Andreas Almgren is heading into Sunday’s New York Marathon with a new pair of Nike Apex shoes and a fresh dose of belief. After testing the latest model on his hardest long runs, he said they have given him very good confidence.
He made the point while showing the shoes during a visit in Flagstaff before the race. The model is the latest step in the shoe evolution that long-distance runners have been living with since 2016, when Almgren places the start of the supershoe era and says the difference is so clear that runners are simply faster in them.
The shoes themselves are built to chase that speed. Nike Apex has two air cushions in the forefoot and is extremely light, a detail that matters in a sport where every gram is measured against tired legs late in a marathon. Almgren said many runners used the shoe when it was officially launched in Chicago a few weeks ago, though he was quick to add that new shoes do not suddenly turn everyone into a record breaker. The effect is real, but it is not magic.
That is part of what makes the latest wave of super-shoe design so hard to separate from the hype. Since 2016, road running has been shaped by carbon plates and foam that provide stiffness and energy return, and Toni Arndt said the main change in the next generation is weight, calling it remarkable how little the shoes weigh. Arndt also works in a group set up by World Athletics to keep the shoes within the rules.
Even so, the new model is not free from criticism. Malin Ewerlöf, a Swedish running icon, is furious about one detail in the shoes, but that detail is not explained. For Almgren, though, the practical test is simpler: he has worn Apex on all kinds of harder long runs and says the sessions left him with very good confidence. On Sunday, the question is whether that confidence turns into anything measurable in New York.
