Average joe runner runs 5k in 34:35. Buy Vaporfly Next % shoes, runs 31:54 a week later. 7.7% improvement.

old hand wrote:

Jeez, this is embarrassing click-bait even for Rojo. On the other hand, though I'm not fully-versed on the revenues from clicks (I guess it drives ads and increases ad rates?), anything that drives more clicks is probably a good thing for the business, so well-played.

Agreed. I started doing the math and said no way a guy improved that much that quickly (thinking he ran 31:54 for 10k).

Fire rojo

Rojo, I hope you are trolling here.

The improvement from these shoes is anywhere from 0% to 8% depending on whether you are a responder or non-responder. The fact that heel strikers are more likely to be responders may support the contention that average runners could also benefit from these shoes. While these runner5s may not have the talent, training or experience to run fast they are often just as happy to run faster and get a PB. Contrary to popular opinion these shoes do not work the same as the blades used by amputee athletes. They are more efficient because they do not bend and runners then do not lose power from flexing their forefoot. A recent study also showed that the thick midsole with a sharp taper to the toe improved mechanical efficiency by creating a tipping effect. This is a case study type of research which is the lowest form of evidence. But perhaps it will inspire a study into slower runners and the effect of these shoes. A better way to do it is to have them running at a variety of set paces on a treadmill and see what impact it has on heartrate. If they can run at the same pace at a lower heartrate then they would be shown to work for slower runners.

This is not crazzy at all. When i started out my first run was a 37 min 5k , 2 days later same route 33 mins. Both times in the same shoes and shorts.

This is very good. I think we can make a good profit from it.