Slow people and vaporfly

uh asking for a friend wrote:

Quick thought

Am I the only person who gets irritated when I see like hobby jogger people wearing vaporflys? Matter of fact slow people who are kited out to the max? I feel like they're just getting wasted on a talentless person. It sounds mean but whatever lol

Anyone else have opinions on this?

You should be happy that there's a market for running shoes of all price points and that there's lots of people willing to buy them. Without that, there would be a lot less shoe options than there are today. So the next time you're looking down your nose at the slowpokes, maybe take a second and think "Thank you hobby jogger".

You're irritated by a slow runner wearing high performance $175 shoes. You are typing your irritation about said shoes on a $1,000 high performance computer.

Who's the hobby jogger now?

You're not the only one to feel irritated by this, but you'll be much better off if you can come to recognize just how ridiculously silly it is to let someone else's shoes make you feel unhappy. Does it really matter if a pair of vaporflys are being "wasted" on a 4:00 hobby jogger rather than carrying some 2:30 try-hard to a new PB that's a minute or two faster? When I pass people with more expensive equipment than me (whether running or in a triathlon), it makes me happy, not irritated. I'm faster than people who spent much more on their gear than I did. Why would I be unhappy about that? If I had their gear, maybe I'd finish a minute or two faster, but that doesn't really make any meaningful difference to my place in the standings.

Maybe it's easy for me to feel this way because I could afford to buy the most expensive equipment if I really wanted it, so for me it's a matter of choice. Maybe if you really are a person who's in a position where finishing a minute faster in your next marathon really would make a significant difference in your future and yet you also are in a position where you can't come up with an an extra $110 to buy vaporflys instead of any other pair of shoes, then maybe if you are in that very specific circumstance you might have a legitimate reason to feel aggrieved. But 99.99% of people don't really have a good reason to be upset about "filthy casuals" having expensive gear. For the vast majority of people, moving up a place or two in the standings won't matter at all, and most people who are seriously into running could find a way to afford a pair of vaporflys if it was really a priority for them and if it would make a real difference in their life.

They can wear whatever they like. It's none of your business. You sound like an elitist twit.

So I ran Boston this year, wave 1 corral 7, total hobby jogger I know! Anyways, I bet 4 out of every 10 people around me were wearing the 4%'s. The announcer at the start even made the comment "I sure do see a lot of orange shoes out there!"

BTW I was wearing NB.

Firstly, I’d be pretty certain a huge majority of people on here and people you know in your ‘running world’ are ‘hobbyjoggers’, unless they are professional athletes. Therefore, these people will be ‘slow’ compared to the pros. What is your cut-off time for then not sneering at somebody wearing VF’s?

I have a job, a family and I like running. Definitely a hobbyjogger. I can also afford a $200+ pair of shoes and if I like them, I will buy them. The same that I also drive a nice car, even though I’m not a professional driver. The same that I buy nice clothes, although I am not a professional model.

Could a 6:08 high school girl run a 5:59 in vaporflys?

Your sub 4 dream is my sub 6 wrote:

Could a 6:08 high school girl run a 5:59 in vaporflys?

Vaporflys aren't going to help in the mile, you're much better off running in spikes.

I am very sad because yesterday one of my Strava CRs which had stood for about 4 years was broken by 1 second. 1 second! That's very hard for a man of my intelligence to take. To make matters worse when I looked at home page of this new "champion" there's a proudly taken picture of his Vaporflys!

Disgusting.

Have you never been cycling? wrote:

runnER/DR wrote:

I bet he gets annoyed at anyone that can't run sub 2:10 wearing the 4%.

Anyway fact is that running is a highly affluent hobby. Its just as affluent as golf and tennis. A lot of hobby joggers are doctors and dentists and lawyers who have plenty of extra money to spend on expensive shoes. They love running but don't have time to run 120 a week. But they challenge themselves on race day and expect the best out of themselves.

Highly affluent? Maybe more than the general population, but have you ever been cycling. $250 shoes are nothing. I just spent that on an low-middish pair of cycling shoes. I need a new road bike, but I’m resisting, because I can’t imagine dropping less than $3500.

Yes runners as a group in the US are highly affluent. I didn't say there weren't other affluent sports. I said a large number of runners are highly affluent. Take a look at this chart. Runners are WAY above the median is income as a group.

Lots of 5 to 6 hour marathoners are wearing VF. I guess the cushioning helps but carbon plate won't do anything when they're heel striking.

Moo Goo wrote:

Lots of 5 to 6 hour marathoners are wearing VF. I guess the cushioning helps but carbon plate won't do anything when they're heel striking.

The carbon plate works better when you land heel first.

I'm going now 17 months on one $30 pair of shoes, maybe 5,000 plus miles now (injuries have saved the shoes some wear and tear). The sport doesn't require affluence. But the large number of people willing to spend large amounts of money on it raise the prices for everyone else, and that is the unfortunate part of the jogging boom.

I bought some for my very first race in a few weeks time. If it takes 1+min off my slow 40ish minute 10k it'll be massively worth it. £200 is not a great deal of money and running is very cheap for the physical and mental health benefits I get out of it, why shouldn't I spend a little bit more.

I am not annoyed in the least by us hobbyjoggers wearing Vaporflys.

If I can ever whip myself back into good shape I'd not hesitate to get a pair for a key stretch of racing. Alas, I just need to get in shape and for that any old shoes will do.

Lol I've had these shoes now for 3 year and still setting pbs - I'm not supposed to get any faster bc im max out to the fly literally/figuratively.

cool story for my bros wrote:

So I ran Boston this year, wave 1 corral 7, total hobby jogger I know! Anyways, I bet 4 out of every 10 people around me were wearing the 4%'s. The announcer at the start even made the comment "I sure do see a lot of orange shoes out there!"

BTW I was wearing NB.

I agree...I was in Wave 1 Corral 3 and it seemed like everyone had the 4% or Zoom Fly On. I, on the otherhand, ran in my trainers lol

I run barefoot in cotton shirt/shorts and win most local races. I overtook 3 runners in the last 400m of a 5K at 2:27/km barefoot and the guy behind me was wearing 4%. First thing he said when he shook my hand "I paid $200 for these shoes".