10 Years of Super Shoe Loop

Rachel Cavanaugh is a Portland-based freelance writer who covers food, lifestyle, travel, fitness, adventure and the outdoors. Her work has appeared in Men’s Journal, Outdoor Life, GearJunkie, MSN, Yahoo, The Independent, The Hollywood Reporter, Digital Trends, Bustle, Elite Daily, Mic, Travel Oregon, Matador Network and others. She has a background in digital production and brand storytelling and holds a journalism degree from the University of Montana.

Rachel Cavanaugh

In 2014, a prominent sports-science journalist predicted that it would be 2075 before a human being ran a sub-2-hour marathon. The following year, researchers said it was unlikely to happen before the end of the century.There was something the experts didn’t know, though: Even as those projections were being made, a team of Nike scientists in a lab far from public view was already at work on a project that would shatter the predictions, collapsing the timeline by decades and fundamentally changing the sport of marathon running.

The Math of Impossible

In the mid 2010s, the marathon world record stood at 2:02:57. Closing the remaining gap would require the world’s best runners to sustain unprecedented speed over 26.2 miles without burning through their energy reserves —&nbsp;a feat still thought to be beyond the limits of human performance.Inside the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), scientists had quietly begun asking a simple question: What if everyone was wrong?

To find the answer, they turned to research that had been underway for years. Scientists at the NSRL had been studying fatigue, examining how to define and quantify it across different sports and athletes, how it affected performance and injury, and how Nike might help mitigate its effects.“Fatigue is universal. It’s something every athlete, at every level, experiences,” says Matthew Nurse, Nike Chief Science Officer and Vice President, NSRL. “We’d spent years studying how it affects performance and injury and how we might mitigate those effects. By the time we began looking at the 2-hour marathon, the ingredients were already on the table.”With the 2-hour marathon now in their sights, the team began doing the math. How much faster would the world’s best marathoners need to get? And how much of that improvement could come from their footwear?The calculations pointed to an enormous jump —&nbsp;to break 2 hours, the best would need to get roughly 3% faster, and likely improve their running economy by more than 3%. In a sport where records were typically chipped away in seconds over many years, they were looking to shave off 3 minutes in a single leap.“The idea of taking 3 minutes off in one go sounded crazy,” recalls Stefan Guest, VP, Creative Director, Global Football, who was leading running footwear innovation design at the time. “Yet we knew enough internally that we might just do it.”

Dreaming Big

The possibility caught the attention of the late Sandy Bodecker, then Nike’s Vice President of Special Projects, who’d spent decades <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/i-want-brazil-the-four-years-that-launched-nike-football" target="null">building a reputation around pursuing ideas others considered unattainable.</a>&nbsp;With Bodecker’s backing, the team began looking for where those some 180 seconds of gains might come from.The prevailing wisdom around marathon footwear at the time was that if you wanted to make a racing shoe faster, you had to make it lighter. For years, that had meant stripping shoes down. Making them lower, flatter, thinner. Removing as much material as possible while leaving just enough cushioning to carry a runner through 26.2 miles and roughly 28,000 steps.Nike had already pushed that formula close to its limit. There was only so much material that designers could remove before there was nothing left.“We were exhausting that path,” Guest remembers. “You could keep making it thinner and thinner and lighter and lighter, but at some point, the shoe was going to disintegrate.”Researchers already knew that other footwear properties, including cushioning and plate stiffness, could improve running economy. But the gains had been relatively small, and what benefited one athlete didn't necessarily benefit another.Reaching a sub-2 goal, then, would require the brand to rethink its approach to speed entirely and create something completely new.

A New Formula for Speed

The breakthrough would come thousands of miles away, at a lesser-known materials manufacturer in the United Kingdom.Back then, most athletic footwear foams were made using a chemical process. But with the Swoosh in search of a new way forward, Denis Schiller, now Nike Senior Footwear Material Researcher, made a discovery: Zotefoams, a British materials company, had recently developed an approach that used extreme pressure to force nitrogen into its foam, resulting in a material that was significantly lighter while returning more energy.“We got this massive unlock all in one material: better-quality foam, more energy return, lighter weight, and it also turned out to be more resilient than we expected,” says Nike Footwear Developer Chris Cook, who worked on the project’s earliest prototypes.The unlock would eventually become known as ZoomX.

Numbers on the Screen

With the new lighter-weight foam came a new sense of possibility. For the first time, Nike could add more cushioning without the weight penalty that had traditionally come with it. Instead of continuing to strip material away, designers could begin adding it back, getting more energy return in the process.But the team was still chasing an unimaginable target: To erase nearly 3 minutes from the world’s fastest marathon time, the new technology would have to deliver a dramatic improvement in running economy, or how much energy you use to maintain your pace.They began experimenting with how much foam they could put underfoot and how it might work together with another emerging piece of the shoe equation: a curved carbon-fiber plate. Rather than simply making the plate stiffer, the team engineered its shape and curvature to reduce the biomechanical load on the runner.Together, the two technologies created a new kind of system, combining cushioning, stiffness and energy return in a way racing shoes hadn’t before. With each step, the curved plate worked in concert with the lightweight, energy-returning foam to reduce the amount of energy required to maintain pace.

As the pieces began coming together, the team built a series of prototypes with the NSRL to find out if the theoretical gains would translate to better results when athletes ran in them in the real world.Emily Farina, now Nike’s Senior Principal Researcher, NSRL, was one of the researchers conducting those early studies, using biomechanics to drive the footwear design. Part of her role involved measuring athletes’ oxygen consumption as they ran at a controlled speed — they wore oxygen masks as they ran on a treadmill — and tracking how much energy it took to maintain their pace. The PhD-trained researcher recalls sitting behind her monitor as the data began coming in.“I’m watching the screen, and I’m seeing the numbers, and I did a double take," she recalls. “I almost wanted to check the mask: ‘Is this working?’”The improvement in metabolic cost was so striking that Farina immediately understood a significant moment was unfolding.“The numbers that were popping up on the screen in real time were different from anything we’d previously seen,” she says. “Before we even analyzed the data, I knew something big was happening.”When she calculated the results, Farina’s instincts were confirmed. Runners in the new prototypes were seeing a 4 percent boost in running economy compared with Nike’s previous racing shoe. Even more rare, every runner was getting the benefit.With the numbers to back up their new formula, designers began turning the prototype into a racing shoe. What emerged was a piece of footwear the world would soon know as the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%.

Speed Without Sacrifice

As designers continued working with the new foam and the Vaporfly began taking shape, a secondary benefit soon became clear, one no one had expected. The same formula that was producing marked gains in speed was also delivering something rarely associated with racing shoes at the time: comfort.For generations of distance runners up to that point, going faster had generally meant giving something up. The lightest racing shoes offered little protection from the pavement, and the pounding on their feet was simply part of racing.“The mindset at the time was that there was an inverse relationship between speed and comfort,” says Elliott Heath, Nike’s Running Lead for Sport Innovation Studio. “It was just accepted that to be the fastest, you had to sacrifice part of your body.”

Carrie Dimoff, a former U.S. Olympic Trials marathoner who joined Nike Innovation in 2016, knew the tradeoff well. She’d spent years racing in the thin, lightweight flats that dominated the sport at the time.But working at Nike meant she understood the benefits of the Vaporfly before the masses. When she began racing in it, the difference was immediate.“When I stood on the starting line of the Boston Marathon in 2017, it was when Vaporfly was still pretty early and unknown. It felt like having a secret edge,” she recalls.Now Product Director, Footwear Innovation, Dimoff remembers looking at fellow competitors wearing the thin racing flats that had long defined the category and feeling sorry for them.“I was standing next to runners wearing 10-millimeter EVA-foam flats, as thin as slippers, and I thought, I cannot believe they’re going to beat themselves up on this hilly course wearing those little shoes, while I'm out here with all this protection and propulsion."For Heath, also an elite runner and U.S. Olympic Trials athlete, the benefits of that extra protection went beyond race day. As a professional runner, he’d endured a series of foot injuries and three surgeries in four years. During his recovery, he began wearing the Vaporfly simply to walk around Nike campus.“The carbon-fiber plate and the rocker and the propulsive geometry made my foot do less work, and then the extra cushion protected the hot spot,” he remembers. “It gave me hope that I would be able to run again.”

Now that the Vaporfly was out in the world, it was time to put it to the test.The project had originated with the audacious goal of achieving a sub-2-hour marathon, and with a shoe already showing incredible gains in speed, Nike was ready to see if its moonshot could land.

Going After Sub-2

The ambition became <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-introduces-breaking2" target="null">Breaking2</a>. On May 6, 2017, three of the world’s best marathoners lined up before dawn on a Formula One track in Monza, Italy, ready to see if they could break the elusive barrier.Nike had spent months <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/inside-look-at-nike-breaking2-project" target="null">obsessing over every detail</a>, from fueling, aerodynamics and pacing to the course itself. A team of 30 pacers stood ready to rotate in and out. At 5:45 a.m., they took off in pursuit of history.Two hours and 25 seconds later, Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finish line, just shy of a barrier that, only a few years earlier, experts had predicted might stand for decades.The 2-hour mark remained unbroken, but with Kipchoge’s performance, it was suddenly within reach.Nike was already working on the shoe that would take him the rest of the way.

The Final 25 Seconds

Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, Nike had begun working on the next generation of super shoes before Breaking2 even took place. As the Vaporfly prepared to make its public debut, designers and researchers were asking how they could push the new system further.For Guest, part of the answer lay in a technology that had been defining Nike for decades: Air. The team began exploring how the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-air-blueprint-pack-official-images" target="null">proprietary cushioning platform</a> could work in concert with the ZoomX foam and carbon-fiber plate, eventually developing a system of speed that placed two highly responsive Air Zoom units beneath the forefoot.Farina, who had helped study the biomechanics of the original Vaporfly, remembers the Alphafly beginning to take shape before runners had even fully grasped what its predecessor could do.“By the time the Vaporfly came out, the idea of the Alphafly already existed,” she says. “So in our minds, we were thinking, Oh, just wait. There’s even more coming.”Two years after Monza, Kipchoge was ready to try again. This time, he arrived with a prototype of Nike’s next-generation racing shoe on his feet, an early version of what would become the Alphafly Air Zoom NEXT%.On a tree-lined course in Vienna, Austria, thousands of spectators crowded the route as Kipchoge ran behind a rotating formation of pacers. For 26.2 miles, he maintained the blistering pace —&nbsp;an average of 4 minutes and 34 seconds per mile, or 2 minutes and 50 seconds per kilometer — required to break the 2-hour barrier.When he crossed the finish line, the clock read 1:59:40. The performance of the future had arrived more than a half century early.

For all the attention paid to the clock in Vienna, there was another, quieter sign of just how much marathon racing was changing.Heath, who was working closely with Kipchoge at the time, remembers talking with him the next morning when the marathon champion mentioned that he’d gone for a run. Heath was stunned —&nbsp;in Kipchoge’s previous 10 marathons, he’d never run the following day.“He told me it was the first time he ever felt like his body could run the day after a marathon,” Heath recalls. “And he did it the day after running 1:59:40.”

A Ripple Effect

During the next seven years, Nike continued building on their system of speed, refining the interplay between foam, Air and carbon-fiber plate across successive generations of the Vaporfly and Alphafly. The process has been relentlessly iterative.“Once we started seeing how big the effects could be, we created a model relating footwear properties to athlete outcomes, and it became a scientific playground of, ‘Wow, what are the limits? What can we make next?’” says Farina.

