WSJ - the rise of 'illegal' running shoes

Bouncy-shoes apologists really don’t want to hear about their bouncy shoes. They would rather not accept the fact that, without them, their 14:58 5k would be 20 seconds slower.

I'm not sure that they will run faster in a 50 mm stack height shoe than a 40 mm stack height shoe though. Maybe 41-42 with even more optimized tech could be faster. We will see.

Race officials at world athletics certified road races will have to stay vigilant to ensure no one gets money by using shoes that are not allowed to gain an advantage over their competitors.

"while minimizing the chance of falling over" is obviously a bit hyperbolic. But as someone that has never gravitated towards stability shoes, I've found this trend towards massive stack height to really be counterproductive in terms of stability. I've had a couple of pairs that did feel a bit "tippy". Sure they're soft as hell, but they become almost hard to ignore when I'm wearing them. And I don't want to think about my shoes or my feet when I'm running. So yeah, it's gotten a little silly if you just want a shoe that's an extension of your body.

Would be cool if the shoes progressed so much that our sport changed to something of an air luge

Indeed. I do all my training and racing in discontinued racing flats. I like ground feel. I guess some modern runners have never really felt the ground while they're running. I'm hoping the ridiculous trend toward maximalism causes some company to release a 22-24 mm stack racing flat with no gimics, no wide toe boxes, no spring plates. If they did that now, they could corner the market, but maybe that market is tinier than I think.

I don't know about that. Never underestimate the ability of people to rationalize things so that they still come out of it as the hero. "I really don't think the shoes make that much difference (though for some reason I still have to wear them for every race); it's a combination of better training, better nutrition, double thresholds, weight workouts, and being savvier."

Right now, most of the "illegal" shoes are just super-cushioned trainers. They would not be as fast in a road race as the best legal racing shoes.

Now, I'm sure that the shoe companies could make illegal shoes that are faster than their best current racing shoes, but why bother? People are buying 50mm shoes for how they feel, not to shave every last fraction of a second off their race times.

50 mm is about 2 inches. Perhaps if we keep going, we can get stack height in line with woman's high heels.

I'm with you. I'm still running in the Brooks Hyperion Tempo from several years ago. My pairs are wearing out and they're becoming scarce and expensive on line. Every new iteneration of the shoe has been heavier and taller than the previous one.

I hate running shoes now. Hate them. I keep hoping the trend will swing back the other way, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe it won't. I don't know. I just know that I can't find a current shoe model I want to buy.

Hard disagree- they've only gone from 7.1 to 7.6 in 4 years while greatly improving the performance.

I’m all for supershoes for racing, obviously they are very fast, but I have to agree about trainers. The supershoe trend has completely killed the “normal” trainer. As someone who wore the original Bostons for years it seems like every daily trainer is just a toned down supershoe these days.

Basketball coaches could have their teams play in them to improve rebounding.

There is an added risk to these super stack height shoes. I bought the Mizuno Rebellion Pro last year. It was legal because there was a large cut out in the heel where the measurement is done. But the actual heel stack height is more than 50mm. I ran really well in the shoe and then started to get a sore back. The side to side instability of such a huge stack height was causing all kinds of stress to my hips and lower back. It got so bad I struggled to tie my shoes. I had to quit running for 2 weeks. I went back to a lower stack shoe and the pain eventually went away. But I can see why people like them. The shoes feel bouncy and the Mizuno's were only 8 ounces, which seems impossible for the such a mountain of a shoe.

Don't forget the arms-race impact these shoes have at run-club. When your run-club nemesis shows up 2 inches taller, do you let them steal the adulation you rightly deserve, or do you come back with 2.5 inch super stacks?

As a nearly master's runner coming back from injury, I'm really curious if I'll be able to approach my PRs with supershoes. Legal supershoes; I have no interest in breaking rules. But if they're as great as advertised, and a 15:18 in "old school" spikes can be a 14:58 in supers, I might be able to go sub-15 again.

Should be a fun experiment.

I agree. I miss my old NB 5000, at 3oz. per shoe...

i'm honestly so heartened (and relieved) to see so many people in this thread being clear-eyed about cheater shoes and how ridiculous and comical they are. sometimes it feels like i'm shouting into the wind. simply stating the simple fact that someone's 5k PR would be 20-30 seconds slower without cheater shoes is so triggering for some people and they're unable to rationally see that technology is going to (has already) become something that fundamentally changes the nature of the sport, and lines need to be drawn.

try Xero shoes. my current pair is at about 1200 miles.

They're mostly used by over 40 dudes, like myself, for training. The higher stack has seriously changed how often and how fast i can run. I'm not as sore as the old days when i run in these 40mm+ shoes. I don't care how fast i go, as long as they are squishy.