So, I am now seeing these everywhere. I'm even starting to see races where everyone in the field is wearing these. I'm even seeing collegiate athletes wear these while the school they run for is being sponsored under a different brand (removing the swoosh). Why go through this kind of trouble if the shoes weren't offering something more than a good fit and lighter weight?
When it comes to shoes, I've always been of the mindset that shoes were a bit of a hinderance (in terms of weight) but offered obvious benefits when it came to cushioning and saving the bottom of your feet. But I never thought a pair of spikes would help an athlete run faster only that it would hinder their performance less than, oh, say a pair of trainers (if that makes sense). But I've never viewed spikes as a performance enhancer. Other than weight and comfort, spikes have seen little improvements over the past 30 years and no one would ever think they were going to bring their 5k time down from 14:20 to 13:55 just by switching shoes.
But seeing this new line from Nike I'm not so sure this is still the case. I'm beginning to see athletes run times that, by all accounts, they shouldn't be running. Athletes running times in indoor with different shoes improving 30 seconds in a 10k just by switching shoes. I know they don't have indoor 10,000, I'm just comparing 3000 and 5000m times and finding unrealistic improvements.
I have no problem if the goal is to provide a more comfortable fit and lighter weight. I do think it starts to be a problem if the shoes are allowing athletes to gain a significant advantage with regards to the time being run. If this is the case, I don't see any difference between these and peds.