Staten Island On The Run: If the shoe fits…… – SILive.com

At this past December’s annual Patrick Brady Staten Island Special Olympics 2-Mile Run, the small field of runners was sprinkled with the few competitive runners wearing neon green and pink racing shoes which seemed to blend in with the holidays.

Yet the runners weren’t wearing them for fashion or the season but for the advantage, including myself.

Nike’s new racing shoe, known as the ZoomX Vaporfly Next%, has led to a revolution on the local, national and even international running scene, as the new carbon plated technology is supposed to help in gaining more leg lift, alongside extreme lightness and solid cushioning. Retailing at $250, runners in pursuit of personal best times (or style?) have bought them in droves. All one has to do is go to a New York Road Runners Central Park race where, according to my pals, the sneakers are easily spotted by so many runners wearing them in their standout colors.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ZOOMX VAPORFLY NEXT%

Yet others are saying that the ZoomX gives an unfair advantage, as the shoe, along with Nike models such as the Alpha Fly and Vapor Fly, contain Carbon fiber plating and foam which boosts runner’s economy. The New York Times conducted a study where these shoe wearers “ran 4 to 5 per cent faster than a runner wearing an average shoe, and 2 to 3 per cent faster than runners in the next-fastest popular shoe.”

In 2019, the majority of the top 100 male and female marathon performances were accomplished wearing these models. One of these model shoes worn by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge helped him break the two-hour marathon in a staged event which used pacemakers as well in 2019.

As of this writing, there is an outcry from athletes and others calling for a reassessment of these sneakers, claiming unfair advantages to those who wear them. The World Athletics Federation (Previously known as the IAAF) is seriously looking at the “legality” of the shoe, while non-NIKE sponsored elite American runners wonder if they will be banned at the February 29 USA Olympic Marathon Trials Race in Atlanta.

Yet others are reveling in them, including an outspoken NIKE critic Robbie Britton in his piece below entitled “A Nike Hypocrite” — https://www.fastrunning.com/training/marathon-training/a-nike-hypocrite/28124

The rise of track spikes and racing shoes through the last 50 years has always been a debate over what fair or unfair. Similar technological advances in affect other sports as well.

Going into the 1968 Olympics Puma produced the “Brush” or “Tahoe” spiked shoe, which, through pressure by rival Adidas (No NIKE in 1968!) and others, led to a ban on the Olympic level.

Somehow one of then-Monsignor Farrell coach George Kochman’s young runners wore a pair. “It was cross-country season and he got them and we had to get him cleared to race in them by the CHSAA league,” said Kochman. Which they did.

How good are racing shoes? The bad news for novices to running is that they don’t have a long life, as the light cushioning eventually wears out like car-racing tires much quicker than the traditional running shoe.

The good news? The lightness.

Back in 1982 as a young runner I raced the weekly Clove Lakes SIAC Fun Run often, eventually getting my time down to 17 minutes, 14 seconds for the three miles while running in my heavy training shoes. When I joined Art Hall’s North Shore Track Club, he told me to buy racing shoes, which I knew nothing about.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ZOOMX VAPORFLY NEXT%

Showing up wearing the new Nike Terra road racing flats, I subsequently ran the next Fun Run in a time of 16:20! I was definitely not alone in wearing these shoes either.

Even back then, some felt the Terra had given an unfair advantage to those who raced in them. But it forced ASICS, New Balance, Reebok, Adidas, Puma and other brands to research and come up with a better quality racing shoe, something which the now Carbon-plated obsessed companies are trying to match NIKE with right now!

What is the endgame? For better or for worse all athletes look for advantages in every sport, especially in technology. Whether these NIKE shoes get left alone, modified or banned remains to be seen.

Regardless, one can certainly agree that the “box has been opened“ and no one will be able to take it back from the many customers who have bought them and will continue to buy and use them, as I did at that Special Olympics run last month, running 30 seconds faster than I thought over the two-mile course.

Heck, if the shoe fits….

News from around the Staten Island running community:

News from the NYRR

NYRR Open Runs are still being held at Silver Lake (7 p.m. on Fridays) and the Conference House (9 a.m. on Sundays). All are welcome! Check out NYRR.org.

Complete Race Solutions

The Resolution Run takes place on Jan. 11 at Bloomingdale Park at 10 a.m. It’s the first leg of the Trail Triple Crown.

Check out – www.completerace.com/site/events

News from Ocean Breeze

The Miles Mania series returns this month. Events include the 1-mile, 800 meters and 2-mile races. For a schedule of races go to:

https://oceanbreezenyc.org

Staten Island Running Association

Go to www.statenislandrunning.org to more about upcoming events and the organization’s work to support youth and community running in Staten Island.

Monthly Prize Trivia

Please submit your answer to my email below. All correct answers will then be put into a lot where two winners will be drawn randomly. One winner receives a pair of ASICS running shoes, while the other winner qualifies for a session at CRYO Staten Island (CRYOSI.com).

This month’s question

Most people know Phil Knight as the founder of NIKE in the early 1970s, yet Knight previously worked as a shoe sales rep for Onitsuka, a Japanese running/track shoe company.

Can you identify the name of Onitsuka which it is known by today?

See you all next month!

Questions, comments, upcoming news? Please feel free to email Jeff at rbenja726@aol.com