This work is only possible, she says, because Nike can connect what researchers are learning in the lab directly to the people creating the shoes, all under one roof at the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/lebron-james-innovation-center-nike-sport-research-lab" target="">LeBron James Innovation Center</a>. If her team wants to understand what would happen with a differently shaped plate or a precise change in stack height, for example, <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/phil-mccartney-is-showing-what-innovation-means-inside-nike-now" target="null">they can ask for it</a>, have a prototype built, test it, and begin the cycle again within days. Those prototypes can then go directly to some of the world’s best athletes, allowing the team to <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/how-nike-created-apex-and-its-next-prototypes-with-elite-athletes" target="">listen to their feedback</a>, learn from their experience, and continually refine the technology.The process is purposeful, reminds Matthew Nurse, who keeps the signed 2017 custom Vaporfly Elite that Eliud Kipchoge wore for Breaking2 on his desk. "We didn't accidentally stumble onto the solution for breaking the two-hour barrier, or any of our product advancements since," he says. "Our research and our work with our athletes has allowed us to deeply understand the interplay among all the footwear levers, and how they effect performance, comfort and injury risk. And that's helped us to pioneer, innovate and drive this industry."It's a leader's recipe for launching the next generation of racing footwear, already underway.

The Next Frontier

Ten years after rewriting the formula for marathon shoes, Nike is still discovering new ways to push the sport’s gain-making technology forward. Its latest leap, Nike Apex, delivers up to <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/introducing-nike-apex-the-next-leap-in-marathon-speed" target="_blank">40 percent more energy return than the Alphafly 3</a>.For Dimoff, that pursuit is the through line that connects the audacious experiment that began more than a decade ago with whatever comes next.“Our job is to continue finding those edges,” she says. “To keep pushing into spaces where no one is going and really show the world what’s possible.”—

See the milestone models and technology updates that kept pushing the sport, and Nike, forward.

2026

Arriving in January 2027, Nike Apex introduces the first double-stacked Air Zoom units in a racing shoe, along with new ZoomX LT foam and a redesigned carbon-fiber Flyplate, all while weighing some 10 percent less than the Alphafly 3. The shoe is Nike’s current pinnacle expression of race-day innovation, created for marathon runners chasing every possible second.&nbsp;

Designers refined every component of the Nike Alphafly 4 to create a smoother, more efficient marathon experience. The result is a shoe that delivers 10 percent more energy return than its predecessor; is 5 percent lighter; and features a new Atomknit upper, ZoomX LT foam, updated Air Zoom units, a carbon-fiber Flyplate and a Fast Shot outsole.

2024

The Nike Vaporfly 4 blends the stability and softness of the Vaporfly 3, creating a finely tuned balance of support and propulsion. That’s born from an updated Nike Flyplate curvature, which helps unlock leverage from the foot and ankle, and energy return generated by ZoomX foam. It’s also boosted by the featherweight design, which is roughly 10 percent lighter than the Vaporfly 3 and 20 grams lighter than the original Vaporfly (2017).

For the first time, the Nike Alphafly 3 connected the heel and forefoot with one continuous bottom, offering varying foot-strike patterns a smoother heel-to-toe transition regardless of the runner’s pace. Dual Nike Air Zoom units in the forefoot cushion impact with the road and return energy to the runner, and a wider full-length carbon-fiber Flyplate delivers a propulsive, stable ride.

2023

The engine of the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly 3 remained the same as the Vaporfly 2, with the propulsive feel runners love from the pairing of a full-length carbon-fiber Flyplate and ZoomX midsole. The Vaporfly 3’s reductive midsole geometry featured a convex shape around the forefoot, providing a comfortable and stable ride throughout your transition with Nike’s most resilient foam.&nbsp;Graphic text on the midsole nodded to the number of Flyknit upper iterations the team tested (57), and the iconic drop Swoosh against the all-white silhouette paid homage to the first Vaporfly worn at Breaking2 in 2017.

2022

Additional foam was added under the Zoom Air pods in the forefoot of the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 2, offering more energy return and helping ensure a smooth transition from heel to forefoot as runners go through their stride. A slightly wider heel helped improve stability and transition through changes of pace. The upper featured Atomknit 2.0, engineered for containment in the forefoot, breathability above the toes and comfortable padding under the laces.

2021

The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 kept the tried-and-true system of ZoomX midsole and carbon-fiber Flyplate to provide snappy responsiveness and fight fatigue.The Flyweave upper was updated with an even more breathable, flexible material to better the fit, and the shoe’s geometry and midsole composition mimicked its beloved predecessor.

2019

The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% introduced Vaporweave, an upper material construction that’s lighter than Nike Flyknit, breathable and — critically — absorbs far less water from sweat or rain, so it stays airy and dry over the course of a marathon. The shoe added 15 percent more Nike ZoomX foam in the midsole compared to the Vaporfly 4% and received a redesigned traction pattern (thanks to an ask from Eliud Kipchoge after he ran a very wet race in Berlin).&nbsp;

2017

The Zoom Vaporfly Elite began as a concept shoe individually tuned for Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese to attempt Breaking2 in Monza, Italy, in 2017. Complementing the ZoomX foam and carbon-fiber Flyplate was a smooth-fitting, lightweight Nike Flyknit upper, which provided support and containment.

An early sample of the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%, the super shoe that changed the way marathon shoes were made. Until this point, conventional wisdom was that marathon shoes must be featherlight and low to the ground. The Vaporfly 4% challenged the norm and presented a new system: stacked, energy-returning foam and a propulsive carbon-fiber plate. When Nike first launched the model, researchers found it delivered an average of 4 percent improved running economy over the brand’s previous fastest marathon shoe, the Nike Zoom Streak 6.

Ten years ago, Nike set out to break a barrier many said was impossible. The shoe it built transformed running — and ushered in a new era of human potential.

Nike Running

Feature

A Decade of the Super Shoe: How Nike Redefined Speed

About Nike - Stories from Inside NIKE, Inc.

Speed is often measured as distance over time. When one thinks of Jacob Kiplimo, they probably think fast because of how he’s worked that equation: an Olympic bronze medal running a 10K in 27:43; a world record hitting 57:20 in the half-marathon; a blistering 2:00:28 for the marathon, the third fastest time ever. For Kiplimo, however, speed doesn’t come from seeing the right pixels on a stopwatch. After all, distance over time can’t measure the thousands of miles he's run during his 25 years.Instead, speed is defined by a childhood in rural Uganda trying to keep up with four older brothers. Speed is also defined by friendship through competition with Olympic gold medalist and compatriot Joshua Cheptegei, as each athlete seeks to bring pride to their country by breaking into the upper echelon of African running. Paradoxically, speed for Kiplimo is also defined by the slowness of a farm and the satisfaction of a meal that has been nurtured over months from root to spoon — similar to the quiet work that goes into a long-awaited breakthrough on the course.The at-times bashful Ugandan is likely fast because he also has a confident side, one that keeps him fearless and undeterred by failure. Yes, Kiplimo has had successes and setbacks, but we would not know which is which if we simply looked at race results. If the now-established running star simply measured himself by distance over time, he wouldn’t be able to push the impossible.Here, he speaks in his own words on what it means to compete for his country, the importance of slowing down, and how his partnership with Nike is helping him rewrite the record books.

Uganda is my country, and I’ll always love it. For me, it’s amazing representing it, especially going out there, performing well, and getting to wave the flag. When I’m competing all over the world, I always remember seeing people from Uganda too. I run with Uganda in my mind, but because I run alone, I have to always compete as Kiplimo.

Kiplimo takes Nike’s proprietary Baseline test at a recent visit to the Nike Sport Research Lab. Made up of five assessments, Baseline is as foundational as it sounds. The assessments are borrowed from the worlds of biomechanics, physical therapy and exercise science, and they can be completed in a matter of minutes.

Baseline tests include a 3D body scan, a foot scan, a barefoot pressure test, an ankle range-of-motion test and countermovement jumps. Considered together, the test results form the baseline of a person’s athletic profile — how powerful they are, how mobile they are, how explosive they are, and other traits.

Knowing these attributes gives Nike researchers, scientists and designers a clearer picture of how to serve an athlete’s needs.

I know I have the opportunity to achieve something truly special in my life. World Championships and Olympics are coming, and it’s my target to represent Uganda and achieve something that will bring pride to myself and my country.Especially in the Olympics, it would mean a lot to represent Uganda well. But I also need to focus on this year, and recovering and training the best I can, because I know I am always competing against the best, so I train always with the goal that I need to be the best.

When I broke the half-marathon record, I remember being so happy to see my name when I crossed the finish line. I knew it was a big achievement, and I knew I had done something special. In London, of course I thought I might be the one who would break the marathon record too — but I was still happy to see that it was broken and that I was able to break the previous record. Because seeing someone else win just means there is a new challenge. And that’s good — it motivates me.I remember the first time I tried the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/introducing-nike-apex-the-next-leap-in-marathon-speed" target="_blank">double-stacked Air bags in the Apex</a>. The cushioning was exactly what I needed. I started using it in my training runs, and I gave <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/how-nike-created-apex-and-its-next-prototypes-with-elite-athletes" target="_blank">my best feedback to Nike</a>, and they were able to build me a custom version. I used that prototype in London and I ran well, so I made sure the team knew that version was one to keep building on for future races.Farming is something that is very good for me. I train hard because I want to be the best during races, but farming allows me to slow down and recharge my mind and body to go out and train hard again. I mostly farm maize and sweet potato, which is especially good, because it allows me to fuel my body with healthy foods. Everything in my life is about going fast, so it is important for me to do something that keeps me focused on that priority and what I need to do, but also balances it.

I want to be known as someone who is disciplined and consistent in what I do. Of course, it feels good to be known at all and to have people cheer me on, but I want to be an inspiration. I want people to know me for how hard I work, and I want them to know that I seek out competition without fear.The marathon is the biggest race now, and that is why I want to keep mastering it. I started my transition to the marathon after the Olympics, and I can say that I am proud of how I have progressed this year, but I still have so much to learn. I’m still learning to get the most out of my training for this race. I don’t think I’m quite good yet, but in a year or two years, I think I can be very good at the marathon.

Hear from the elite distance runner on redefining endurance racing and helping to pioneer the next generation of running innovation.

For The Win

Record Breaker Jacob Kiplimo Is Ushering in a New Era of Speed

A summer sun is coming up over the Rift Valley as the runners begin to gather.In Eldoret, Kenya, on the roads and trails that have carried generations of world-class runners over clay, grass, rock and pavement, a group of nine athletes laces up for an early-morning session at the Lornah Kiplagat Sports Academy. By the time morning light reaches the track, the work is already underway.Huddled at the edge of the track is a team of Nike Running experts closely watching the athletes, who include some of sport’s top runners. Among them: Jacob Kiplimo, a half-marathon world-record breaker and Brigid Kosgei, an Olympian and marathon world-record setter.During the next few days in late July, these athletes — along with <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/eliud-kipchoge-wear-testing-nike-running-zoom-fly-6" target="null">Eliud Kipchoge</a>, the first man to run a sub 2-hour marathon distance, and <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/faith-kipyegon-profile" target="null">Faith Kipyegon</a>, the world’s fastest woman miler — will run in <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-debuts-a-race-day-system-of-speed-designed-for-every-runner" target="">shoes the rest of the world hasn’t yet seen</a>, testing prototypes; comparing them with previous versions; and sharing feedback with product, sports marketing and performance specialists who have traveled thousands of miles to hear what they have to say.

As the athletes try on the latest prototypes, they don’t mince words. They say what they think: what feels good and what doesn’t; where a shoe rubs or shifts; whether it’s too soft or too heavy; what they would change. It’s an openness that’s been built over time and with earned trust: These elite runners know the Nike team didn’t travel across two oceans and nearly 9,000 miles to collect compliments. They’re here for honest feedback, the kind that’s helped the brand push the limits of speed in racing footwear for decades. It is understood that what they say today will shape what they see the next time around — and that their insights will make the shoes better.

