ALPHAFLY AT TRIALS - letsrun please get a definitive statement from USATF

HotLanta wrote:

ALPHAFLY IN ATL wrote:

I would wear them, if I had access to them. I just don't think Prototypes should be allowed if I can't buy it like everyone else for $250.

They will be available to ALL athletes in Atlanta. You'll hear more soon.

Even to someone sponsored by Adidas?

douglas burke wrote:

Don't Shoes improve ALL THE TIME? Would ANY Current Runners be willing to race The Trials in shoes similar to what Derek Clayton wore when he set his World Records of 2:09.37 and then 2:08.33? How about the shoes Zatopek wore? Why not jhust have everyone run barefoot like Abeba Bikila?

I would wear Clayton's shoes, sure. I'd be confident I wasn't provided a mechanical advantage by a spring, unlike vaporfly wearers.

dodge ball wrote:

HotLanta wrote:

They will be available to ALL athletes in Atlanta. You'll hear more soon.

Even to someone sponsored by Adidas?

Yes, available to all.

why would they need to issue a statement? There is already a current shoe rules and nothing made today violates that rule. The shoes don't return more energy than is put into them, end of story. Unless they have a motor or wheels, how can you say they provide an unfair advantage if they aren't returning more energy than is put into them?

Fair point...

I guess they will set a pop up store with limited number of Alphaflys and they'll be on sale on a first come first served basis.

HotLanta wrote:

ALPHAFLY IN ATL wrote:

I would wear them, if I had access to them. I just don't think Prototypes should be allowed if I can't buy it like everyone else for $250.

They will be available to ALL athletes in Atlanta. You'll hear more soon.

Unfair, as putting on shoes last minute skips training and adapting to them

KraftMacAndCheese wrote:

ALPHAFLY IN ATL wrote:

Can someone please get a verified response from USATF if alphaflys or any other prototypes will be allowed? This will give the entire field the chance to know what they are lining up against 5 weeks in advance.

You have to check in your spikes at a track meet and can get turned away. Why wouldn't this be the same?

Calling on you Brojos/Mr. Gault. Much respect for what you do.

Isn’t the IAAF or whoever making a decision by the end of this week about the shoes? Maybe (hopefully) we’ll hear this week!

4 years too late!

Pretace wrote:

I guess they will set a pop up store with limited number of Alphaflys and they'll be on sale on a first come first served basis.

I’m assuming they will be black like the ones Bernard Lagat wore on his Instagram post the other day, so they are easy to block out if you happen to be sponsored by another company.

That said, I’d love to see NIKE give them out only in multi colors, like the color scheme they had for their athletes in Rio!

Dubyah wrote:

KraftMacAndCheese wrote:

In my wildest dreams I would be given them.

Bromka wore the next% at CIM

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7J791JnxUs/?igshid=1segijyeqit5d

Bromka did not wear the next% at CIM. He wore shoes made to look like the next%. His shoes had no big nike check on them like the next% has.

douglas burke wrote:

Don't Shoes improve ALL THE TIME? Would ANY Current Runners be willing to race The Trials in shoes similar to what Derek Clayton wore when he set his World Records of 2:09.37 and then 2:08.33? How about the shoes Zatopek wore? Why not jhust have everyone run barefoot like Abeba Bikila?

go get a pair of Adidas gazelles and alphaflys. Hold each in one hand. Tell me which one you think you can run 2:01 in.... take your time.

The innovation runners had in 1970 is far.... FAR different from what athletes are experiencing today. Day and night. The cushion alone in the shoes today would revive dead runners. Imagine Derek Clayton, Bill Rodgers, or Shorter ripping mileage in alphaflys... Their times would have been far different.

Allowed or not allowed

https://www.rivithead.com/platform-shoes/shoes/neptune-100-silver-platform-shoes.html

runn wrote:

I think someone posted the shoe "rule" that said something like- shoes can offer protection and support but not aid the runner.

If that's the case then the shoes should be banned.

Now- I wear custom orthotics, many runners do, they offer support but you can also say that they aid me.

Support in shoes aid someone who has bio mechanical inefficiencies, don't they?

There is no easy solution but I'm leaning to the- let them go and other companies will develop their own or let their runners buy them and race in them.

Vaporflys don't aid the runner more than any other shoes. They have no rocket engine or propulsion system built-in. They just return more energy compared to other shoes because of better engineered plate/foam. Since all shoes return significantly more energy compared to barefoot running, it's gonna be hard to ban Vaporflies because they return some energy.

San Diego Hobby Jogger wrote:

HotLanta wrote:

They will be available to ALL athletes in Atlanta. You'll hear more soon.

Unfair, as putting on shoes last minute skips training and adapting to them

Its never enough. People will always find something to whine, cry, and complain about.

Since all shoes return significantly more energy compared to barefoot running, it's gonna be hard to ban Vaporflies because they return some energy.

Physics is hard for people to understand.

The Vaporfly helps the runner conserve energy thanks to it's foam and plate. The foam dissipates less energy as heat then other materials.

Eventually other shoe manufacturers will figure out lightweight materials that also dissipate less energy as heat.

There's nothing about the VFs that make them inherently unfair. It's just that Nike figured out the trifecta of low weight, high cushioning, and high foam efficiency. Good for Nike. Other companies will eventually catch up and perhaps even surpass Nike. I remember when Nike only had Lunarlon and Phylon and Cushlon and Zoom Air and nothing really to compete with Adidas Boost foam for the longest time. All those technologies were older than dirt, with the exception of Lunarlon, which was introduced to the public in '08.n

Let's say Adidas has made a leap with it's new prototype and three unheralded Adidas guys wear them next week and run huge pbs, taking the top 3, or Hokas and we find out later they have an 8 or 10 or 12% advantage, will Nike athletes in Alphafly's complain? This is how stupid it has become, no plates and under 30mm is the answer.

wake up boy this is a joke wrote:

Let's say Adidas has made a leap with it's new prototype and three unheralded Adidas guys wear them next week and run huge pbs, taking the top 3, or Hokas and we find out later they have an 8 or 10 or 12% advantage, will Nike athletes in Alphafly's complain? This is how stupid it has become, no plates and under 30mm is the answer.

Plates are not going to be banned, because they've been used for a very long time. There are many historical examples of road racing flats with stiffening devices, and track spikes have always had spike plates. Nike has even been making custom racing flats with spike plates (for stiffness purposes) for its elite athletes for decades.

Bromka was wearing the Next% with a custom, unbranded upper. The midsole was the exact same as the Vaporfly Next%, and the upper appeared to be made of Vaporweave. It was his custom pair.

At least Lagat has the Alphafly. I imagine most of the Nike athletes will have them if they aren't banned before the Trials. A little worrying.

https://twitter.com/ChrisChavez/status/1221900554001100802