Many people believe that shoes keep runners healthy. David Kirui, a physical therapist who has treated some of Kenya’s top marathoners, estimates that overuse injuries such as stress fractures, Achilles tendinitis and iliotibial band syndrome have been reduced by at least 25 percent. Several veteran runners have said that these shoes have helped them extend their careers and thus increase their income. “You would be completely exhausted after 10 marathons in old shoes,” says Jonathan Maiyo, an elite road racer since 2007. “Now 10 marathons are like nothing.”
Who benefits?
Runners like the Berardelli group are a select few. Most athletes training in Kenya have never made money from their sport. Many people wear second-hand shoes given as gifts by friends or purchased at local markets, and few can afford supershoes themselves. One day in Iten, a small town north of Eldoret clinging to the edge of the Rift Valley cliffs, I meet 23-year-old Daisy Kandie, who moved here after high school and is one of hundreds of aspiring pros. Muddy roads in the village every morning. Her goals are the same as most people. The idea is to get noticed by an agent (most likely a foreigner) who provides equipment, arranges races abroad and, in some cases, negotiates contracts with shoe companies.
Among Iten’s legion of dreamers, Kandie was luckier than most. Her parents saw her as the future head of the household and supported her quest, even selling her farmland to buy her a pair of neon green and blue shoes. Pink Nike Alpha Fly. These shoes were about $180 cheaper at Iten than I would have bought them in the US. It’s an open secret that some sponsored runners sell the shoes they buy for free to local stores, which then resell the shoes at below-market prices. Still, that money means a lot of sacrifice. Kandie pays roughly that amount for rent for a small room on the edge of town. The price of her shoes, which she calls “Sub-2”, does not make her indignant for her idea of \u200b\u200ba sub-2-hour marathon. Instead, she says having the latest equipment helps her stay motivated. However, she only uses them for quick runs twice a week and the occasional local race, but her soles are quite worn and she has no plans to replace them.
When asked what she plans to do next, she said, “I’ll be gone by then,” referring to a race outside Kenya. “I have hope.”
Patrick Meinhardt
While supershoe technology has increased the cost of doing business for Kandie and others like her, it is most controversial because of its role in distorting top-tier results. Hoogkamer’s groundbreaking study of the Vaporfly found that the shoe improved running economy by an average of 4%, with the benefit roughly ranging from 2% to 6% depending on the athlete.
Subsequent studies involving other supershoes have recorded a similar range of responses. A 2023 study by researchers affiliated with Adidas, who tested seven elite Kenyans in three carbon fiber prototypes and traditional racing flats, found that runners used 11% less energy in one shoe and 11% more energy in the other shoe. Recorded as being used. Melanie Knopp, lead author of the study, cautioned that each athlete was tested in each shoe only once and that some subjects were not accustomed to running on a treadmill. Nonetheless, researchers generally agree that individual athletes “respond” better to certain shoes than others. Why it’s not entirely clear: Hoogkamer estimates there could be as many as 20 variables, including body weight, foot length, calf strength, and whether the runner hits the ground with the front foot, midfoot, or heel. Shoe geometry is also important. Dutch marathoner Abdi Nageye, who trains in Iten and finished second to Kipchoge at the Tokyo Olympics, said he struggled with the first two versions of the Nike Alphafly. As a 120-pound heel striker, he was forced to “skip” in a way that felt unnatural. He says the newer Alphafly models, which feature a greater reduction in heel-to-toe “stack height” (or foam thickness), are a much better fit.
“If everyone were in an ideal position, would there still be some who benefit more than others? The answer is probably yes.”
Dustin Joubert, supershoe expert and professor of kinesiology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
What this means for the integrity of the marathon is a hotly debated topic. Today, many professional runners in the West undergo treadmill-based metabolic testing to determine which shoe will fit them best and, in some cases, which company to sign with. This is not uncommon in Kenya, where competition has increased and players have less room to negotiate. Most of the runners I interviewed who had shoe contracts said their sponsors had a model they liked, but it was difficult to know which was the best fit for them. Even so, some people suspect that certain runners are better suited to supershoe technology more broadly. “If everyone were in an ideal position, would some still benefit more than others?” asks Dustin Joubert, a supershoe expert and professor of kinesiology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. “The answer is probably yes.”
Patrick Meinhardt
Despite the benefits runners get from their training, Berardelli said the shoes introduced a “question mark.” In today’s marathons, Berardelli says, it’s more unclear than ever whether the winner is actually the strongest runner or the runner with the smartest race tactics. Kenyan Stephen Cherono, who competed for the Qatar national team as Saif Saaeed Shaheen and held the world record in the 3,000m steeplechase from 2004 until it was broken last year with the help of Super Spikes, is world athletics. I believe World Athletics should have previously imposed greater restrictions on this technology. It’s too late. The global body maintains limits on sole thickness and bans the use of shoes not intended for sale, but these guidelines are intended to help direct innovation, not stifle it. Cherono said he is a huge fan of Formula 1, a global motorsport. But he worries that running is becoming too focused on performance engineering. “Too often now the conversation is about shoes and not about the person wearing them,” he says.