The Road to Chicago

For Kiplimo and Kosgei, the next time is coming soon. Both are preparing for the Chicago Marathon, and they’ll have Nike’s latest elite super shoe prototype. “These are our top athletes in the marathon,” says Chris Cook, Nike Development Director for Race and Track &amp; Field. “Jacob is our fastest male marathoner. Brigid is a former world-record holder. We want to make sure they have everything they need to perform at their best when it matters most.”During Kiplimo’s first fitting, the team brings out shoes he’s already raced in, including the pair he wore at the London Marathon earlier this year, to provide a baseline. He’d previously told Nike product specialists his foot sometimes moved inside the shoe around corners, so the designers were looking to improve the lockdown and make the shoe lighter without sacrificing bounce or cushioning.“We used this shoe as the starting point,” says Elliott Heath, Nike Running Lead for Sport Innovation Studio. “We knew what we had, and the goal was to make it better.”

By the time Kiplimo tries on the new prototypes, the team has already iterated on his feedback, using the London shoe as a jumping-off point for several new concepts. His task now is to narrow down what he could race in at Chicago.He works through several versions. One uses an experimental cushioning system he likes but says causes some irritation underfoot. Several others make the final cut, and the team sets them aside for the following morning’s workout.Kosgei goes through a similar process, trying her own versions of many of the same prototypes. She compares different weights, fits and constructions, looking for something lighter without giving up the stability and grip she needs, particularly on wet pavement. With several promising options, she elects to test all four.

Champion marathoner Eliud Kipchoge evaluates the Nike Apex, a racing shoe that delivers up to 40 percent more energy return than the Alphafly 3.

Unlike traditional racing shoes, Apex features zero-drop geometry with a 40-millimeter stack height in both the heel and forefoot, creating a balanced, supported ride.

The visible, double-stacked Air Zoom platform in the Nike Apex is designed to compress, store and return energy, creating a uniquely propulsive feeling.

New tech extends to the Nike Apex outsole, where GOATEK and Fast Shot provide strategically placed traction and durability.

The next morning, with prototypes in hand, Kiplimo and Kosgei head to the track. Kiplimo rotates through several configurations over a series of 1,000-meter repeats and 400s, while Kosgei cycles through all four options across 12 1,000-meter repeats. At nearby camps, the rest of the group does the same, swapping shoes and comparing notes with the Nike team between efforts.Later, during a one-on-one fitting with Kipchoge, the marathon champion tries a prototype he finds too wide and suggests removing some of the material. A Nike teammate reaches for another version.&nbsp;They’ve anticipated and made the change.That cycle — trying on shoes, running in them, offering feedback — continues throughout the week with the athletes, each round giving the Nike team a clearer picture of how the prototypes perform.

The Pursuit of Lighter

Arriving in Kenya with shoes this closely tuned to the athletes they serve starts long before anyone steps onto the track or road.Eric Grimberg, a Nike Principal Footwear Developer based in Korea, was with Kiplimo at the London Marathon earlier that year, where the team saw both what was working in his shoe and what they wanted to improve. He remembers the conversations that fueled the innovation.&nbsp;“The feedback was really good in some ways, but there was also room for improvement,” says Grimberg. “We immediately started talking about what we could do to make a more lightweight version.”The team looked at how they could strip out weight without losing the energy return that was making the shoe great, says Cook.

If they were going to achieve this, it would mean reworking virtually every element.&nbsp;They thinned the outsole, lowered the density of the foam, and reduced the thickness of the film surrounding the Air units. For the upper, they borrowed ultralight yarns developed for the spike Kipyegon wore during <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/faith-kipyegon-nike-breaking4-journey" target="null">Breaking4</a>, her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under 4 minutes.&nbsp;Together, the changes brought the prototype from roughly 176 grams to about 120, slicing nearly one third of the weight away, an incredible drop.Some of those changes had unexpected effects. Not only did the lower-density foam save weight, it made the shoe softer.“We were a little bit nervous about that initially,” says Cook.&nbsp;But the athletes loved it.“From the feedback we’ve gotten so far, that’s actually been perceived as a benefit, the fact that it’s a little bit cushier,” explains Cook.

Knowing the Athlete

That interplay between what the team can measure and what an athlete actually experiences is central to the development process. Stats are one thing, but how it feels is what matters.“Making performance products is always a balance of athlete feedback and testing in the lab,” explains Heath. “Ideally, those two things match up. If something is validated by the athletes, we try to amplify it even further. If it’s invalidated, we go back and understand why.”The longer Nike works with an athlete, says Cook, the more specific those conversations tend to become. As the team learns what the athlete needs, the athlete also learns what they want, and exactly how to articulate it.“When you meet with an athlete for the first time, the conversation may be very short: ‘Yeah, it’s good. Green’s nice. Good color,’” says Cook. “But after working together across multiple shoes, the athletes get much more in tune with the kinds of questions we’re asking.”

The Nike team has also learned how individual athletes describe what they feel, which questions get the most useful answers, and what matters most to each runner. Over time, those learnings can extend beyond the athlete or shoe they began with.Kiplimo’s own racing history is a testament to the process. The shoe he wore when he broke the half-marathon world record, for example, helped inform the new <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-alphafly-4-helps-more-runners-go-the-distance-with-speed-and-confidence" target="null">Alphafly 4</a>, carrying lessons from an elite racing shoe into a model that will reach runners more broadly.“What was the past for him will be the future for others,” says Heath.So too for the latest high-performing Nike prototypes hitting the red Kenyan dirt this summer. The eked-out benefits, born from the hours of listening and iterating, will soon be put to the test on race courses the world over, worn by the most elite, then, not long later, by any runner with the goal to find out what their fastest speed might be.

On high-altitude roads and running tracks in western Kenya, Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, Jacob Kiplimo, Brigid Kosgei and more elite athletes team with Nike experts to create products that can make the impossible possible.

How the World’s Fastest Runners Shaped Nike Apex — and the Brand’s Next Racing Shoes

From the tangerine-tinted break of dawn to lychee red sunsets, the technicolor streets of Shanghai are inundated with runners. The sheer number in the Enchanted City and across Greater China has not only boomed — it’s evolved. More and more runners have morphed into distance racers regularly ripping through finish lines 26.2 miles at a time. “Nearly every day there is a different marathon,” says Jean Peng, Principal Product Engineer, who is based at Nike’s world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, and regularly visits its Shanghai headquarters for product development. “The runner has become the marathon runner.”The numbers bear that out. According to the Chinese Athletics Association, in 2014, China hosted 51 official marathons; that number jumped to 749 marathons in 2024, with more than 7 million participants.&nbsp;This reflects a larger global trend: Worldwide, marathon participation is up 18 percent in the past year. From Chicago to Shanghai, nearly twice as many marathoners will toe the starting line in 2026 compared to just five years ago, many for the first time, and almost all with the same goal: to finish.

At Nike, decades of sport science research have gone into propelling the top performers on race day. Elite racers like Eliud Kipchoge have sent the term “super shoe” into the modern cultural zeitgeist, attacking and breaking the 2-hour marathon mark with the help of models like the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly 4% and Alphafly prototypes.&nbsp;While the seven-star finisher strikes the pavement from his toes with the grace of a gazelle and the accolades of a GOAT, Kipchoge exists in extremely rarefied air as a racer who can complete a marathon in 2 hours and some 28,000 steps. The exploding space of road racing includes more than 30 million athletes whose average marathon time is 4.5 hours. Unlike Kipchoge, this marathoner takes roughly 55,000 steps to cover 26.2 miles. And, according to insights Nike’s gathered from participants across the globe, many feel that super shoes — designed to amplify a forefoot strike — can feel too torqued to control, and even look more aggressive than these athletes believe they’re ready for.“Their requirements are much different,” says Peng of the general marathon racer. This runner wants stability, durability and a shoe that delivers performance benefits but also feels accessible, from looks to cost, he explains. Drawing on feedback from Greater China marathoners, the Nike Running team had an opportunity: “We set out to create an inclusive marathon racer with similar performance to our elite super shoes, and at half the price.”

Introducing Swooshfly

When Running Product Line Manager Ryan Shi was briefed on the need to create a super shoe built for twice the steps at half the cost, he responded bluntly. “No way,” said Shi, intimately understanding the daunting math-meets-design equation he faced. For more than a decade, Shi has helped work on the industry-defining race-day footwear made with runners like Kipchoge in mind. In that time, he often heard insights from gen-pop marathoners that, without deep experience wearing a super shoe, “it can feel like the shoe is driving you.” It was clear there was a need for a more approachable model that could stand up to twice the hours of pavement pounding. But how do you get more for less? The answer was to rethink everything, says Shi. “<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-swooshfly-makes-race-day-feel-more-possible" target="_blank">The Nike Swooshfly</a> is an innovation for the runner who wants the momentum to finish a marathon,” he says. “Everything is new.”&nbsp; That newness starts at the core of a super shoe: the carbon fiber plate.

Nike super shoe models like the Alphafly and Vaporfly have eight layers of carbon fiber to create a stiff, propelling plate. With the Swooshfly, Shi and team performed repeated tests in the Shanghai Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL) to see how far they could reduce the number of carbon fiber layers to create more flexibility and stability, but still maintain the amount of stiff spring to propel you forward. Five layers of carbon fiber was the magic number that wear-testers said was the perfect balance of push without sacrificing control. The upshot: This less-is-more benefit also created material savings. Next up, the shoe’s last — a foot-shaped form that designers use to create every component of a shoe, from the midsole to the upper. Swooshfly broke the mold and has an entirely new last, with a wider midfoot and lower arch to address athlete feedback that racing shoes can feel too narrow and cause arch irritation. In testing, Shi found that the wider last not only made the Swooshfly fit true to size, the shoe’s stability improved too.&nbsp;

Then there’s the foam. The Swooshfly debuts a breakthrough: Nike SkyX, a new beaded-foam compound created for the long-lasting energy return that everyday marathoners need.“Nike SkyX is our most lightweight, durable, responsive and cushioned foam yet, and with a manufacturing process that makes it more affordable,” says Shi. He adds that in testing the team found that “It will last your whole race — and the second race, the third race, and races after.”

With TPU beads steamed to different densities for zonal optimization around the shoe’s heel, plate and forefoot, Nike SkyX foam helps provide a heel-to-toe rocker sensation that urges you forward, and energy return where heel-strikers need it most (similar to the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-air-max-dn-official-images" target="_blank">articulated innovation of tuned Air</a>). Designed to compete and complete, every element of the Nike Swooshfly has been specifically engineered for the everyday marathon racer, right down to the sole. On the forefoot, you’ll find Nike’s new <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/acg-unveils-picklejus-big-mountain-trail-runner-with-goatek-traction-innovation" target="_blank">GOATEK rubber</a> to provide increased traction, particularly helpful at puddle-filled water stations, which become far slippier as a race goes on. All this innovation aligned with the needs of marathon racers aiming to cross the finish line in twice the time and double the steps of Kipchoge — and it's competitive with other Nike super shoes. Testing proves that the Swooshfly delivers 16 percent more energy return than the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/vaporfly-4-streakfly-2-official-images" target="null">Nike Vaporfly 4</a> in a men’s size 10. But could Nike Swooshfly match the price brief? “We asked runners in North America what they thought the price was,” says Shi. “Every single one thought it was $200-plus.” To bring back a Shi idiom: No way. The Nike Swooshfly will retail globally for $145, meeting the moment of a more competitive market and an evolving marathon space.

