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Hi
I love the shoes… OK I run in sandals, but this isn’t about me.
My question is this: when ‘they’ first ran track in spikes, what was the talk? Maybe this is the same…
Maybe in 10/20 years all will be running in built up shoes with a plate of sorts built in for springing forward.
Would love to test a pair… (because I feel the ground a little different to the normal runner. (because I run lots in sandals)
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Thanks Dion. I want to try them as well just to see what the things I’m seeing feel like. But I don’t think the comparison to spikes is correct. Spikes don’t shut down an aspect of normal foot function. They add better grip, but otherwise your feet are supposed to still work normally. In reality they don’t because the toebox is too narrow, but that’s a design flaw that comes from modeling them on regular shoes, not a feature that’s supposed to help performance.
Nike would love it if in 10 years the definition of “running” is “that thing you do in Vaporflys.” That’s what they’re aiming for–making them the default. But it won’t work because they cause too many problems, and people will eventually connect the dots. Plus they cost a friggin’ fortune, and one of the most common reasons people give for running is, “it’s a cheap sport.”
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Jae, I too have dislike for those shoes: Vapor Fly 4%, Vapor Fly Next %, and ENOS 1:59 % pod monsters…it surely does take away from the accomplishments IMO. Today, I competed in the NYRR Staten Island Half, I swear it could have been Easter with all those orange, lime green and now hot pink Nike % shoes!!! I passed and ran faster than many wearing those Nike shoes… in my 3mm drop Reebok Floatride RF Pros (got for $90 with discount and gift card) a true flat, no carbon, no slapping feet…natural mid foot strike with enough protection yet excellent ground feel and response. I tried the Vapor Fly 4%, a friend’s extra pair in a very short run and hated the marshmallow feel, and the 10mm drop/stack height (Next % are 8mm), made for an unnatural ride for me. Some I know, are having lower back and knee issues. I’m told by all I know who wear them ” you have get use to them” “they feel weird for a while, you get use to it”. Well, not me! I spent my $250 on the Balanced Runner Master Class…serving me well and benefiting my all round movement not just running-thank you Jae!
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Now that you mention the “ENOS 1:59 % pod monsters”, did you notice the design? If my eyes are seeing this correctly, 3 carbon fiber plates, one of them splits the midsole. Unlike the Next%, there’s a carbon plate atop the midsole and one just above the outsole, too. If you look carefully at the design, it virtually creates a spring mechanism at the forefoot area. In my humble opinion, that takes some of the spark off the 1:59:40 26.2 miles time, of course that is for another discussion.
Reply Good lord. I’ll be looking at INEOS later today and will bear that in mind. Thanks, Julio.
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Jae,
Thank you for the great analysis of Brigid Kosgei’s form. You are correct that the new WR of 2:14:04 set by Brigid Kosgei in Chicago yesterday was set 17 years to the day after a world record, but not the 2:15:25 WR. Paula Radcliffe’s WR of 2:15:25 was set on April 13, 2003 in London. It had been the WR for for 16 years 6 months. The ’17 years ago to the day WR’ would refer to the 2:17:18 WR set by Paula Radcliffe at Chicago on Oct 13, 2002.
Well done Brigid!
Kind regards,
Chris
Hi, in your article you wrote “Since a pulled-in abdomen is incompatible with really developing and using your glutes and, to a lesser extent, hamstrings, this makes sense.” Can you expand on this? I was always taught to tighten my core and pull in my abs when I run and I have the laziest glutes ever! I’ve been doing it wrong all these years? What can I do to fix it?
Reply Great question, Jenna. The short answer is that abs and glutes are basically antagonists, so holding your abdominals contracted continually shuts your glutes off. But also it tends to tilt your pelvis upright instead of letting it tip anteriorly the way it’s supposed to when you run (something else you were probably told not to do). So your glutes aren’t put in a position where they can do their job. Type “glutes” into the search function in the upper right hand corner of this website and you’ll get a bunch of useful posts. But also do the free lessons I’ve linked to below and the Mind Your Running Challenge you’ll be invited to do afterwards, and you’ll be able to feel what to do to release chronic abdominal tension and start properly using your glutes. Understanding is good, but *feeling* is what you need to be able to do in order to improve your running.
Reply Thank you, Jae. I just searched ‘glutes’ and found some articles that I will read. Where exactly are the lessons?
Reply There’s an image at the bottom of this post that says “Get the Hip Extension Lessons.” Click on that and fill out the little popup and you’ll get the lessons via email.
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She was wearing an earlier version of the vaporfly in the 2018 video, not a huge difference except for a mildly lower drop and a bit more foam under the forefoot
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I am curious how much of Kosgei’s form changes from London ’18 to Chicago ’19 are due to her simply running faster. She ran Chicago 6 minutes faster than London, which is roughly 14 seconds per mile. That’s a big increase in speed and would require a longer stride, more anterior pelvic tilt, etc.
Reply Rebecca, the movement strategy is too different to simply result from running faster. In fact, not knowing how to make the form changes that increase speed holds many runners back from faster speeds, and based on my 16 years of working with runners I’m confident the way Kosgei was running in London 2018 is not something she would have been able to spontaneously change by simply deciding (or training) to run faster.
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“Could the runners have done these things without the special shoes?”
I thought the same.
No doubt Brigid worked hard training for go out and win, but….what if, doing the same marathon with regular shoes? sandals like a Tarahumara? barefoot?
minimalistic shoes?
A long term doubt.
Thanks for letting us share our thoughts about it.
that’s an excellent summary Jae and, like you, I have little time for the vaporflyes.
I think we’re beating around the bush, however. The changes in Brigid’s body you reference are simply not possible over the time course concerned by normal methods. they’re induced by another means. one that has cut a swathe through athletics and show’s no sign of abating