The Nike Vaporfly 4% Thread

Poet · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 10148 Location: Your Mum

I’d say yes....
But make sure the house doesn’t kill you first.
I’m wrecked after two weeks of DIY and training.

I’m also hoping to be in PB breaking sub-17 shape in the next six weeks.
Trying to do a 34:xx 10km first weekend of July (Pb is 35:01, breaks my heart)...aiming for a 75 minute HM in October at Manchester (for the Championship VLM entry)

I wouldn’t even be contemplating the above without the trainers.
#JustSayin

gingerbongo · Joined: 21 Sep 2012 Posts: 1733 Location: Devon

Poet · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 10148 Location: Your Mum

Have a look around at the next start line, most of the quicker runners are wearing the 4%.

You are the odd one out if you do not have them.

Therefore, you simply must buy them.

I rarely used to pay over £80 for my running shoes, and still love a bargain (if it fits), but I'm used to shelling out the £££ for work shoes and casual trainers, so biting the bullet for these had the blessing of my wife.

Plus, it was less than the disc wheel my clubmate was offering me Wink

Tupperware · Joined: 09 Oct 2012 Posts: 80 Location: Swindon

Poet · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 10148 Location: Your Mum

Yellow = championship or GFA?

Buzz_ · Joined: 19 May 2007 Posts: 453

Also interesting that Nike are the only company paying big bucks athlete endorsements. A few 2nd tier on New Balance (Calum Hawkins?) and maybe the odd Asics, but Adidas nowhere to be seen.

I'm sure a few years ago it was the other way around. All the front guys were in Adidas and Nike was nowhere.

awildt · Joined: 08 Apr 2011 Posts: 705 Location: sunny (!) NW

Jorgan · Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:27 pm Post subject:

^^ Nike certainly had a hiatus as a serious running brand imo; during the naughties. They seem to have bounced back big time. Brands like Asics that were big then, are way less prevalent now.
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27 Years since it all began....

gingerbongo · Joined: 21 Sep 2012 Posts: 1733 Location: Devon

Tri seems to still be pretty well spread out - i guess it's not exactly a prolific sport, financially speaking, so you need to go where the £$ is coming from. You see a lot of NB, Asics, Hoka, Zoot etc. Don't actually recally seeing many Nike trainers though.

Wonder how many pros will be looking to negotiate out of their footwear deals if they think they are potentially going to be shipping secs/mins to their rivals?!

tommy060289 · Joined: 08 Aug 2012 Posts: 440

I ran 2:48:31 yesterday compared to 2:50:something back in 2017. I don’t remember entirely but felt like there was worse headwinds than 2017 in London this time (not terrible but have had better (and worse) and yet I finished lower down the pecking order by something like 30-40 places.

Obviously there is more to the competition and race day but a phenomenal amount of those around me had Vaporfly on and even saw two pairs of %next

Since I can’t get them in a 13, I’ve come to the conclusion that they should be banned. It’s clearly an unfair advantage, and if you believe the marketing of 4% faster, 4% faster than your baseline? Isn’t this admitting the shoes make you faster! I currently run in Hoka Tracers which would be a sort of ‘cushioned-racing flat’ but you couldn’t claim they made me faster, surely all they would do is allow me to reach my maximum potential, as opposed to an actual bonus from the energy return on the carbon fibre?

[/sourgrapes]

On a side note I saw some truest horrific running form in the Vaporfly, people internally pronating later in the race as they fatigued I’m amazed they didn’t snap their ankles!

Hoka have their own sort of version which is the carbon rocket, essentially a Tracer with a carbon insole, I’m tempted as they do freak foot sizes but I’m not sure of going to a 1 mm drop and also they don’t quite have the results to demonstrate that the Vaporfly do.

Jorgan · Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:54 pm Post subject:

I'm pretty sure that the 4% and it's carbon plate cousins don't really reward forefoot running; you're better-off mid or heel striking to get the benefit of the carbon plate. The fellrnr review seems to bear this out too iirc.
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27 Years since it all began....

Tupperware · Joined: 09 Oct 2012 Posts: 80 Location: Swindon

Poet · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 10148 Location: Your Mum

Nice work Tupperware.

what did you do?
And how much of it is the trainers? Wink

Tupperware · Joined: 09 Oct 2012 Posts: 80 Location: Swindon