Ward’s holy-smokes experience was common in the early days of super shoes. Also common was the belief that the carbon-fiber plates in super shoes acted as springs that led to being faster in the shoes ...

But speed isn’t the only thing affected. Shoes themselves look different now. Nike super shoes, such as the Vaporfly (top) and Alphafly (bottom), ushered in a new era of not only performance but shoe ...

There’s some novelty in all the bulbous midsoles and neon colorways, and I have loved wearing many of them—but these super ...

And I say, “Well, super shoes didn’t exist yet ... high-stack shoes to a traditional racing flat (the Asics Hyper Speed). Five of the seven were statistically better than the Hyper Speed ...

These benefits are true not only of super shoes, but of everyday models. Improved performance: a study published in 2022 compared running economy in seven plated, high-stack shoes to a traditional ...