The Race to the Future

Nike Swooshfly, and its Nike SkyX foam, wasn’t only a solution for runners turned racers. It also catalyzed a brand-wide approach to producing cutting-edge products faster.“We saw Nike SkyX was ideal in the Swooshfly, and that solution spurred putting the foam in future running shoes without a plate,” says Bret Schoolmeester, Vice President of Nike Running Footwear. “For us, it begged the question: How can we use this as a model to scale innovation quicker?” Prioritizing tighter teams, leaner logistics and athletes above all, products are already on the way for ACG, Nike Training and Nike Mind categories.

“We’re taking highly calculated risks so that we can get something compelling out to athletes faster than ever, and that’s better for athletes and our business,” says Schoolmeester. As he puts it, speed with intention is always a benefit. And Swooshfly is proof that tight turns, aggressive testing and alignment with factories can create speedy innovation. Peng notes that despite the daunting brief, the shoe took roughly one year to complete — about half the time for a typical new-to-market model.&nbsp; In mission and title, Nike Swooshfly epitomizes a performance-focused race-day option for a marathoner who may not be breaking 2, but who is breaking a barrier. A shoe that, Shi says, he’s most proud of for “its balance.”&nbsp; “Runners often think that paying less means you get less,” he says. “But with this shoe, you get everything you need to do more.”

Nike’s newest super shoe offers stability, durability and competitive performance benefits — all while feeling accessible, from looks to cost.

Making It

How Nike Designed the Swooshfly, an Invitation to the Marathon Starting Line

If you’ve ever cued up a <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.nike.com/nrc-app" target="null">Nike Run Club</a> (NRC) session, you know his voice. He’s the one in your ears every time you lace up and head out the door, equal parts coach, philosopher and hype man. Chris Bennett, or “Coach B” to the running world, is Nike’s Global Running Head Coach and the man behind the mic on the NRC app.&nbsp;He’s one of those coaches who always knows what to say at mile 3. You find yourself nodding along mid-run, digging deeper because he’s spurring you on. As the voice behind the free running app with users worldwide, Bennett has become widely popular, his mantras so deeply embedded in running culture that they’ve taken on a life of their own across Reddit threads and social media posts. “Struggling doesn't mean failure.” “If you can't do the run you want to do, do the run you can do.” “Kindness is hardcore.” They’re the kind of lines people write on mirrors and carry through difficult days that have nothing to do with running.

A competitive runner from New Jersey, Bennett ran at UNC-Chapel Hill before coaching future Olympians at the post-collegiate level and building what became the Northeast’s most successful high school cross-country program. When Nike asked him to come on as a full-time coach in 2014, he wrote his entire coaching philosophy down on a legal pad and handed it over. Those notes became the NRC Truths, and he’s been building on them ever since.Now, he’s distilled that philosophy into his first book, <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/this-is-about-running-this-is-not-about-running-chris-bennett?variant=44778258399266&amp;utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio&amp;fbclid=PAdGRleAS8sKxwZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp23OaaCx00NqpSE4294E1HzGDZG4Vcf0Mi5xT0GO6m1eiPpAO8w8HgIVcvCN_aem_MgddCEZLLg7pnZx8cJXz5Q" target="">This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running,</a> a motivational guide that will be released this fall and is available for preorder. It’s a title that, if you know anything about Coach B, tells you everything. Bennett’s not stopping there. Beginning July 7, as part of Nike's 2026 After Dark Tour, his popular podcast will feature a months-long series of conversations with women across the world. From elite athletes to first-time racers, Coach B is passing the mic to women who are changing the game and redefining what’s possible.&nbsp;Below, he talks about why he fell in love with running; what he believes about the sport; and why the job, as he sees it, is never finished.

How did you get into this line of work, and what led you to where you are today?I’ve been running basically my entire life. I was the fourth of five kids, so if you wanted to keep up with your older sister and brothers, you had to move. That was the first inspiration to run.I grew up in New Jersey, where there’s a really rich tradition of cross-country and track and field at the youth level. It was just something you did. I was introduced to it as a team sport, which I think was really important. I wasn’t in love with running initially — I was in love with having teammates, and that’s what bridged the gap between trying the sport and dedicating myself to it. I was incredibly lazy until I made the connection that my laziness was hurting the rest of the team. That’s what actually got me to train consistently and intelligently. It wasn’t about me, it was about the fact that I was letting my team down.I got to run for the Nike Farm Team, a post-collegiate Olympic-development team at Stanford University, and my first coach there was Jeff Johnson — employee No. 1 at Nike and a good friend to this day. I ran for them for five years. I wasn’t trying to make the Olympic team, just the trials. But I was training with people who were, and it was a really incredible experience.I had already decided in high school that I wanted to coach and teach. When Nike eventually sat me down and asked what I would do if I were coaching the runners who met at their New York City stores, I mapped out a weekly schedule, the kind you’d give any serious athlete. And that’s how I coach. Just because they’re not elite doesn’t mean I wouldn’t treat them like they are. You don’t give somebody less of a regimen because they have less speed.

What is it about the Guided Run format and your specific approach that makes people connect with you the way they do?When it’s just audio, you’re only engaging with one of their senses, which I think is super powerful. People become more focused on what you’re saying. With video, people are paying attention to your hand movements, they’re paying attention to the background, their mind starts to drift. But when it’s just sound, they’re more tuned in, which means that what I’m saying has to be honest. When people are hyper-focused, their BS detector is on high.&nbsp;When we first started creating these, I had a couple of rules. One was that this is unfiltered. There isn’t anyone between me and the athlete. I’ve always been adamant that if I was going to do this, it was going to stay unbelievably human. It wasn’t going to be like other guided runs. It was going to be grounded in the coaching philosophy that I espouse, which is that kindness is hardcore, and that the best way for athletes to be able to break through barriers or clear hurdles is for them to be supported while they’re trying to do it. I won’t lie to them. I want them to become their own best coach. With every Guided Run, I want them to need me less and less. I want the athlete to own this. When I’m telling them to do something, they have the final decision.&nbsp;People develop a relationship with me. There are a lot of people I’ve never met, but we’ve gone through some stuff. When we do finally meet, it’s often a very emotional meeting. That connection is so important. We’re in a world where disconnection is only getting greater and greater. Knowing that this is a digital format and we’re not in person, I wanted to make sure it was as human as possible. That means that like with human interactions, I ramble. I go off on tangents. I make really bad jokes. I have runs called the “It’s Okay 5K,” the “Struggle Run,” the “Tough Day, Easy Run,” the “Thank You Run.”&nbsp;My philosophy is that when you go for a run, it should be about more than running. I think that’s why the connection with listeners has been so intense and durable over the years. You’re often described as someone who can make a person believe they’re a runner before they’ve ever even gone for a run. Where does that come from?Well, first, I really believe it, so that helps. But I also think it comes down to the understanding that coaches don’t create anything, coaches uncover things. When you understand that, it makes your job so much easier. I don’t have to create a runner, all I have to do is convince you that you can do things you don’t believe you can do.&nbsp;I like to keep the bar low intentionally. I never say, “I can get you to run a marathon.” I say, “I can get you to run from here to the end of the street.” You don’t believe that counts as a run. My job is to convince you that it does. The second you realize that counts as a run, you’ve experienced success. Inevitably, what you think next is, I could have gone a little further. I could have gone a little faster. I can do that again. And that’s how it all starts.

One of your more famous quips is, “If you can’t do the run you want to do, do the run you can do.” What do you mean by that?As a runner myself, I used to sometimes put off runs until very late in the day, and then I’d get to a point where it was late and I wasn’t going to be able to run for as long as I wanted to. I would convince myself that if I couldn’t do the full run, what’s the point?&nbsp;It was that all-or-nothing mentality. But there’s so much something between all and nothing. If you’ve got 20 minutes, that’s all you’ve got. So if you run for 20 minutes, you’re actually giving it 100 percent of what you’ve got. How can you diminish yourself for giving it 100 percent of what you could do?This idea ended up in a Guided Run when I was working with Michael Orenstein, NRC’s former Head of Product, and one of the guys who helped develop the runs early on. He was going to a pottery class and he said, “I'm not going to be able to run today, I’ve got to rush.” And I said, “When’s the class?” He told me it was 35 minutes from then and a 20-minute drive, so I said, “Why don’t you just go run for five minutes?” I remember him saying, “Five minutes? That’s not a real run.” And I said, “Five minutes is the only run you can do.”I recorded the “Five-Minute Run,” put that line in there, and it blew up. That was about seven years ago, and it’s one of my most quoted lines ever.

You have a book coming out called This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. Can you talk about the book and elaborate more on the title?It’s another one of those things I would casually say that kind of took off. I’d say it after making a point that was seemingly about running, but that was really about something bigger. It goes back to coaching kids. I had to make sure that the 90 minutes I had with them every day counted. I wanted them to have the opportunity to learn something about life. I felt like I would be a failure as a coach if the only thing they walked away with was the ability to go farther or go faster.&nbsp;I wanted to give them strengths and habits they could carry into the rest of their lives. How you deal with struggle, how you have relationships with people, how you get through hard times, how you dig deeper, how you act as a supportive teammate to others — these are things that go on during practice. You have to get across to your athletes or your students that these are things you will take with you out of here. Don’t leave this at practice. Bring this home.“This is about running, this is not about running” has been the foundation of my coaching for 18 years. And the book embodies that —&nbsp;if you’re a runner, whether a new runner or long-time runner, you’re going to end the book and you’re going to be a better runner. But if you’ve never gone for a run before in your life, you’re going to be a better person. It doesn’t need to lead to you running.Regardless of where you’re coming from, whether you’re about to graduate the eighth grade, going through a breakup, training for a marathon or taking on any other kind of challenge, this book is for you. It’s about running. But it’s also about much more than running.<ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/this-is-about-running-this-is-not-about-running-chris-bennett?variant=44778258399266&amp;utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio&amp;fbclid=PAdGRleAS8sKxwZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp23OaaCx00NqpSE4294E1HzGDZG4Vcf0Mi5xT0GO6m1eiPpAO8w8HgIVcvCN_aem_MgddCEZLLg7pnZx8cJXz5Q" target="_blank">Pre-order copy a copy of Coach B's book in the USA</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://lnkfi.re/yfzwUn?utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio&amp;fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnqCOF01UFfBXwJ8XK36zI9N7fDAttdKU2JBLcRLWR75KFBh8RYUAatrhGyYM_aem_Oa3G0bKKyFdPFbYhtx6OHA" target="_blank">Pre-order a copy of Coach B's book in the UK, Canada, Australia, NZ and Europe</a> </li></ul>

Whether you're a first-time runner or practically pro, you'll be able to use the advice from Chris Bennett — equal parts coach, philosopher and hype man.

Talking Craft

5 Questions With Nike Running’s Coach Bennett

In July of 2026, more than 10 hours into her race, ultra runner and ACG pro <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/trail-runner-yao-miao-is-running-down-new-goals-with-acg" target="_blank">Yao Miao</a> hit the final wall. Specifically, the eleventh and penultimate section of Camins d’Hèr, a 68-mile ultra race in Spain’s Pyrenees mountain range, which passes through the small localities of Arties to Escunhau, a distance of about 5 kilometers. The stretch is a grueling, exposed vertical climb that squeezes every last drop of mental fortitude out of a runner before they tackle the remaining 8 kilometers to the finish. Even the fittest athletes reliably bonk when they reach it.For Miao, the wall was simply one more obstacle to climb. She’d later cross the finish line, fist raised in the air, completing the race in 13:04:34, the course’s fastest-ever time in the women’s field. Yao Miao is one of the most accomplished racers of her generation. She’s one of only six runners worldwide to win two different UTMB finals events. But she also had a secret tool in her race prep: insights from the Nike Innovation Farm Team, an 18-strong ultra runner cohort who trained in a four-month residency at the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/nike-sport-research-lab-environmental-chambers" target="_blank">Nike Sport Research Lab</a> (NSRL) in Beaverton, Oregon.

