Do better shoes help you run faster?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Modern competitive running entered a new era in 2016, when Nike began distributing a prototype trainer to elite runners. The new shoes were designed to look like Nike’s top publicly available model, the Zoom Streak 6, but the soles featured a revolutionary new design.
Athletes wearing the prototype shoes took home all three medals at the men’s Olympic marathon in Rio de Janeiro that year. Regular runners were able to get their hands on them in 2017 when the company unveiled the Zoom Vaporfly 4% (the figure refers to efficiency gains measured in lab tests), the first true super shoe. “Most super shoes follow the same pattern," explains Jens Jakob Andersen, founder of RunRepeat.com, a website that road-tests trainers and dissects them to reveal their secrets.
They typically have curved soles made of a stiff carbon plate sandwiched between layers of specially engineered springy foam. The result is often very thick—up to 40mm tall at the heel, the maximum allowed for competitive racing (regular trainers are usually around 25-35mm tall). These features make running easier.
Lab tests have shown that recreational runners use less oxygen and report feeling less tired while jogging in premium trainers compared with regular ones. Platformed soles encourage a slightly longer stride, which means fewer steps per kilometre. And a squishy base, which absorbs impact before bouncing back up, eases the strain on leg muscles.
By reducing the energy needed to maintain normal pace, super shoes allow runners to put more effort into going faster. The results speak for themselves. Of the 50 fastest men’s marathon times only nine predate 2017; the figure for women is just three.
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