Nike has offered to give 75 women running in the Oly marathon Trials a pair of Nike luna racers and a uniform. Anyone know much about these shoes? They seem to be extremely light, made from some new material which cuts down on weight significantly. I assume Nike would not send women about to run a marathon shoes that are not meant to handle the 26.2 mile distance, but wondering if anyone has any input on these. They feel great, very responsive.
Yeah, so Nike will spend 10 dollars of product on each athlete in order to get their brand splashed all over the olympic trials. How generous of them. But where were they when many of these girls were training unaided in order to get to the trials. And that's what they offer. A free pair of shoes and a free jersey in order to get their name all over one of the biggest races of the year.
Why don't they offer these girls some real assistance in their pursuit of running excellence. They have enough money to give 100 million dollar contracts to basketball players. But not a few thousand to help a struggling runner who has already qualified for the olympic trials.
Well said!
What a slap in the face!
I say all women boycott this "free product" unless they get paid to wear it. They deserve more!
I hope the ladies see through this bullshit.
Ouch somebody outed a very noticeable marketing ploy
Then they can say 90% of women at the Olympic marathon trials wore Nike.
Nike has done more for american running than any other running corporation and how can anybody give this support such a negative connotation...
oh wait this is letsrun
The Luna racer is going to be pretty awesome. The new midsole material used in the flat will be a lighter weight material.
Beaverton born and raised wrote:
Nike has done more for american running than any other running corporation and how can anybody give this support such a negative connotation...
oh wait this is letsrun
Um because they're only showing up on race day to support these females.
Support means you're there when the going gets rough, it means you're there for the bad and the good. Nike is showing up when these females have gone through all their training and trying to stand with them on the podium by giving them free brand stuff.
They pull the same stunt at the high school XC champs all the time. And people eat it up because who can argue with SWAG? It costs Nike next to nothing to be able to say "the national champion wears our shoes".
its more support than they are getting otherwise....sooooo
I agree with what people are saying, but my initial question was about the shoes. I did not want a debate about the Nike company. I want knowledgeable info about the shoes. Are these shoes something people would feel safe wearing for a distance as long as 26.2 miles? They are just so incredibly light.
They are currently in the wear test phase. Color pop of grey/silver upper with a lemon/lime midsole. From what I have heard they are a great flat. Several Nike employees were wearing them at the local races last weekend.
Good for 26.2? Who knows, I'm not sure they have been worn in a marathon by many yet. Also, if I am given a pair of shoes for the Trials I would probably like to have raced in them a few times before running a marathon to make sure there are no hot spots or blister areas.
really wasn't Nike's support of things like the WNBA enough for women's sports...
who was the last woman who really made the difference in a shoe purchase..
masters fattie wrote:
who was the last woman who really made the difference in a shoe purchase..
I think it has a lot more to do with all the eyeballs set to be watching the Trials that weekend than a woman making a difference in the shoe purchase.
Adidas is all over Boston so this is a nice way for Nike to guerilla market the shoe and create a buzz - I'm sure there will be another thread on this shoe come the Marathon Trials weekend.
i saw people wearing these at the Portland Marathon this past fall. I asked a runner about them and he was all "hush/hush".
seems like a good looking shoe.
I tried these on. The flat is very narrow, way to squishy, and way too built up. It easily has the heel/forefoot height of a lightweight trainer. It's light, but so was the Mayfly and the Mayfly has the same problems.
It feels like the free's with a little more cush to be honest. not a fan of how the base flairs thou
When it comes to Nike they offer alot more in sponsorship than any other company.
How many other shoe company's are giving out 70+ pairs of shoes and uni's to these runners? If there was anyone you would have seen it on this site by now.
Marketing move yes, but also a supportive move these athletes don't have an obligation to wear this product. If they don't like they can offer it to a friend for a few bucks and everyone wins.
It's actually called the "Lunar" racer and there will be a Lunar trainer coming out as well, both in June, I believe.
It's like a free 7.0, without the deep flex grooves. The midsole material is pretty weird, fairly squishy but supposedly very durable and extremely light. Both the trainer and racer's midsoles are neon greenish yellow. the trainer's upper is a white, almost seamless mesh with a black swoosh. the racers upper is a weird plasticy fabric, and is mostly grey.
They are going to be available in running specialty only, at least initially.
I've only seen samples and have yet to try a pair on, but i can't wait for them. they seem sweet.
What does that mean when you say the shoe is "way too built up"? It sounds like it's a super light shoe, so how is it built up? I guess some of this is subjective. If you like a harder ride then these aren't for you. I personally like a very soft, cushy ride so these seem to be great.
The shoe will be a joke. It is a light weight trainer at best. Not a very light weight racing flat like the mayfly
NIKE obviously has a lot of confidence no one else will steal their thunder. It seems it'd be pretty easy at this point for adidas, Reebok, Brooks, or some other outfit to step in and 'outbid' NIKE. Simply give each female OT qualifier who is interested a pair of shoes, some schwag and $250 cash to wear THEIR shoes at the Olympic trials instead, plus kick an incentive toward the race organizers.
Which option do you think they'd pick?
The competitor would spend about $20,000 and 'outbid' Nike. In reality it's pocket change. However, no other company has shown it is sufficiently motivated to step up to the plate, show their baseline support, and ace out its rival shoe/apparel competitor.
I hope not too many people fall in love with these shoes...looking at Nike's lineup for Holiday '08 on the Nike.net site, they appear to be already pulled from the line. Neither the Luna racer or trainer are there, yet the Zoom Marathoner lives on.