A Nike team of applied physiologists combined the data from Miao’s springtime visit to the NSRL with a four-hour resilience run done by the Farm Team and crunched the numbers through a predictive model to map out the pace that would land her in a hypothetical finish window. They shared the formula with Miao in the weeks before Camins d’Hèr. The team estimated she'd finish between 12:37 and 13:44, and to put ink on a specific number, 13:09. She’d cross the arch in Vielha within five minutes of that prediction.Thanks in large part to the data from the Farm Team, there was less guesswork to the milestones Miao needed to hit. The group acted like a roster of teammates in her corner, bringing a sharper clarity to her plan.

And that was the whole point. The 15-week Nike Innovation Farm Team, which kicked off in April at Nike’s Philip H. Knight Campus, was created to help Nike innovators uncover the levers behind ultra-endurance running.The science of endurance performance under two hours is fairly well understood. The longer a runner goes, however, the less we know about what causes some to succeed and others to crumble. The standard factors of endurance performance become more dynamic, and unpredictable, especially in ultra-distance mountain running. The distances are outrageous. The terrain shape-shifts in a flash, covering high-altitude climbs and steep descents. There’s a mix of unforgiving surfaces, and the weather can change rapidly. What’s more, a race can last for days, and it’s largely a solo endeavor. You’re likely to be running by yourself for extended periods of time, sometimes for hours. The opportunities for a scientist to intervene naturally and observe how the runner’s body is negotiating the work are few.

What the Farm Team gave Nike researchers was a rare 15-week window to dig into all aspects of the sport and, maybe most important, its elusive performance enhancer: resilience.“In a race, everyone slows down over 13 hours,” says Brett Kirby, PhD, Senior Principal Scientist of Applied Performance Innovation in the Nike Sport Research Lab. “The winner is the one who slows down the least. In other words, the most resilient runner wins. We wanted to study resilience in three main ways: physiologically, biomechanically and psychologically.”With the Farm Team, NSRL scientists wanted to create a realistic, uninterrupted environment to gather enough data to better understand this resilience. The bonus was that the outcomes of their studies should help all runners dial in their training. This could be picking the right program (e.g., what could help you blast through an uphill sprint in hour eight of a race), or the right product to wear for a race course. This scientific foundation for new product solutions extends beyond the pros too, and can help any runner who hits the wall of the mountain and wants to break through.

Nike’s vast backyard in the Pacific Northwest became the Farm Team’s research center. They were embedded in the NSRL and set free in the surrounding Portland area, including the sprawling Forest Park trails and the stunning routes in the Columbia River Gorge.&nbsp;“Time under effort is the variable that makes or breaks an ultra runner’s race,” says Brad Winn, Lead Researcher of Applied Innovation, who served as the program’s head coach over the 15-week protocol. “Time is also the critical piece on the research side. We wanted to spend as much of it with these athletes as possible.”

The program’s name came from two places. One borrows from the farm team concept popular in sports like baseball, where a farm team serves as an important talent pipeline for a franchise. The other comes from one of Nike’s foundational employees, Jeff Johnson. In the mid ’90s, he and Stanford track coach Vin Lananna co-founded the esteemed sub-elite distance-running track team, in many ways a precursor to today’s track clubs. Both inspirations draw from the same purpose: to explore how a dedicated pipeline can, through athlete talent and the exploration of their potential, improve a larger community.There were 18 spots, nine men and nine women, up for grabs on the Farm Team’s roster, and runners applied online beginning in March 2026. Criteria for the program was strict. Selected runners needed to complete all 15 weeks of training, and have the ability to run up to four hours at a sub-elite pace. Nike Innovation received thousands of applications, and had the daunting task of selecting the handful who would be invited to relocate full-time to Beaverton.

The residency’s embedded nature was undoubtedly a challenge. “Moving away for four months has been difficult, on top of working a full-time job," says Alec Hewett, a Farm Team runner who works as a Senior Manager of National Teams at USA Triathlon and is in his first year of marriage. "But the sacrifices were still a no-brainer for me and my wife. Having full support from her and from my job has been awesome.”The 18 runners were divided into two cohorts, each focusing on a different training protocol over 10 weeks. One was a concentric-dominant, more traditional uphill program (concentric refers to the shortening of the muscle under force). The other was an eccentric-dominant program, or one that focused on the lengthening of the muscle under force, translating into downhill workouts. In addition to run-specific workouts, both groups applied their concentric or eccentric focus to assigned strength training workouts. The eccentric groups, for example, would do lifts like descending lunges, paying close attention to the lowering of the weights, whereas the concentric group did a contrasting lift, like a weighted step-up.&nbsp;

The team was given a full array of Nike’s diagnostic tools in the NSRL to help scientists better grasp what was happening under the hood of each runner. For example, every runner’s gait was analyzed through <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/nike-nsrl-form" target="_blank">Nike Form</a>, an algorithmic tool developed in-house by the NSRL to study a runner’s unique biomechanics. Through this data, scientists could study the athletes’ mechanics during long runs, how training impacted their mechanics over the course of the study, how their body interacted with footwear over time, and how race simulations impacted fatigue. After 10 weeks of training, each baseline test was measured again, charting how runners progressed their fitness according to their program.&nbsp;The Farm Team played an important role in testing some of the latest breakthroughs coming out of Nike Innovation, like the recently announced Picklejus, the new ACG model with a cushioning system optimized for big-mountain racing. The roster tested the shoes in the lab, trialing Picklejus during a challenging four-hour treadmill test with changes in both speed and gradient to simulate mountain-like terrain.The team’s comments on the shoe and, specifically, their ability to describe in clear terms what they needed to feel from it helped show what was working well. For example, many runners voiced a need for protective stability without sacrificing snappiness for uphill surges. The Farm Team also tested apparel prototypes that ACG pros like Miao wore for her Camins d’Hèr race.With a trove of scientific data over the 15-week residency (the Nike Form sessions alone gathered some 13 gigabytes of data per runner) the insights move in all directions. They travel down to the general product level and move up to ACG’s roster of pros, who are wringing every possible advantage out of their pre-race training, race-day strategy and post-race recovery.&nbsp;Take Caleb Olson. In October 2025, the NSRL Applied Performance Innovation teammates met with the Western States 100 winner for a mini camp in the desert of St. George, Utah, talking about his typical training and how he’s preparing for UTMB. That exchange cued unanswered questions in trail running, especially the power of downhill running. Olson asked how he could run downhills at full effort rather than conserving energy for the last descent. That question was an impetus for Nike Innovation Farm Team training: to build a training regime that could fortify Olson's body. Nike Innovation teammates created Nike products that would give him an edge — the same products tested at length by the Farm Team cohort.

“Lab data doesn’t win races,” says Kirby. “Conversations do. The data doesn’t mean anything if we can’t connect it to meaningful relationships with our athletes.”The Farm Team program wrapped in late July. Nike scientists now have their own mountain to climb in sorting through the data, and some intriguing results are bubbling up. One of them, says Kirby, is the improvement in physiological, biomechanical and psychological testing in the eccentric training group, which doesn’t resemble a traditional, blue-chip fitness program. On the mega ramp outside the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/lebron-james-innovation-center-nike-sport-research-lab" target="_blank">LeBron James Innovation Center</a>, while the runners completed punishing repeats, some of them assigned to the downhill regimen barely felt like they were breaking a sweat. This gives credibility to a convention-bucking point in the world of training: Eccentric tolerance is a training variable that must be worked into your plan.While the study’s conclusions are ongoing, the takeways are immediate. And that brings us back to Yao Miao, Camins d’Hèr and the wall.

The morning Miao began the race, she had a dedicated physiological cheat sheet at her fingertips, translated into pacing charts by the second over the technical course. It was like a menu at each stop describing which interventions to take, like whether to apply sunscreen, what fuel to eat and why, as well as researched recommendations for what product to wear. This data-backed advice came from Farm Team insights.Miao hit the cooling station at the eleventh stage. The Nike Innovation team had prescribed options: an ice bandana, cold water to pour over her head, salt tablets. They also created a cue card for her technique to help her efficiently scale the ascent: “Head down, shortest stride, poles fully engaged.” Included on that card was a concise summary of the plan to finish the race. It summed up in 27 words what Miao was feeling after more than 10 hours of peak physical exhaustion: “Final Wall. 57 minutes. Heart rate will be 96% the whole time, that IS the plan. You will feel awful, everyone does. From the top, only 8km remain.” Nobody knows exactly what will happen during the twists and turns of an ultra race. But thanks to residency programs like the Farm Team, there’s less mystery in knowing what makes an ultra runner tick.&nbsp;“The people who know athletes best are the ones who spend the most time with them — it’s that simple,” says Winn. “There’s no better way to do that than bringing them here to our house, inviting them in, and doing everything we can to support them.”

See how athlete insights from the new residency program help create better products for every ultra runner.

Trail Running

How the Nike Innovation Farm Team Is Pushing the Science of Ultra Running

All of Nike’s record-shattering, convention-breaking&nbsp;shoes began as prototypes. Many of them were disguised the same way: shrouded in black.American marathoner Conner Mantz remembers when he received the first prototype of the Vomero Premium in December of 2023. The upper was blacked out. The Zoom Air units sandwiched in the midsole foam, the shoe’s most identifiable feature, were masked with tape.&nbsp;Holding the prototype, he points to a light outline across the midsole. “You can still see the tape lines,” he says. “It was to keep people from seeing the Zoom Air units while I went on my long runs.”This step in the prototyping process, called “blinding,” is one of many ways that Nike researchers and sport scientists set the table for testing new shoes with an athlete. Part of the goal is to keep the shoe undercover from the public for as long as possible. Scientists will hide standout attributes of the shoe, like its midsole profile or its upper, whenever it’s tested in a public setting. But shrouding the prototype in mystery is intended for the athlete, too. The goal when designing these test studies is to minimize any confounding factors that could affect how an athlete performs. That includes getting past any hesitations about how odd, distinct or flat-out wild a prototype might look. Researchers work hard to isolate an athlete’s physical response when they use a new piece of tech. They don’t want any quality of a shoe to prematurely influence an athlete’s feedback. Undistracted, the athlete can focus on the straightforward experience of wearing the shoe, getting a taste for how this mysterious new tool can give them a competitive edge.

Much like its final design, the Vomero Premium’s earliest prototypes drew plenty of knee-jerk reactions at first sight. It nearly falls into a different category of maximalist footwear altogether. To a degree, that's where it belongs. The Vomero Premium is ineligible for World Athletics competition thanks to its 55mm stack height in the heel, a full bed of ZoomX foam, and two exposed Zoom units borrowed from Nike track spikes in the forefoot and the heel.&nbsp;Mantz was in a deciding moment in his competitive season. He was battling a bone injury to his femur, but the 2024 U.S. Olympic marathon Trials were fast approaching, which would determine who traveled to Paris later that summer to compete for a medal. Training was painful at times. He couldn’t get in the mileage he needed. In his transition back to road running, he needed a bold solution to help build back his stamina. What he got was a bold, new prototype to test out. But the leap from a prototype’s presentation to its adoption is easier said than done.“What I needed in my training shoe was something that could get my confidence back up,” says Mantz. “When my team showed me this new Nike prototype, it was unlike anything I’d seen before. It was a lot. You see this, and you think it’s going to be clunky to run in.”

