The rise of “super shoes” is being credited with most of the world’s long distance records being smashed in recent years.
The trend continued on the weekend when Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich became the first woman to run a marathon in under two hours and 10 minutes in an event in Chicago.
This was almost two minutes faster than the previous record.
Chepngetich dedicated her win to countryman Kelvin Kiptum who set the world record in the same city last year but was killed in a car accident earlier this year.
The Athletic reported that the rise of so-called super shoes like the Nike Vaporfly had helped shave about four minutes off previous marathon records.
It said the new shoes boosted the energy gained from a runner’s spring.
Similar to the debate about full body suits in swimming, concerns are being raised about whether the shoe technology has moved into the realm of “shoe doping”.
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola won the New York City marathon in 2023, breaking a 12-year old record by two minutes wearing a new generation Adidas shoe.
Another Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa won the Berlin Marathon in what was regarded as an astonishing time of two hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds – a time now beaten by Chepngetich’s efforts on the weekend.
