Patent ID: 8516718

Claim:
An article of footwear, comprising: a sole; a thong portion including a first end portion, a second end portion and an intermediate portion disposed between the first end portion and the second end portion; the first end portion associated with a first portion of the sole; the second end portion associated with a strap, the strap being configured to wrap around a portion of a foot; the thong portion including a substantially symmetric core having a forward portion that is oriented towards a front of the article of footwear and a rearward portion that is oriented towards a rear of the article of footwear; and the substantially symmetric core having an outer surface; and the substantially symmetric core including a groove set disposed in the rearward portion extending inward from the outer surface of the substantially symmetric core through a substantial majority of the cross-sectional area of the substantially symmetric core; and a reinforcing portion extending forward from the outer surface of the forward portion of the substantially symmetric core, and extending along a length of the groove set.