Introducing The Reality Check 5k – New Road Race Will Ban The Use Of Super Shoes
By LetsRun.com
Since the introduction of super shoes, average racing times on both the roads and track have plummeted, and the record books have been completely rewritten. A sub-13 5k by anyone not from Kenya used to be like a unicorn sighting, but now it is even more common than a Kenyan getting popped for EPO. For years, you could rattle off all five high school sub-4 milers by name; now there are almost too many to count.
Which brings us to The Reality Check 5k. A new road race being held May 4th in New York City which will bar participants from using super shoes. “Anything with a carbon fiber plate is off-limits” says former Nike head of design John Hoke. Hoke was part of the original team that developed the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%, the first super shoe. “I feel a little like the Robert Oppenheimer of running,” explains Hoke. “I unleashed this world-shattering tech that has completely blown up our sport. I can’t undo it, but with the Reality Check 5k at least for one day we can drag everyone back to the dark ages of flat soles and honest sweat.”
The race will be open to the public, but also feature an elite pro field with a lot of prize money on the line. “We’re giving out a total of $500,000 in prize money,” says Hoke. “Most of that is for the pros, but we’ll also be giving out age group prize money as well. I’m sick of untalented runners breaking barriers they shouldn’t be breaking.”
Asked if he thought there would be pushback from runners for banning the use of super shoes at his race, Hoke said, “World Athletics and the NCAA already play shoe roulette, allowing some shoes on the roads, but banning those same shoes on the track and everyone goes along with it. Our rules make much more sense than theirs so I don’t see why anyone should complain.”
Abebe Bikila’s relatives were hoping to have a barefoot race, but Hoke shot down that idea. “Have you seen the Nike stock price lately? We need to sell some shoes.”
Registration for the race opens on April 1st and you can sign up here.
