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Running shoes are a touchy subject. Some people like minimal cushioning to promote good form, others prefer something more engineered. Adidas’s new Energy Running push comes down on that side of the argument in an impressive way. Maybe even too impressive.
So “Energy Running” means Adidas has two new things to stick in its shoes. The first is Spring Blade, which is a new design that seems to snap back into place as you flex your foot. It’s a simple, fairly elegant design.
The other is called Boost material. It’s replacing a years-old industry standard of EVA foam, which is found in, according to Adidas, 90 to 95 percent of all running shoes. The big breakthrough is that it returns a ton of energy while remaining comfortable. Adidas says that until now, it hadn’t been able to combine those two things, which is probably different from what it said before Boost, but that’s the claim.
What “energy returning” means, basically, is that Boost is bouncy as hell. And that’s going to, presumably, mean Bugs-Bunny-trampoline running shoes that are easier to run in. The comparison that Adidas set up is a metal ball bearing being dropped on concrete, EVA foam, and Boost. EVA was bouncier than concrete, but Boost was way bouncier than both.
The Boost material is rated to stay exactly as it is out of the box up to 500 kilometers, and Adidas claims it’ll hold up better than other materials. But then, those other materials are rated to hold up and often underperform. It’s a nice promise, though.
But the real question came from one of Adidas’s guests: Is it legal? Because as fairly impressive as the tech sounds on stage, this “energy return” sounds a lot like the accelerating blade tech in Oscar Pistorius’ running blades, or the over-streamlined nature of the swimming suits from a few years back that helped break multiple world records. Unlike a lot of other design changes over the years that have reduced speed and encouraged better human form, this is just straight up material saying it’s going to enhance what you can do. Maybe that’s just graphite rackets in tennis or space age drivers in golf, but it’s still going to be a question if Boost is as good as Adidas says—which, of course, is a big if. Still, it’s something to keep an eye on.
A lot of the developments in sports tech are snake oil. Like the compression gear fad, most of the new tech “breakthroughs” aren’t much more than a new seasonal line to sell. After a few minutes with the Adidas Boost shoes, they’re definitely comfortable and light. And yes, there’s some bounce there—though it’s hard to say how different it is from the Oh God I Can Run Anywhere feeling you get when you wear just about any pair of new running shoes.
So that’s Energy Running. A lot of the promises will only be shaken out after extended use and long, long runs. Especially seeing how knees hold up when you’re wearing springboards on your feet. Derrick Rose is an Adidas man, remember. But for now, it’s promising, bordering on really cool, and if everything holds to form, possibly too good to be legal.
Newton Running shoes have been doing this or a technology very similar for years, just haven’t had such a large platform as Adidas to show them off. Bore off Adidas.
Shoes.
So I don’t have to scour the entire internet, tell me your favourite running shoe please?
Rick Ross
The ones I happen to be wearing when I see the bus drawing up to the bus stop and I have 200 yards to go to get there.
On a different note, what is it about modern ‘trainers’ that on seeing the ridiculous prices charged for them causes hair grows over the top of my shirt and me to exclaim ‘for a pair of $%^&*% gutties?’ Gutties is an old Edinburgh slang term for running shoes.
Pretty much anything inov8 will do you good service.
Ta. Have a broken leg to heal first so I’m thinking into the future. Must learn to walk first though.
Too much running isn’t good for you, knackers your knee away. Best book for it http://www.marklauren.com/
If you’re thinking of doing any serious running I highly recommend you get yourself fitted out from a proper running shop. The good shops will get you to walk over pressure pads or film you on a treadmill and figure out which shoes will give you the best support. Some people need more support on the inside of their foot and others more on the outside. If you get the wrong type of support it can seriously mess with your joints (especially the knees).
Vibram fivefingers. They look creepy, but they’re the best thing I’ve ever run in and I get fewer injuries than I used to. They feel amazing to run in, once you get used to them, like you’re gliding. It takes months or even years to reduce the heel drop on a running shoe to near enough a zero drop though, so you have to break yourself in gently to them. I still run once every two weeks with trainers, but the other 5 or 6 runs in that time will be bare foot or with the vibrams.
I still get The Fear when I see people wearing Fivefingers; I know it’s been several years since they first came onto the market, so I should be accustomed to them by now, but there’s just something that really horrifies me about them.
Even if they’re the best things you can strap onto your extremities, I just don’t think my stomach could cope with the pain of seeing them on my feet
Yeah, you never really get over that. I picked the KSOs which are pure black and I mostly run in the dark, since they’re silent on tarmac, people don’t hear you coming.
Admittedly that sounds incredibly sinister, but what I’m trying to say is that most people don’t notice them.
My cats are avoiding me though.
Just Googled the KSOs, and you’re right — they’re more understated than some of the other ones.
I still winced when Google Images brought the pics up, mind
http://xkcd.com/1173/
This is how I feel about those “overly streamlined” swimsuits. If you’ve got the best engineered F1 car, you’re not disqualified, you’re just a bit faster. It still takes a phenomenal driver to make use of that technology.
Same with sporting events, the technology surrounding it evolves and so should the world records, as long as athletic prestige is still what enables the sporters to win.