Soo many 4% going SLOW

How do you know they weren't walk jogging 4% more efficiently?

What shoe should they wear? It’s providing more cushioning at a lightweight than most shoes for injury prevention.

At least they were smart enough to show up early for a race.

Is it your belief that the 4% only help people running fast paces? What is the cutoff?

sdfadfsdfsd wrote:

Is it your belief that the 4% only help people running fast paces? What is the cutoff?

I guess I thought of shoes like the 4% to be similar to racing flats where those who wore them were concerned about fewer oz. in order to save energy and translate to time savings.

I assumed, erroneously apparently, that these were catered to fast runners looking for any extra energy savings bc they maxed out their efficiency otherwise. Instead of paying $250 to save 4%, some of these slower runners could drop the fuel belt, wind breaker, or increase running efficiency.

It'd be like driving a ferrari on a road trip bc it's the fastest. Yet, if i have 2 kids and a lot of bags, it's not necessarily the right car for me.

Maybe I'm wrong, it was just surprising to see.

So you think they’re similar to racing flats, yet wonder why people were wearing them in a race?

They're very loud. That's a lot of energy wasted per step.

Weird, watching Chicago yesterday they didn't mention any elites starting at the back of the pack yet still finishing in the top 5 (gun time, obviously) - but the coverage was terrible so it doesn't surprise me.

Or are you just one of those douches who happen to believe they run the best pace possible for their situation, anyone slower is lazy and anyone faster is doping?

Wowwwdude wrote:

Got to my race (marathon) after the starting gun had gone off, so I was just about the last person to start by the time I got up to the start line. Had to weave my way through the slower runners, which could be a separate thread all together (they have pace groups for 5:45 hr?!... and people were already walking at mile 2!). Anyways, I couldn't believe the number of people "running" in 4% and pegs turbos who really weren't ever going to see any kind of benefit at the pace they were going. Nike marketing must be brainwashing people if they are paying $200 to shuffle through a race.

Its really good marketing. Ultimately nike doesn't care about hobby jogger joe running a pr by 4%. They just want to sell shoes. They've done that with one of the most successful marketing campaigns in history for the vaporfly 4% shoe. Nike is a goddess, Adidas is a king, and the rest of the shoe companies are mere mortals.

4% more cushion wrote:

What shoe should they wear? It’s providing more cushioning at a lightweight than most shoes for injury prevention.

The shoe has a thick midsole and an unstable base, it isn't good for injury prevention at all. On top of that the carbon fiber plate puts your toes in a dorsiflexed position which isn't ideal for all runners. Call it what it is, unless you are elderly if you're running damned near 6 hours and you aren't injured or disabled you haven't really trained for the marathon. You just want to get that medal and pay an obscene amount of money in a vain attempt to look like an active runner. As the poster above said just losing the hydration belt would help far more than a pair of shoes you're going to be walking in for what is certainly not an insignificant amount of time. Also I'm pretty sure a 5:30 marathon is going to crush the shoe and render it nearly useless for a second marathon effort.

True, and to me this is a positive: Nike made a good shoe, had the best marathoner in the world run in it, and now everyone wants one. So a) it's a demonstrated benefit from the elite side, and b) it's an appreciation of a quality product.

Too much of running has descended into "finishing" and fashionable gimmicks. This is a salvo in the other direction.

I once showed up at a super low key race, and there he was, this chubby guy running struggling to break 7 minutes for the mile running in a pair of the v4%porfly's....unbelievable Jeff!

No wonder there are no vaporfly's on NIKESTORE.com...

Stop buying them, I, as a 2:50 marathoner deserve them more than you!

Wowwwdude wrote:

Got to my race (marathon) after the starting gun had gone off, so I was just about the last person to start by the time I got up to the start line. Had to weave my way through the slower runners, which could be a separate thread all together (they have pace groups for 5:45 hr?!... and people were already walking at mile 2!). Anyways, I couldn't believe the number of people "running" in 4% and pegs turbos who really weren't ever going to see any kind of benefit at the pace they were going. Nike marketing must be brainwashing people if they are paying $200 to shuffle through a race.

Peg turbos are a great shoe for someone who is running 5:45 marathon pace and is probably overweight.

Hobby Jager drinker wrote:

I once showed up at a super low key race, and there he was, this chubby guy running struggling to break 7 minutes for the mile running in a pair of the v4%porfly's....unbelievable Jeff!

No wonder there are no vaporfly's on NIKESTORE.com...

Stop buying them, I, as a 2:50 marathoner deserve them more than you!

Let's see what Nike says about it..."Created in conjunction with Breaking2, the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% was designed with the goal of helping the world’s fastest marathoners run their best" (

).

So, yes, I assumed I wouldn't see a ton of non-fast runners wearing them.

Spectated at the Steamtown Marathon this weekend. Both the winner and 3rd place male were wearing the vaporflys. And I'd say 7 or 8 of the top 20 men were wearing them. Saw a few more sub 3 and in the 3-3:30 range wearing them. After 3:30, I don't think I saw anyone wearing them. Now I didn't watch every single person go but, but my experience was very different from yours.

Wowwwdude wrote:

Got to my race (marathon) after the starting gun had gone off, so I was just about the last person to start by the time I got up to the start line. Had to weave my way through the slower runners, which could be a separate thread all together (they have pace groups for 5:45 hr?!... and people were already walking at mile 2!). Anyways, I couldn't believe the number of people "running" in 4% and pegs turbos who really weren't ever going to see any kind of benefit at the pace they were going. Nike marketing must be brainwashing people if they are paying $200 to shuffle through a race.

I definitely agree with you here, what purpose should a 5 hour marathon runner have buying 250$ shoes meant for elite athletes to help them run faster. The shoe is literally meant for going fast, ZoomX, Carbon fiber plate. It's sad to see that these people are wasting $150 to make them think they look cooler and think they're a better runner by buying them. They're better off running on some 35's and saving the 4%'s for those of us who can actually run.

If there wouldn't be that much slow and stupidpeople buying vaporflies Nike would never be able to sponsor so much elites let alone pay Eliud a whopping million dollar for breaking2 attempt.

Its the same reasons you will see fat out of shape slobs show up at an easy 20 mile group bike ride decked out in $10k worth of bicycle and gear.

1) they believe it will help them go faster.

2) they may not have the time/ambition to train more, lose weight, etc. but they have the money to buy the best gear.

3) they believe owning and using the best gear helps project a certain status.

If it bothers you that they do this, run races in old T shirts, cut off cotton sweat pants, and thread bare 20 year old adidas shoes. Dust those people. Then jog back out on the course so they can see what beat them,

I'm sorry you don't make enough money to waste $250 on shoes.

5hr marathoner here. I bought 3 pr of the fly knit version. They look good on race day. Enjoy poverty