There is always a lot going on in the development of running shoes, but in recent years it has picked up the pace, and we have seen several trends. In this article, we will try to summarise the current trends to provide insight into what is hot among shoe manufacturers.
When Nike first introduced their super shoe in 2017, Vaporfly 4%, many things were turned upside down in the running shoe market. Competition shoes no longer had to be as light as possible but instead had towering midsoles with carbon plates to provide plenty of energy return and propulsion.
It generated massive development for both manufacturers and consumers. After experiencing how it feels to be shot forward while having lots of cushioning in a super shoe, why would you ever run in a neutral trainer that suddenly feels VERY dull and heavy?
The super shoe wave spawned new foam types and new ways of constructing running shoes, creating many different developments among manufacturers, which I will go through here.
Maximalist shoes
Ever since Hoka put their first running shoes on the market, there has been a movement towards shoes with a taller midsole and a lower drop. Now it is no longer just Hoka that make maximalist shoes with lots of foam for shock absorption for your feet. No, EVERYONE does. There are ultra-soft shoes, such as Hoka Bondi or New Balance Fresh Foam More, which give you the feeling of having pillows strapped to your feet. But there are also shoes such as Asics Nimbus or Saucony Triumph, which still have lots of foam, but aren't ultra-soft and instead provide a bit more propulsion.
The main focus of these shoes is that they must be as comfortable and shock-absorbing as possible. These are shoes that are designed to fit your legs in the best possible way and last for many kilometres. But they are also designed to accommodate your moderate and leisure runs. These are not the shoes that will send you off with the fastest possible time on race day.
Light and springy neutral running shoes
Okay, forgive me. It might be a bit of a stretch to call all of the shoes in this category for neutral running shoes. In reality, it should be called something like do-it-all shoes, because these are shoes that in principal, can be used for all types of runs. In this category, you will find the hyper-popular Asics Novablast, which in my opinion has completely changed how running shoes for everyday training are made.
The shoes typically weigh under 250 grams in a UK 8.5 and provide enough shock absorption and energy return for you to run leisurely and do interval training. It goes without saying that both more comfortable shoes and faster shoes exist, but if you are looking for an intermediate product that can do a little of both, this is a very sensible and useful shoe.
In addition to the popular Asics Novablast, Puma Deviate Nitro, Saucony Endorphin Speed, Hoka Mach, and adidas Adizero SL should also be mentioned in this category.
Shoes with carbon plates
When the first super shoes came out, everyone was sure that it was the carbon plates that made the shoes faster. Everyone took the term ”carbon shoes” to heart; some even considered it a form of technology doping if you ran with carbon shoes. To uncover what was happening, researchers cut into some super shoes and ran tests against shoes with their plates intact. They found out that the shoes with broken plates performed at the same level as those with their plates intact.
Now more and more people are convinced that carbon plates are not there to create propulsion but rather to stabilise the shoe because the types of foam being used in these shoes are pretty potent.
Therefore, carbon plates are now used in everything from lightning-fast competition shoes to comfortable neutral running shoes. You can find them in everything from Saucony Endorphin Elite to Hoka Bondi X.
General trends
If I am to focus a bit on what is going on in the big picture without focusing on individual models, it is the midsole that is on the manufacturer's mind at the moment. Gone are the days when you only had to have shoes with EVA foam. The shoes must have a lighter and more resilient foam to support the foot.
Furthermore, there is also a tendency for shoes to have a lower heel drop than previously seen. A few years ago, Asics made their most popular shoe, Nimbus, with a heel drop of 13mm (!) for women. In the Asics Nimbus 25, it has been reduced to 8mm. This is generally a trend we see for many shoes. Those that used to have a 10mm drop now have 8mm, and most manufacturers also have neutral running shoes with a 6 or 4mm drop.
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