substantially downwardly and a second region facing substantially medially outwardly;
• an upper, said upper coupled to the sole for retaining the foot of a wearer and including medial and lateral portions, a lateral side support panel on the lateral side of the upper, and a medial side support panel on the medial side of the upper;
• a footbed surface positioned above at least a portion of the sole and below at least a portion of the upper, said footbed surface providing a surface upon which a foot of a wearer may rest;
• means on the upper for making the medial portion of the upper more flexible than the lateral portion of the upper, said means on the upper for making the medial portion of the upper more flexible than the lateral portion of the upper includes a lacing system for tightly securing the a foot of a wearer to the sole within the upper, said lacing system including a plurality of lateral fastening straps and a plurality of medial fastening straps, each of said lateral fastening straps and said medial fastening straps having a distal upper end with a lace engaging element, said plurality of medial fastening straps being inside of said medial support panel and said plurality of lateral fastening straps being outside of said lateral support panel;
• and
• means on the sole for making the medial portion of the sole more flexible than the lateral portion of the sole, said means on the sole for making the medial portion of the sole more flexible than the lateral portion of the sole includes at least one of:
• (a) differing midsole materials, such that said lateral portion of the midsole is formed from a first midsole material and said medial portion of the midsole is formed from a second midsole material, said first material being less compressible than said second material;
• (b) a plurality of generally concentric medial flex grooves, said rear medial outsole portion having said plurality of generally concentric medial flex grooves located in the first and second regions of the rear medial outsole;
• (c) a plurality of angled medial flex grooves, said medial outsole portion being separated from said lateral outsole portion and including said plurality of angled medial flex grooves that extend in a direction forwardly and laterally from the medial edge of the sole;
• and
• (d) front and rear lateral support elements, each of said lateral support elements being located on the lateral side of the sole and having a base portion and an upstanding portion, said base portion of each said lateral support element being positioned inside said sole below said footbed surface, and said upstanding portion of each lateral support surface extending above said footbed surface.