One telling quote came from high school wunderkind Hobbs Kessler, who recently raced the pros in a pair of Nike Dragonflys. The shoes do work, returning an estimated 80-90% more energy to the runner, compared to 60% in recent models. The arms race isn’t going anywhere, especially when Nike Running - endlessly creative, terribly insecure Nike Running - is in the lead. Unlike swimming, which long ago took pains to preserve its pre-tech record book, running seems to have made its bed. Is this good for the sport? That depends. That’s what brands like Reebok or Brooks are betting on: keep their athletes fast and happy until they can provide them with something to close the gap, something to make the race less about the shoes and more about the runners. Long-distance runners are simply making sure they don’t get left behind, and doing what they can to wear a pair to the starting line. Olympic Track & Field trials in Eugene, Oregon - and the ubiquity of rigid plates in the running world, no one is waiting for a “ban” that will likely never come. But this time around, with the stakes even higher - this past weekend, Tokyo-hopefuls competed at the U.S. In the past, the speed of the Nike Vaporfly miffed marathoners who didn’t have a pair to lace up on race day. What’s going on here? Well, Nike has made yet another ridiculously fast (borderline- controversially fast) shoe, and there’s a good reason most amateur runners can’t get their hands on a pair: they’re being gobbled up by all the pros. The Dragonfly has been out of stock at Nike’s shop for weeks now, while various anonymous purveyors throughout the net can only offer useless sizes at marked-up rates (its usual retail cost is $195, but on certain sites, the spikes are currently selling for as much as $589). That effort has been a little too successful. The track spike is the Swoosh’s first attempt at bringing ZoomX technology - a combination of carbon plates and energy-returning foam - to the oval, after years of marathoners setting records with it on the roads. Unless you’re a size 14.5, it’s pretty much impossible to get the Nike Dragonfly right now. Nike Dragonfly track spikes being laced up
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