Sick of supershoe whining - runners actually like them!

I'm sure lots of dopers really like EPO also.

I run right now, and I'm not fond of the pospect of someone buying a placing ahead of me in a race.

I've only just adjusted to the previous iteration of super shoes, and I'm not keen on the idea of forking out $500 on a pair of shoes - that I can only race in once - or else be beaten by people I would've otherwise beaten.

Seems like an arms race; one in which runners shoulder exorbitant costs in order to compete. All the while shoe brands enrich themselves.

Lol "buying a place ahead of me." Stop caring about who finishes ahead of you in your local turkey trot, you're not in the Olympics or racing for a living. At every level of this sport (including wanna-be sub-elites like myself), your only competitor is yourself.

Equipment matters in all sports. As you buy good equipment with (more) money, money matters in all sports, if you are performance oriented.

Do you guys really believe running is the exception? It isn't, obviously.

But i understand you, the last years of shoe development brought that change, it was inevitable. And the new 500$ shoe will speed up that development again.

I think you're over-emphasising Assefa's performance which is very much an outlier even compared to others that used the shoe. A bunch of other runners had the $500 shoe in Berlin and didn't run times that were off the charts. We'll get more data from Chicago, NY, and Valencia, but my guess is this new shoe is worth fractions of a minute, if anything, for most runners. If Adidas were really confident if the performance benefits of this shoe, they'd release the test data as Nike did with the OG Vaporfly. As they aren't releasing it, I would bet a lot of money that it's only within 1% of other supershoes. In short: those $150 Vaporfly's you got on sale are perfectly fine. Nike shoes were good enough for Kipchoge to run 2:02 for the win

Supershoes = fake PR. Deep down you know it to be true. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.

It’s just that they need to retool the outsole and improve the ride quality

The shoes are an improvement but everyone has them so there’s no advantage to any person. As is well accepted in world class archery, any pro using a $500 bow setup can crush most amateurs using a $3000 setup.

Then you cheat yourself by wearing super shoes and thinking your new PR is legitimate.

Nah, man. There's a different advantage for everyone, from zero (or negative) to 11+% better running economy, and it gets reshuffled with the different shoe designs too. It's becoming a crapshoot. For a sponsored athlete, hopefully you respond best to the shoe that your sponsor can give you. For rich hobby joggers, potentially, they can buy all the different models, pay for a lab to test them all, and choose the shoe that gives that person the most advantage. (Joubert, the labratrundown guy and author of one of the papers referenced below basically has done this for himself).

letsrun.com

Sports Scientists Ross Tucker and Geoff Burns React To Tigst Assefa's Amazing 2:11:53 Marathon World Record

LetsRun.com

After Assefa's WR, sadly doping allegations swarmed the Internet, but could it simply be the shoes? "I hate these shoes, and I truly wish the authorities had acted to prevent this entirely foreseeable situation," writes Ross...

Link:www.letsrun.com/news/2023/09/sports-sc...

Interesting logic. If only Olympians matter, nobody else should buy the shoes because they aren't competing against anyone else.

Whatever, I'm just looking forward to American men waddling and yaaaaying their ways to 2:14s at the next major marathon. Maybe they can cross the finish line together holding hands, three abreast. Yaaaaaay.

Yes, that is correct.

Have fun buying disposable shoes for $500

Way back in the day I wore Chucks for training and racing. I advanced to real running shoes and got the best (my parents) could afford. In college and adulthood I got the best training and racing I can/could afford, so I could be better. We runners have always been on a quest to improve performance through training and equipment and the current "super" shoes are just part of never ending evolution.

I think a lot of guys complaining are butthurt that they are getting chicked...big time

Of course they like them. Everyone wants an easy path to faster times to inflate egos.

The new Adidas shoe is made from EVA FOAM! Shoe companies have been using EVA FOAM for decades. There is nothing new or innovative about this. It's just a publicity stunt and cash grab. The record couldn't be more illegitimate.

Yet all of the hobby joggers are going to shell out for the "new tech". Give me a break.

Weird how the magic shoes make African runners really fast but actually seem to make American male runners slower.

Speak for yourself. I’ve never sought to improve my times through equipment. My improvement comes from hard work and that’s it.