The Nike Alphafly, Victory, and Maxfly (from left to right), are put to the test in their respective racing environments. Collage courtesy of senior Aidan Field. Photos courtesy respectively of Run Repeat, Meta Endurance, and Run Repeat. 

  San Luis Obispo High School Track & Field and Cross Country athletes compete in the fastest shoes available, today these are often categorized as “super-shoes” which use a carbon plate. These shoes have taken over running throughout the past decade. They’ve trickled into high school sports and now seem necessary to competition, but what are they and how exactly do they work?

  “They’re shoes with components that make you run faster. They make you feel like you can run faster for a longer period of time, and they’re comfortable,” said freshman Ty Turner.

  The first super-shoe was Nike’s Vaporfly 4%, which first retailed in 2017. It was the first shoe to introduce a full length carbon plate in the bottom of the shoe. The shoe increased running efficiency by four percent, hence the name, acting like a spring to absorb and release a runner’s energy.

  Four percent might not sound significant, but in running that can make a world of difference. This improved efficiency might mean the difference between shaving off minutes in the marathon. Since they’re introduction, they’ve decreased men’s and women’s marathon times by a combined 7 minutes and 51 seconds.

  In 5k’s this might only be less than thirty seconds, but in competitive Cross Country races, that could be the difference of hundreds of places, therefore hundreds of points. 

  Over the following few years other brands took notes. Almost every running brand now has a flagship racing shoe characterized by an ultra-lightweight, bouncy, sole, embedded with a stiff carbon plate. 

  This includes Adidas’ Adizero Pro, Asics’ Metaspeed, Saucony’s Endorphin series and of course Nike’s Alphafly and Vaporfly. 

  These shoes usually retail for above $250, a hefty price tag for a shoe that is only worn during competition. However, athletes usually consider these shoes worth it, and if everyone is running in these shoes, getting them is the only way to stay with the pack.

  Over the past few years, carbon plate technology in shoes has been introduced to a wider array of running events. They’ve trickled down from just pro runners to collegiate and high school athletes. 

  Today, runners in Track & Field might use shoes like Nike’s Maxfly, Dragonfly, or Victory. All of these shoes are equipped with a carbon plate. 

  “I got the Maxflys at the beginning of this season. The carbon plate is stiff so the energy springs back and makes your foot more springy. It increases your speed a bit… you can definitely feel a difference between a carbon plate and a rubber one,” said Track & Field runner sophomore Madison Lund. 

  These features have made shoes like the Maxfly widespread at Track events.

  “I think almost everybody on the track team has them. I feel like overall it’s a very popular shoe for sprinters,” said Lund. 

  The Maxfly retails for two hundred dollars on Nike’s website. Although many athletes find these prices worth it, others don’t think shelling out that much for spikes is for them. 

  “I picked out the cheapest sprint spikes on Amazon… I’m not satisfied with non-carbon-plated shoes, but I’m not willing to shell out that much money for shoes that I’m gonna wear a couple times a week,” said Track & Field runner senior Daniel Lertwarchara. 

  It appears that running has entered a world where premium racing shoes with a premium price are beginning to become the norm.

  Super shoes are new to running, and studies about their consequences are still in progress, but there is possibility that overtraining in them could be linked to lower leg and foot injuries. Most coaches and professional programs try to minimize time in these shoes, reserving them for races and intense workouts. 

  It’s been proposed ever since carbon plated shoes were introduced that they should be banned from competition. None of these rules have gone into effect so far, and carbon plated shoes seem to be here to stay. 

Sources: cnn.com, nike.com, runningwarehouse.com