Testing innovative prototypes with new cushioning systems like that of the Vomero Premium is a thorough process. It includes hours of exchanges between athletes, designers and scientists about which qualities of the shoe need to be turned up and which should be toned down. Just as important in the process, though, is another tall task: to channel positive belief in a product that might look and feel different from what an athlete is used to wearing.Sometimes a prototype must fight against historical preconceptions if it contains technology that was never thought to “belong” in a particular sport. Take the Nike Maxfly sprint spike. Introduced in Tokyo in 2021, the spike was the first to bring Air Zoom to the 100 meters. Seeing the pronounced Air unit in the forefoot was unusual, particularly for an event that suggests a less-is-more approach for footwear. Weren’t simpler, more minimal spikes better? Fast forward to Tokyo’s conclusion, and athletes wore the Maxfly and medaled in both the men and women’s 100 meters — and the 200-meter, the 400-meter, the 800-meter and the relay events.&nbsp;A clear premise, to dial in the plated airbag design for sprint biomechanical loads, was achieved both through adoption and through race performances.How do you convince athletes that, while what they’re currently wearing may work,&nbsp;this&nbsp;prototype they’re holding in their hands has the makings of something special?“Our main focus is trust,” says Tobie Hatfield, Nike Senior Director, Athlete* Innovation. “If athletes don’t know that you’re looking out for them as individuals, they’ll never trust the product you make for them. Everything we do has to be built on earning their trust.”Encouraging an athlete to adopt a new shoe depends on stoking that trust — emotionally, psychologically and, in the case of a shoe, biomechanically.

Trace all shoes back to their first prototypes, and you’ll find that most designs are intentionally made as visually subdued versions of the final silhouette. This allows for controlled research; the more basic a shoe looks, the less likely an athlete will form a biased opinion about it. Emily Farina, Sr. Principal, Running Footwear Research in the NSRL, recalls the earliest testing of the Vaporfly 4% prototype in the mid 2010s. She says the shoe’s initial field research went relatively unnoticed, thanks in large part to the anonymous-looking prototype. The early design would be the starting point for the groundbreaking Vaporfly 4% Elite worn by Eliud Kipchoge in Breaking 2. “If you saw the early prototype in 2015, it was hard to really know what you were looking at,” says Farina, referring to its stack height and rocker shape, two outlying qualities which have become standard for that new era of cushioned running shoes. “Validation relied on what you felt and how you performed, not what you could see. Nike brought the prototype to Eliud's running camp in Kenya. A lot of the runners had trouble understanding how the design could make them faster. That is, until they took the shoes for a tempo run, looked down at their watches, and realized they’d cut their pace by 30 seconds or more while exerting the same effort.”

The stopwatch is one of the simplest signs of biomechanical efficiency. Are you able to run faster for the same effort? If the answer is yes, persuading an athlete to continue testing a new prototype becomes a lot simpler, no matter how extreme it looks. Oftentimes the athlete comes to this realization of their improved performance in a kind of epiphany, like in the scene Farina describes, when a runner is able to accomplish something they weren't expecting and feel great while doing it. For Conner Mantz, his came during a long run in Utah, where he laced up the Vomero Premium prototype for a 22-miler with his training partners, still building up his base fitness due to the injury. He ran four of those miles at a snappy 4:30 pace. Mantz was shocked by how good he felt.“That’s when I started thinking to myself, maybe there’s something special here,” says Mantz, laughing how the prototype’s stealthy design drove his teammates nuts. “They’d ask me to just tell them what this new shoe was. I’d tell them, ‘Don’t worry about it.’”Other athletes need more information to trust a prototype. That’s why Nike scientists test athlete responses to a range of stimuli, dubbed “signals.” In footwear research, signals are different ways to evaluate a shoe’s effect on performance.When world champion Faith Kipyegon visited the NSRL in September of 2024, she underwent a number of tests that gave Nike scientists a quantitative launching pad for how to serve Faith in preparation for her four-minute mile attempt the following year. She underwent a VO2 Max test to explore her personal capacity. Another signal that's typical of NSRL visits from elite runners is a submax VO2 test, in which the athlete runs on a treadmill and swaps in different shoes while they are hooked up to an oxygen mask. The test results measure the body’s use of oxygen to perform a task. Here, in comparing one shoe to another, proof of improved performance comes through improved physiological stats.

Along with creating Faith's one-of-one track spike, Nike provided her with a whole range of Nike tools to supplement her training for Breaking4, including the not-yet-released Vomero Premium for her recovery runs.

"The Vomero Premium was a key part of my training journey," says Faith. "It's so soft, cushioned and comfortable, and it helps me train harder with less impact to allow me to recover faster and stay focused on my goal."

Breaking the Mold for Breaking4

New doesn’t always mean perfect. In the case of Faith’s attempt, designers listened to every bit of her critical feedback to get her Victory Elite FK prototype just right, like expanding the width in the forefoot or adding spikes for better traction at toe-off. Mantz’ review of the Vomero Premium prototypes were just as honest. The first prototype needed a more supportive upper, he told Nike designers and developers. After a few weeks, he had an updated version on his feet, though the second prototype felt less like a recovery shoe and more like a speedy, Alphafly-esuqe shoe. He relayed his feedback to the design teams. Another one of the updated versions had almost gone too extreme on the cushioning. It was too soft, said Mantz. The teams adjusted the midsole to find a happy medium between too soft and too race-y."Conner would always give us straight, honest feedback, which is vital to our process," says Rachel Nichols, Lead Developer, Nike Running. The feedback loop encompassed a variety of teammates across product design, working together to address Mantz' detailed review of each prototype.On and on the dialogue went, up to a fifth version of the prototype, and this one was…just right. He was back to logging 120+ mile training weeks, and what’s more, he was feeling confident again, equipped with a training shoe that was working with his body through the high volume.

You know where the story goes from here. Mantz would go on to win the 2024 US Olympic Trials, where he secured his spot for Paris, finishing eighth. Now, Mantz is using every tool in his arsenal, including the Vomero Premium, to chase a new personal milestone at the 2025 Chicago marathon: the American record of 2:05:38.&nbsp;“The Vomero Premium became this incredibly important shoe in my career. Training in the shoe helped me feel like myself again,” says Mantz. “I’m really excited for people to be able to experience it. Going through the process of testing those early prototypes, helping make the final shoe as good as it can be, meant a lot to me.”

Unflinching athlete feedback makes all products better. If a prototype has any chance to take off, incomplete versions need to be dismantled and built back up. Trust with athletes is formed not just through the successes, says Hatfield. It's formed through the failures, requiring the willingness to acknowledge when a product fell short. Shoes are never tested in a technological vacuum. Spreadsheets of positive data, oxygen masks and shrouded midsoles are all part of the magic. But trust in a new prototype begins and ends with the ordinary, relational act of listening to what athletes need.“We never want a shoe to be disguised as a solution that was looking for a problem,” says Hatfield. “That’s backwards. A shoe should start by considering a problem that needs a solution. Listening to athletes gets to the heart of their needs, and that’s where trust is formed."

Davis Jones is a Nike innovation, design and product editor. His areas of interest include sport science, performance product design and the history of sport.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Born and raised in Oregon, Davis attended the University of San Diego. Upon graduating, he worked as an editorial intern for Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He was a writer and editor for Surfer magazine before returning to the Pacific Northwest to work for Nike in 2018.&nbsp;

Davis Jones

Conner Mantz Feature Loop

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Basketball

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Short Stories

<h3>Any conversation about women in golf inevitably includes Michelle Wie-West. A phenom who picked up clubs at age 4, Michelle is a force on the greens. She was the youngest player ever to make the cut for the US Women’s Open at 13. She signed with Nike at age 15. And as a teenager, she famously fought for women's sports equality to play alongside men on the PGA circuit, debuting at an early season open in 2004 with a second-round 68 that still claims the record for the lowest PGA round by a woman.</h3><h3>Michelle went on to win the US Women’s Open and five more events on the LPGA tour. Last year, she retired from her professional golf career, earning a standing ovation as she sank her putt on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. She’d set her mind to a new goal: Growing her family. Michelle and her husband, Jonnie West, had a daughter, Makenna, in 2020, and wanted a second child — but the couple hit heartbreaking obstacles, including pregnancy loss and a difficult IVF journey.</h3><h3>Finding strength to get through hard moments is something Michelle says she’s always tapped into as an athlete. It’s those same athlete-minded traits — perseverance, dedication, passion — that she wants to instill in her daughter, and as of this past October, her new baby boy, Jagger Jerry Yoojun West.</h3><h3>Here, Michelle shares what victories look like to her now, the joy she’s found in working with Nike on products for women and mothers, and what’s next for her in sports. </h3>

To get through IVF, I drew from my experience in hardship and adversity as a professional athlete. Especially the physical aspects. As a professional golfer, I had to learn how to keep my stamina up, keep my body strong, and that helped me steel myself through the injections, the bruising. Of course, it’s not a complete one to one but I found there were many similarities to sports. You can try too hard, get frustrated, and feel stuck. I’ve learned in both that sometimes you have to let the process take over.When I think about pregnancy now, I think about it like training for a major. When I got pregnant with my first child, it was during Covid, and it happened so easily that I didn’t even think about it. Getting pregnant the second time was completely different. It didn’t come as easily. I paid more attention to preparing my body for birth. I worked with a nutritionist on an eating plan. While I couldn’t really work out too much, I was mindful about movement like walking. And I was more intentional on managing my energy levels, and my emotions as well.

Michelle Wie-West IVF

As a mom, I absolutely channel the mental training I developed as a golfer. When I’m tired, when my toddler’s crying, I tell myself to take a deep breath and not auto-react. It's like hitting a really bad shot on the green and just not letting it get to you. And just like in sports, leaning on other people is crucial too. Making sure I involve my partner, and not trying to do everything myself, not trying to be that super mom or guilt myself into that. And then sometimes I’ll just text my husband and say “I'm going to get my nails done. Figure it out.”

Being part of the <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-athlete-think-tank-second-cohort" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nike Athlete Think Tank</a> [a collective of women athletes who help advise the brand] has been a such a cool experience. I feel grateful and lucky to be welcomed into that community, and I’ve made so many amazing friends — women ranging from young girls in their teens to fellow moms. It’s been interesting to see that, while we all have different sports backgrounds, we’ve battled many of the same issues and problems. And it’s been fun and meaningful to have input into <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/all-movement-all-moments-our-next-era-of-designing-for-women" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nike women’s products</a> that have come to market, like the <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-leak-protection-period-innovation" rel="noopener noreferrer">Leak Protection Period short</a>, and to see Nike incorporate our suggestions. Part of the work I did with Athlete Think Tank was giving insights for <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-s-new-wearable-pump-compatible-sports-bra-and-easyon-shoe-give-mothers-more-support" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nike’s new Swoosh (M) Bra</a>. This nursing bra allows women to move while they express breast milk, and I’m really excited to try it out. When I was pregnant last time, the technology was just being developed, so this pregnancy I absolutely got a hands-free pump. I think the bra is <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/we-knew-women-needed-this-bra-yesterday" rel="noopener noreferrer">a gamechanger for women</a>. When you're plugged into a wall to pump, you're stuck. To be able to nurse or pump while you're, say, walking on the treadmill, doing something for yourself, is so huge. After having my daughter, I remember I would have to leave the golf course to go pump between shots. I’d have to take a hole off. With this bra, I could pump on the golf cart! It is physical, mental and emotional freedom to not have to be in the corner of a locked room every two and a half hours to pump. And I think products like this can prolong breastfeeding journeys. It’s been fun to see the Nike maternity line expand, to try out different things from the line. I also helped give insights for the Nike (M) apparel, which people think is just for pregnancy and postpartum, but can absolutely be for an IVF journey too. You get so bloated and nothing fits, and that takes a big hit on your psyche when you’re already feeling pretty low. My maternity style this second time around was tighter rib-knit dresses, two-piece sets. I wasn’t afraid to experiment. I wore a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-Vqi9eyJ0-/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nike Swim two-piece in my third trimester</a> and just sized up. I got the triangle bikini, and it was holding on for dear life. One thing I would love to see more of is people supporting women through pregnancy losses. To talk about that more, and to put supporting loss on par with supporting prepgancy. I think Nike, and all of us, has done a good job of starting to <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/this-is-a-product-that-can-change-people-s-lives" rel="noopener noreferrer">talk about periods and menstrual cycles</a>, to develop products to help support those moments, but I think there's so much more that is involved in the road to motherhood.

