Nike pros not running in Air Zoom Victory: Not super enough?

They're very agressive. I like them for 1500m races and less, but I could see how runners who are used to training in DFs just want to stick with that.

Every major company has at least one "fake-out" shoe to sucker the consumers. In Nike's case, it is the Air Zoom Victory. The majority of the runners go for the Dragonfly because it is a superior shoe.

Don't believe me? Look at what ASICS did with the MetaRacer. That shoe was a bust. However, they knew suckers would buy it for $200. They are the worst proponents of fraudulent marketing. ASICS has two nearly identical super shoes that they are selling for $250.

Need another example? Look at Brooks. They came out with the Hyperion and marketed it for $250. Another bust. After poor reviews, they skipped right to the Hyperion 2 in the same calendar year. To add insult to injury, Des Linden wore they Hyperion 2 at the trials the same day the Hyperion 1 was released to the public.

My point is that people should navigate with caution. Every single shoe company has one goal in mind. That is, to make as much money as possible. They don't care about people who they do not give compensation. If you are not sponsored by their company they don't care about consumer preference, all they care about is marketability. The more products they are able to market, they more money they make.

Sorry for my poor spelling and grammar.

Main point: People have different preferences, although not all shoes are created equal. Some shoes are purely marketing, including the Air Zoom Victory. Could it be a good shoe at 800m-1500m? Yes. However, so is the Dragonfly, which is $150 and you can run in races as long as 10,000m with the shoe. Can the same be done with the $180 Air Zoom Victory?

Appreciate the responses! I went back and watched a few more races and noticed that it does seem to be more of a personal preference thing for certain runners. In Monacos 8 and 1500 I noticed more Vics that I had thought, notably on Amos and Cheruiyot. Even noticed a bunch of the guys in the 2019 world final wearing Vics so I may have jumped the gun on this. Interestingly Jakob seems to be a Dragonfly guy through and through, while guys like Engels and Centro have changed back and forth.

The AZV is an inferior shoe to the dragonfly but the problem with the dragonfly is it’s not aggressive enough for the 800m and barely aggressive for top level 1500m, so they end up using the AZV even though it is inferior

crisscrosscountry wrote:

So between the trials and recent DL meets I've noticed a lot of mid distance athletes racing in the Dragonflys instead of the Air Zoom Victory. A notable example recently was Isaiah Harris in his DL win but also in that field, Clayton Murphy opted for MaxFlys (a sprint spike). The 1500 seems to be a similar story as it's a sea of Dragonflys, both with the swoosh and whited out. So what gives? Is the Air Zoom Victory just not super enough despite having the coveted carbon plate? Curious if anyone has any personal experience with them or any insight into why pros are opting out of Nikes supposed premier mid-distance spike.

They destroy achilles. If you’re prone to that, stay away.

Bythebay12 wrote:

The AZV is an inferior shoe to the dragonfly but the problem with the dragonfly is it’s not aggressive enough for the 800m and barely aggressive for top level 1500m, so they end up using the AZV even though it is inferior

Amos ran 45.xx in the Dragonflys

Which one?

crisscrosscountry wrote:

So between the trials and recent DL meets I've noticed a lot of mid distance athletes racing in the Dragonflys instead of the Air Zoom Victory. A notable example recently was Isaiah Harris in his DL win but also in that field, Clayton Murphy opted for MaxFlys (a sprint spike). The 1500 seems to be a similar story as it's a sea of Dragonflys, both with the swoosh and whited out. So what gives? Is the Air Zoom Victory just not super enough despite having the coveted carbon plate? Curious if anyone has any personal experience with them or any insight into why pros are opting out of Nikes supposed premier mid-distance spike.

The AZV is a great 800 meter shoe but many seem to like the MaxFly better for the 800 lately. Kate Grace opted for the MaxFly for her recent mile race and she also wore them for the 800 at trials. Athing and Rogers wore MaxFly but Price , Allie Wilson, Michaela Meyer Hannah Green and Southerland all wore AZV. Their not dead.

Caress a Shoulder wrote:

Which one?

Vics

too aggressive wrote:

Caress a Shoulder wrote:

Which one?

Vics

And 45.xx in the Dragonflys

I’m an adidas man, and am excited about their new shoe. NB and Brooks both have a good one to release soon.

I agree. I do see some runners who use the AZV over the Dragons over the 800m distance. However, you don't really see many using the victories on races over 1500m+. Definitely, it seems like the Asics Metaracer but I don't think Nike will update the AZV becoz it isn't suitable to the majority of the runners. This leaves a blank spot for options over the 800m and 1500m if you don't use the victories. (So dragons or that sprint spike).

But like seriously, so what now for the 800m and 1500m?

What makes the spike good is not the plate, it's the foam. They have finally added the lightweight foam to the spikes to make them more comfortable and not destroy your calves as bad, causing fewer injuries and quicker recovery. They are not actually any faster, other than possibly not breaking down the muscles as much due to the foam allowing the runner to still be fast at the end of the race. This is why they don't really make much of a difference in an 800, the race is too short to get that benefit of not breaking down by the end of a race. If it truly was a 'spring' then sprinters would benefit from them as well, but that's not the case, because it's obviously not a 'spring'... Anyone who says it's like a spring is dumb.