Nike Motiva Brings Ease to Walking, Jogging and Running

No matter how you choose to move, Nike believes the product you wear should make exercise better, whether you’re motivated by a feeling or a finish line. Just as the very definition of sport continues to become more personal, variable and redefined across activities, Nike has fundamentally shifted how it serves and supports women’s fitness journeys — whatever that may look like.

The Nike team noticed that the majority of women logging their first workout on the Nike Run Club app were averaging a 13-minute mile. But they weren’t just running at that pace — they were fluctuating between walking, jogging, running, starting and stopping throughout their activity.

This observation sparked an exploration of new ways to better serve this athlete’s unique experience on the go through meaningful innovation.

Drawing on its culture of innovation, Nike designers and scientists met with more than 1,000 people whose fitness routine consists of walking, jogging and running to better understand their needs. Through hundreds of interviews and focus group hours both in the Nike Sport Research Lab and in people’s communities, Nike teams knew that stop-start-slow pacing patterns often result from fatigue, causing discomfort and frustration. And they knew that this experience was keeping people from truly enjoying their movement — sometimes well before they could enjoy it or feel the physical and mental payoff of their workouts. This motivated teams to focus on creating a shoe that would help make exercise more enjoyable and ultimately motivate people to keep going.

Enter Nike Motiva, a new shoe designed to help you move more with comfort and ease. “In designing Motiva, we really went after removing distractions, addressing the discomfort that can go along with how you feel both during and after an activity,” says Dr. Emily Farina, Principal Researcher in the Nike Sport Research Lab. “The result is a shoe that can help reduce disruptions in your stride to make moving feel smoother — and, we hope, help you want to come back for more.”

All-New Rocker Geometry
Looking at insights, the Nike team understood that at a slower pace, people are more likely to strike the ground heel first. The sole of the Nike Motiva features an exaggerated rocker that helps provide a smooth transition as you move forward. The rocker helps ease your foot to the ground after heel impact before helping to roll your foot forward to push back off for your next step.

Comfortable Cushioning
The Nike Motiva was built to make every move more comfortable.

The more cushioning underfoot, the softer and more comfortable an experience on the go can be. Full-length Cushlon 3.0 foam in the Nike Motiva midsole is designed to provide cushioning to help soften the impact as your feet hit the ground. New ComfortGroove bumps on the outsole help make the underfoot experience even softer, compressing where and when you need it. Any bit of energy return a shoe could give back to the wearer means they may feel less fatigued. Less work, more fun.

A soft foam waterfall collar hugs the ankle and heel, while an internal half-bootie helps you seamlessly get the shoe on and off with ease.

All-New Fit
Throughout testing, testers told Nike that a narrow shoe is not their preferred fit. So the team built the Nike Motiva on a new, data-driven last, delivering the widened forefoot, arch and toe box testers asked for.

The Nike Motiva will be available in May at nike.com and in select Nike stores and other specialty retailers.

To learn more about Nike Motiva and other Nike Women's innovations, check out "All Movement, All Moments."