The Nike (M) Swoosh Bra has adjustable cups to accommodate wearable breast pumps; proprietary hardware on the straps allows individual strap drop-down for nursing; and the interior lining features Nike Leak Protection: Breast Milk, a special moisture-managing material that helps prevent visible breast milk leaks.

Periods can be a barrier to sport and movement for teens and adults — physically, mentally and emotionally. Knowing this, Nike created Leak Protection: Period, an ultrathin, absorbent liner that helps protect against period leaks to provide extra comfort and confidence. It debuted in the Nike One Leak Protection: Period Short.

Nike has extended its Nike (M) collection, adding a new dress along with refreshed tanks, tops, shorts and tights.

Nike's Expanding Pre- and Postpartum Products

What fueled me as a pro golfer was that obsession to get better, to see how good I could be. That drove me through practice and through training and through the hard times. If I didn’t have that single-minded way of thinking, I felt like I wouldn’t reach my potential. And, when I was out there pushing myself — it was fun. There was nothing more fun than playing great golf, knowing that every shot that you hit is going to be good, the putts are going to drop. And when tough times inevitably hit, you’re just trying to get back to those moments again. Throughout my career that’s what I leaned on, an insatiable desire to be back in those moments. Now, I’ve transferred some of that ambition into my family. My daughter, Makenna, is 4 years old. And I’ve loved seeing the positive impact I can make on her and how she sees the world. You know, when they're younger, you don’t really know what you’re doing, you’re just trying to keep them alive. Now, I can see her trying to emulate me, and I’m focused on being the example I want to set — showing her strong work ethic, how to self-motivate, the power of kindness and empathy. During my golf career, I tried to make bold choices, to not be afraid to fail or make a fool of myself, and those are the values I hope to instill in my daughter, my new baby. And it’s a fun ride. Makenna is just starting sports, and I am introducing her to golf, but also soccer, swimming, and she’s recently gotten into tennis. Really, I'm just her Uber driver at this point. I remember with Makenna, I was on the range 10 days after giving birth. This time I will not be doing that. I definitely want to <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/six-instant-benefits-of-running" rel="noopener noreferrer">get back into running</a>, to do Pilates and strength train and feel strong in my body again. And I still enjoy playing golf! Though tennis is my game at the moment. I’m looking forward to seeing how good I can get at that — and doing it with my daughter.

The golf champion talks about her challenges with IVF and pregnancy, and the model she wants to be for her daughter and new baby.

Nike Golf

Michelle Wie-West Is Still Breaking Barriers

Introducing Nike Forward, our most significant apparel innovation since Dri-FIT. The platform revolutionizes apparel creation by hacking punch-needle machines for the purpose of making premium sustainability-minded product. Can’t picture this? We’ll talk you through it.

Industry-Shifting Potential

Get to know Nike Forward, our most significant apparel innovation since Dri-FIT.

Nike Sportswear

How We Totally Reimagined the Hoodie

When Richard Ramsay was a basketball-obsessed teenager, he remembers how his dad would periodically chase him down the court during games to help him retie his shoelaces. Ramsay was born without his left arm, and while his disability didn’t stop him from excelling in sports like basketball and football, the challenge to complete dexterous tasks like retying a shoelace was real, and it motivated him to study the human body’s interaction with the physical world. He’d go on to study kinesiology at university, compete on his program’s basketball practice squad, and graduate into a footwear-creation career at Nike, where he eventually joined the Universal Ease team in creating more accessible performance products. He’s both a practitioner of and a validator for the gear that makes daily life more useful for all athletes.&nbsp;In the spring of 2022, Nike Lead Equipment Designer Brent Radewald met with Ramsay — now a Senior Footwear Developer — to show him a prototype of a new backpack developed for the brand’s Paralympic athletes ahead of Paris 2024.The goal: Take maybe the most purely functional piece of equipment that exists, the backpack, and make it easy for all athletes to use. Easy to open. Easy to close. Easy to stay secure.

EasyOn Backpack

“A comment we were frequently hearing from adaptive athletes was how difficult it was to open and close traditional backpacks without a high-dexterity anchor point, like a hand,” says Radewald. “If they don’t have full use of both hands, small features like zippers and pull tags can be hard to grip.”Once athletes opened the bag, the contents needed to be accessible from the very top. Someone with low dexterity, like a quadriplegic, can’t easily rummage around the base of their bag and expect to grab what they need. Each component of the bag, down to the circumference of a zipper loop, had to be efficient for athletes of all abilities to use. The product benefits couldn't be particular, but universal. With that in mind, Radewald and his team got to work.

The first step for Radewald’s team was to rethink the traditional opening system. Relying completely on a zipper to close the bag requires the zipper to travel a continuous, winding path from start to finish, which can be challenging for athletes with low motor skills. Radewald and his team brainstormed alternative ways to open the bag.

Radewald began the process of testing different sizes, strengths and orientations of magnets and hook and loop. Eventually, the team landed on a patented magnetic closure system that was backed against a TPU-reinforced lining, using the magnetic pull to “swing” the top flap shut and secure it in place.

“Magnets and hook and loops have different strengths based on the direction of the opening force,” says Radewald. “Magnets have great vertical power in keeping something tight up and down, but they don’t hold up as well to shearing forces, side to side. Hook and loops have nice shearing strength, but less vertical strength. If there was some combination of those elements that we put together, we might have something special.”

By design, the top flap can be opened using one hand when the user applies light force from on top, requiring much lower dexterity than with a traditional backpack.

For added security, a G-hook on the back of the bag loops through the top flap, keeping it sealed tight.

Rethinking the Backpack

The team would develop three more prototypes after rolling out the first EasyOn bag for testing, consulting many of Nike’s product experts, like Ramsay, for their observations. The log book describing the bag’s updates over the course of two years is filled with precise, meticulous changes: Move top zipper pocket by 1.5 centimeters. Make bottle pocket finger loop 2 centimeters wide. Of course, these improvements couldn’t just remain concepts on a product diagram; they had to be practically tested in real conditions that were comparable for athletes with low dexterity. In review sessions, Radewald and his team would attempt to open and close the bag using oven mitts and kitchen utensils like salad tongs. They also held lengthy product feedback conversations with a local wheelchair rugby team, the Portland Pounders.

The beauty of the prototype reviews, says Radewald, was how cosmetic variables like colorways — common to footwear — are secondary to equipment like backpacks. Is this backpack easy for you to use? That’s the simple question they presented to the Pounders. Based on the feedback, all signs were pointing to yes.At the same time, the adaptive athletes’ feedback revealed new opportunities. One of them, echoed by Ramsey during his feedback sessions, was creating a modular strap system.

“Many of the wheelchair athletes we worked with didn’t have a bag that worked well with their wheelchairs,” says Ramsay. “If you didn’t have wheelchair handles that were a standard width, you were out of luck in securing your bag. You’d have to move around with it on your lap.”Patented clasps on the backpack’s straps allow the user to widen or narrow the bag’s fit across wheelchair handlebars, not to mention across the athlete’s shoulders — a helpful feature that Ramsey witnessed when showing the prototype to his brother.“My brother is close to 100 pounds heavier than me, and he adjusted the same EasyOn backpack I have and wear it comfortably,” says Ramsay. “The backpack isn’t just a better bag for disabled athletes. It’s a better bag for everyone.”

This universality is what excites Radewald ahead of <a href="https://www.nike.com/t/elite-easyon-backpack-31l-tt4Q3P/HF7048-060" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the bag’s debut on nike.com this season</a>. Beyond Paralympians,&nbsp;any athlete — from pros to weekend warriors to students — can benefit from a more efficient, more intuitive backpack.“Universal design helps all athletes perform at their best,” says Radewald. “If we can create a better bag for our adaptive athletes, we create a better product for every athlete.”

Originally created for Paralympic athletes, the Nike Elite EasyOn backpack shows how universal design benefits everyone.

Nike Just Made a Better Backpack for Every Body

Are you debating whether to run today? Whether to work out? Whether to set a new, challenging goal that might scare you? Championship coach Dawn Staley has words for you. Take a listen, and make your move.

Coach Staley Motivates You to Make a Move

Dawn Staley was featured in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/citizenmagazine/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-size-small">Citizen Issue 004</a>, themed "Strange World." The issue explores the new and the unknown, the strange moments, and the strange ideas we've encountered, all through the lens of Black women, including actress and cover star Ayo Ediberi, who was photographed in Nike's The Suit.

Dawn Staley portrait by <a href="https://www.justin-french.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Justin French</a>

Follow the voice of NCAA championship coach and three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley for the motivation you need to train, to focus, to meet your next big goal.

Nike Leadership

Fan 101

The 2-Minute Pep Talk You Need to Get Moving Right Now

<h3>Loved work is hard work, says sports analyst Monica McNutt. And when it comes to basketball, she’s no stranger to putting the work in. A former Division I athlete, McNutt now covers the NBA, WNBA and women’s college basketball at ESPN and elsewhere, and literally has a front-row seat to the action. What’s it like to witness the triumphant ascendance of a sport she’s lived and loved her whole life? In a word: “Surreal.”&nbsp;</h3><h3>Fresh from the WNBA Finals, McNutt joined us at Nike’s NYHQ, ahead of announcing our <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-nba-wnba-g-league-partnership-extension" rel="noopener noreferrer">historic partnership extension</a> with the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League, to talk hoops, career and fandom. If you’re not already dedicated to the women’s game, you will be after this. Her advice to you? “Pick a city and pull up!”&nbsp; </h3>

I was there for the Liberty’s 2024 Championship win. There for game five. It's the first time that it's a winner-take-all overtime game in the finals in WNBA history. It's the first time that a series has two overtime matchups in the five-game set.To be in that arena, to celebrate with this current iteration of the New York Liberty, and then to turn around and see Liberty legend Teresa Weatherspoon with tears streaming down her face… it was this culmination of the athletes I loved and grew up watching as a young girl in ’97 through the early 2000s, when the league was in its formative years. Fast forward 28 years to 18,000 fans in Barclays Center; Ellie, the Liberty mascot, is an icon; it’s like a super team of sorts. It’s this incredible combination of the past and the present, basically the trailblazers and the players taking it to the next level.&nbsp; When you call a game, you want to educate and entertain. This year, there was definitely more emphasis on educating. Because, yes, it's a bigger audience — we're so glad you're here — but there's some steps and people and names you should know. There’s a dance of how to infuse and capitalize on the energy of the now while paying homage and respect to how we got here.Big-picture conversation? Across society, it's so easy for us to each be in our silos. And it’s easy to think that, because the women’s game is showing up in your algorithm over and over, that mainstream has truly caught on. I don't know if that's true. Yes, this year we've seen monster progress with incredible viewership across the WNBA and women's college basketball. But I still think we have a long way to go. One thing that I love to do when I’m calling a game, especially on the road, is to check out local podcasts. What’s been the conversation in the community? Either for both teams if I'm traveling to do a national game, or if I'm traveling with the Knicks to do a Knicks game. I think podcasting has given us this unique lens into the fan experience, because fans are smart and engaged and locked in. You can pick up really cool insights. Sport is so much about the community, and that’s where I find some of my favorite nuggets.&nbsp;

