Buyer's Guide Carbon Run Shoes

They've revolutionised running and are collecting a deluge of data and world records in their wake. But do you need carbon run shoes and what are the pitfalls?

- By Matt Baird

Pioneering tri brand Zoot made a carbon running shoe, the Ultra TT 4.0, back in 2014. But it wasn’t until Nike’s Breaking 2 project was launched in 2016 that the carbon super shoe revolution truly began. In attempting to break the mythical two-hour men’s marathon record, the brand delivered one of the world’s best examples of combining pioneering sporting technological advancements with a marketing bonanza.

Adidas, Asics, New Balance, Saucony and more all followed suit, resulting in marathon times plummeting; a running speed revolution akin to the Speedo LZR Racer suit in the pool at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Elite triathlon is no different: in 2022, Norway’s Gustav Iden smashed the Ironman world championship run course record in a version of the new On Cloudboom Echo 3, and all top-10 finishers utilised carbon on their Hawaiian marathons.

The big question, though, is do age groupers really need carbon soles to achieve their multisport goals? At this year’s London Marathon, for example, around half of the 45,000 racers wore carbon shoes, with studies showing that runners in the 3:30 to 4hr range cut their marathon time by around five minutes (more overleaf).

So, while the science- and results-based evidence is stacking up in favour of carbon-plated pumps, not all super shoes are equal, as the multitude of maximal sneakers on the following pages show. It’s best to ask yourself what are your tri goals and ballpark budget? Turn over for more buying advice and nine of 2023’s best super shoes put through their paces…