Nike takes first steps towards marathon goal
13/03/2017
It announced the ambitious target in January 2017. As part of the project, which it calls Breaking2, it recruited three elite athletes and started development on a range of new products.
Since then, Adidas has revealed that it is targeting the same marathon milestone and unveiled the Adizero Sub2 shoe, which had a range of features designed to help its athletes run faster.
Nike has now presented the Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite, the shoe which it hopes will see it be the first to breach the two-hour barrier. It features Nike’s ZoomX midsole cushioning, which the company says it lighter, softer and more responsive than traditional foams. It is designed to give runners more energy return while also providing cushioning from the road.
The shoe’s other features include a 9mm offset between the height of the forefoot and the heel to minimise the strain on the Achilles. It also has a scoop-shaped carbon fibre plate to add bending stiffness and improve stride-to-stride efficiency and a flyknit upper.
The concept shoe has been individually tuned to the needs of the three Nike athletes that are part of the Breaking2 project: reigning Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, two-time Boston Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, and Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, who holds the world record for the half-marathon.
Nike has also presented its first Breaking2 apparel. It includes a seamless knitted singlet made to offer enhanced ventilation in the areas of the body where it is most needed. It is tailor-made for each of the three athletes based on a complete body scan and their own personal preferences.
The shorts are made to the athlete’s desired length and compression level and feature Nike’s aeroblade technology. It consists of tiny triangular fins on the outside of the fabric that create air channels around the athlete to reduce drag. It featured at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro following extensive development and testing in wind tunnels.
The final component is a sock that is designed to work in tandem with the footwear to increase ventilation and provide greater support to the arch of the foot.
The Zoom Vaporfly Elite will not be sold to the public, but three consumer versions of the shoe – the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%, Nike Zoom Fly and Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 34 – will be released on June 8.
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