Sport allows us to have conversations. It brings together community and it empowers people, particularly our young women. There's so much <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-and-the-tucker-center-are-partnering-to-keep-girls-in-sport" rel="noopener noreferrer">research on women who go on to be leaders and C-suite executives because of their background in sport</a>. And if you're interested in sport at all, there's a seat for you in the women’s game. Come check it out. Show respect and pay homage to these athletes for doing incredible things. Basically, pick a city and pull up!&nbsp;For girls in sport, I’m already seeing a boldness and an audacity and expectation. I'll be 35 this month, but I vividly remember, not so long ago, boys getting certain things we didn't get. And it was like, “Hold up, let me get this straight: They ain't won no tournament games and I have, but they get the better X, Y, and Z?!”This generation has shown us that multiple things can be true. I can be incredibly appreciative of the opportunity in front of me and also say, “Hey, we're deserving of more as student athletes on this campus.” This generation’s willingness to speak up for themselves and ask for better, even if the conditions might not be poor, but to say, “this can be improved” — I think that's dope.&nbsp;Two career moments stick with me where I knew I was doing the right work. The first was 2021. South Carolina and UConn were one and two in the country in women's NCAA basketball and I called the game with broadcaster Lisa Byington. Incredible contest: <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/behind-the-scenes-of-paige-bueckers-new-york-fashion-week" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paige Bueckers</a>, Aliyah Boston, <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/a-ja-wilson-and-dawn-staley-on-their-coach-player-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dawn Staley</a>, Geno Auriemma. I remember waking up that day feeling like they were gonna call me and say they were putting somebody else in. It was huge for me. And then, last year's Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, Knicks versus Sixers. That finish will be something I remember for the rest of my career. The rest of my life, frankly.&nbsp;

My advice for young women looking to advance in sport: Have a healthy relationship with the word “no.” Use it to protect yourself and your dreams and receive it without it decimating your aspirations. And that can be tough. Sports are so saturated. There's a reason people want to get into it! It's competitive, just like the actual games. You need to have a certain level of toughness to keep navigating the series of “no’s” that are, frankly, inevitable.Second, you gotta be where your feet are. The only thing in life that is truly inevitable is change and for a lot of us — byproducts of American society, Millennials down to Gen Z, whoever — we want to skip steps. But there's no microwave. You know what I'm saying? Let it slow cook. Learn what you're supposed to learn in each season and enjoy it. Because if the job takes over your life, you may miss out on some of the things personally, right? So, while you've got balance, or maybe your personal life is the leader in the clubhouse, enjoy it, because it can change.&nbsp;Movement is a nonnegotiable for me. It's funny, for ex-athletes, I find it takes a long time to develop the soft workout regimen because it's like, “If I'm not sweating or burning 1,000 calories, did I do anything?!” And now, being a bit older and not competing at a high level anymore, you learn the importance of different modalities and listening to your body. I am always down to throw around some kettlebells. I love a good Pilates class. Even walks, right? Getting outside, taking in some fresh air, just moving my body. That’s one of the things I took from my athlete foundation. You have to move, for your muscles and your mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;Thinking about the next season of the W, I’m thrilled about the expansion. I think when you've got a charter organization like the Liberty that finally gets their championship, you got new organizations coming in, you've got athletes that are connecting both on and off the court, brands as big as ever — it makes you think, “What is it going to look like in 10 to 15 years when the generation of girls that got to watch this version of the WNBA are turning pro and becoming college athletes on their own?” You can only imagine that the boldness is going to continue. And the talent. You got Caitlin Clark coming out of college knocking down all those records, having a historic rookie season. You got JuJu Watkins coming behind her. The talent keeps growing. And a true love for the game.&nbsp;

The acclaimed sports analyst calls the shots on the future of the game.

Nike Basketball

Monica McNutt Says We Haven’t Even Come Close to Peak Women’s Sports

<h3>In 2011, Faith Kipyegon walked the grounds at Unhuru Gardens in Nairobi, Kenya, the wind tossing the long grass in her path. She was 16 years old and competing in the junior division of the Kenyan National Cross Country Championships, recognized as one of the most competitive races in the world, a 6-kilometer sprint over rough, hilly terrain through Kenya’s Rift Valley. After checking out the race course on a leisurely walk, the only variable that mattered to Faith was, poetically, the matter under her feet. “I took one look at the texture of the grass, how soft it was, and I told my coach ‘I’m not going to use my spikes today. I’m going to win barefoot,’” she says. And she did.</h3><h3>In some ways, Faith Kipyegon, now 30, still describes herself as that same, barefooted young runner who believed she could go the distance. Her performance in Paris this summer secured her place in track lore as the only runner, man or woman, to win three back-to-back gold medals in the 1,500 meter. Her 2023 campaign, when she set world records in the 1,500m, the mile, and the 5,000m, is considered one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of track and field. In other ways, her identity as a runner has fundamentally changed, particularly since the 2018 addition of her very junior training partner, her daughter Alyn.&nbsp;</h3><h3>Here, Faith shares more on her dominant career, the intersection of motherhood and running identity, the one thing Alyn needs after a victory by her mother, and more.&nbsp;</h3> Running barefoot has always felt comfortable to me. When I started running competitively at 14, I was given spikes to wear for the first time. I was happy to have them, but feeling as comfortable in spikes as I was while running barefoot took a long time. I even turned down wearing spikes a few times. Now, I still can’t believe how I’m running in the fastest spikes on the planet.Running is a shared childhood experience in Kenya. I grew up in a small village called Ndababit, in Nakuru country, about 140 miles west of Nairobi. From the time I was in preschool, we’d run four kilometers to school, run back home for lunch, run back to school, and then run four kilometers home, every day through the 8th grade.When young runners from the next generation watch me compete, I want them to see freedom — the freedom to challenge themselves in new ways. My 2024 season was beautiful. I was thankful for competing in the 5,000m in Paris and the 1,500m, which happened a few days later. But when I held that silver medal from the 5,000m, I thought to myself, “I can’t let this disturb my 1,500 dreams.” So I put that silver medal away. I had to be mentally strong to achieve my goal in the 1,500m.Motherhood gives me life as a runner. I’ve gotten extra energy from being a mother to Alyn. She sees how committed I am, how hard I work. During the season, she understands that I go to training camp from Monday to Saturday, and then I go back home, only to spend one day with her. It’s really not easy, but she understands the sacrifices I’m making. She motivates me to work as hard as I can.I talk to my daughter before every race. She normally says the same thing to me: She wishes me all the best, and she asks me to bring chocolate back home — and the gold medal.

Motherhood can affect how you see your running career. My approach to Rio, Tokyo and Paris were all totally different. My first gold medal in Rio, I was 22, so young. I was still running for myself. In Tokyo, I had my daughter around me, but she was only three years old, and she couldn’t fully understand what I was doing. She was watching me and going, “Mommy’s running,” not, “Mommy’s running for a gold medal.”&nbsp;In Paris, she knows what it’s like when I win, but she also knows what it’s like when I lose. After the 5,000 in Paris, she called me and asked, “Mom, why were you in position two this time? What happened?” It’s very difficult to explain to a child what happened in a race while still being a role model to her. It’s totally different from Rio. Today, I’m running to inspire my daughter and other young girls like her.All athletes have something that exists outside their comfort zone. For me, that’s swimming. I remember in 2011 when I was in Punta Umbria for the youth international cross country championships. I met with my team at one of the local lakes to celebrate. I looked down at the water, believing it was this shallow pool. I jumped in. The next thing I knew, the water was up to my ears, and I couldn’t hear anything. Swimming is the one thing I wish I was better at.When I reach the end of my career, I want to be known for empowering all women, and especially new mothers. It’s possible to be a mother, go on maternity leave, and come back even stronger than before. Being a mother is not the end of your career. It’s the beginning of a new chapter.

The middle-distance champion on her dominant career, the intersection of motherhood and running identity, and more.

How Faith Kipyegon Empowers Herself — and All Women Runners

<h3>Nike's spent more than 50 years powering sports, shaping culture, and breaking barriers through its iconic innovation, storytelling and athletes. To help launch the company into its next 50, Elliott Hill is stepping in as the new President &amp; CEO of NIKE, Inc. Hill is a natural leader for the brand — gregarious, curious, and passionate about Nike culture. He's clear on the opportunities ahead.</h3>“We will put the athlete* at the center of everything we do,” he says. “We’re a company of dreamers, optimists, and inventors, and our eyes are on the future — we’re going to simplify and go.” Kicking off his 33rd year at the brand, Hill shares what it's like being back at the Swoosh and what's next for Nike.

Elliott Hill On Coming Home

I was raised in Austin, Texas by a single mom who was a school teacher — she taught almost 51 years, even taught summer school to raise two kids. Watching her helped create the values that I have today. Hard work, commitment, passion, compassion, consideration. My mom was, despite how busy she was, always the first person in the neighborhood doing the extra work and showing up for others. What drives me to this day are the values that she instilled in me. And I think you see some of that when I'm walking around on campus, it's that know-no-stranger response, to treat every human being like they matter.I grew up in a diverse, blue-collar neighborhood where sports were a daily part of our lives. We lived out in the streets. We played traditional sports, sports we made up — we were out there having fun, always at the rec center down the street. For me, those experiences shaped a lifelong love and passion for all kinds of sports and all kinds of people.

"I Could Go Deeper On My Love of Sports"

I landed at Nike after writing a paper on the brand in grad school. That was the moment when I fell in love with the idea of working here. I knew that I wanted to work in the sports world, but I thought it would be through a college athletic department or maybe a professional team. When writing my paper on Nike, suddenly a light bulb went off and I realized that I had to think more creatively. And then I l got lucky. A guy named Tim Joyce came to do a lecture at my university. After, I went up to him and said, “I want to work for Nike.” I kept following up for the next six months. Eventually, I called him and said, “Tim, you haven’t said no to me and you haven't said yes. I'm going to keep calling until you tell me no.” Two days later, on a Friday, I got a little pink slip telling me he called, and I called him back from a payphone. He said, “If you want to work for Nike, be in Memphis on Monday.” I hung up, loaded everything I owned into my car and went to Memphis, Tennessee. My first day was June 1, 1988.One of my most memorable Nike moments was the first time I flew out to Portland, Oregon, in 1990, for a sales meeting downtown on the waterfront. We go outside for the opening and there’s a brand heat video on that was blowing people’s minds. The folks around me were going nuts. The video kept building, and I realize we're seeing the “Just Do It” ad campaign being screened for the first time, right in front of us. I thought, “I am in the middle of something I never imagined I was going to be a part of.” The love and the energy and the feeling that everybody had together at that meeting was incredible. I'll never forget it. And that became the Nike standard for me.

No looking backward. The Nike team and its new President & CEO are harnessing the company’s magic to move it to a stronger future.

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Nike Just Made a Better Backpack for Every Body

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Monica McNutt Says We Haven’t Even Come Close to Peak Women’s Sports

How Faith Kipyegon Empowers Herself — and All Women Runners

Elliott Hill on Nike’s Next Great Chapter

An Unforgettable Canvas: The Making of the Air Jordan XX Doernbecher Freestyle

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