When athletes begin to run in the so-called “super shoes,” such as the Nike Vaporfly series and new models from other companies, running form changes seem to accompany the change in footwear. I want to understand this better, but as different brands make their own versions it becomes more difficult to generalize.
For me this is an important question because what works in these shoes–and what’s even possible for a runner’s form–will likely be different than in conventional shoes, minimalist shoes, or barefoot.
So I decided it was time to ask you for your help! If you have a pair of any of these shoes that use a combination of carbon fiber and special foam, I’d be grateful if you’d fill out the survey below and share it with your friends who have the shoes as well.
I’ll be writing on this topic in the coming months, and the more information I have, the more helpful I can be.
If the embedded form below isn’t working for you, access the survey via this link.
Many thanks!
Love the questions you are asking.
Wish I could help, but at those prices… Not a chance.
I currently do most of my running in Sandals..! But today I put on my old Salming trail shoes.
The softness /bounce was all there, but I don’t know if it was faster than sandals?
Interested to hear what answers you get. And what you make of it.
Regards
Dion
Hi Jae, I have not bought super shoes mainly because of the drop – I won’t wear more than 6mm drop shoes no matter what. And many of these shoes have more than that! My comment is more around the new(ish) Hoka Evo Rehi shoes. They met all of my “conditions” for a running shoe so I just purchased a pair and completed a 5 mile run today. Here is what I found: It was the first time in a long time that I could feel my feet and the ground. These are not like other Hokas! When I put them on at first I thought they felt strange. Once I started running I was intrigued. About 2 miles in I was able to stop thinking about the new shoes and how my feet feel. I thought they would hurt after my run since there is not as much cushion as other running shoes. Around mile 3.5 I felt like everything I have learned from your information started working. The shoes seemed to work well if your form is natural and free. I felt a bit slow uphill but downhill was the best feeling in these shoes. I felt like there was nothing on my feet by mile 4 – like I had the right amount of minimal shoe to run comfortably on the road. At the end of my run I just had to do some strides – I actually didn’t want to stop. With these shoes it really helped to keep my feet relaxed and things just seemed to work well and come together. I’m looking forward to more runs in these shoes to see if they are as great as they seemed today. Many posts say to keep runs short in these shoes (i.e. 1 mile repeats) but I think that with your camps and a bit of barefoot running, these are ideal. 4mm, very lightweight, very flexible and seem to feel quite natural to me.