Do better shoes help you run faster?

更好的跑鞋能让你跑得更快吗？

Yes, but the benefits won’t last

能，但效果无法持久

Modern competitive running entered a new era in 2016, when Nike began distributing a prototype trainer to elite runners. The new shoes were designed to look like Nike’s top publicly available model, the Zoom Streak 6, but the soles featured a revolutionary new design. 

现代竞技跑步在2016年迈入了一个新时代。那年耐克开始向精英运动员发放原型跑鞋。这款新鞋外观设计与当时市售顶级鞋款 Zoom Streak 6颇为相似，但鞋底采用了革命性新设计。

Athletes wearing the prototype shoes took home all three medals at the men’s Olympic marathon in Rio de Janeiro that year. Regular runners were able to get their hands on them in 2017 when the company unveiled the Zoom Vaporfly 4% (the figure refers to efficiency gains measured in lab tests), the first true super shoe.

在里约热内卢奥运男子马拉松比赛中，穿着这款原型鞋的选手包揽了全部三枚奖牌。普通跑者直到2017年才得以体验这款划时代产品——当耐克正式推出 Zoom Vaporfly 4%（这个命名源自实验室测得的4%效能提升数据），第一双真正的超级跑鞋就此诞生。

“Most super shoes follow the same pattern,” explains Jens Jakob Andersen, founder of RunRepeat.com, a website that road-tests trainers and dissects them to reveal their secrets. 

专业跑鞋测评网站 RunRepeat.com 创始人延斯·雅各布·安德森解释道：“大多数超级跑鞋都遵循相同设计原理。”

They typically have curved soles made of a stiff carbon plate sandwiched between layers of specially engineered springy foam. The result is often very thick—up to 40mm tall at the heel, the maximum allowed for competitive racing (regular trainers are usually around 25-35mm tall).

这类跑鞋通常采用弧形鞋底设计，核心结构是在多层特制弹性泡棉中嵌入刚性碳纤维板。这种设计往往导致鞋底异常厚实——后跟高度可达40毫米（符合竞赛用鞋最大限高标准，普通跑鞋通常在25-35毫米之间）。

These features make running easier. Lab tests have shown that recreational runners use less oxygen and report feeling less tired while jogging in premium trainers compared with regular ones. 

这些设计特点让跑步变得更加轻松。实验室数据显示，与普通跑鞋相比，业余跑者穿着高端跑鞋时耗氧量更少，自我疲劳感知度更低。

Platformed soles encourage a slightly longer stride, which means fewer steps per kilometre. And a squishy base, which absorbs impact before bouncing back up, eases the strain on leg muscles. By reducing the energy needed to maintain normal pace, super shoes allow runners to put more effort into going faster.

加厚鞋底有助于略微增加步幅，意味着每公里步数减少。柔软鞋底在吸收冲击力后迅速回弹的特性，能有效缓解腿部肌肉压力。通过降低维持常规配速所需能耗，超级跑鞋让跑者有余力提升速度。

The results are clear. Our analysis shows that, of the 50 fastest men’s marathon times, only nine predate 2017; the figure for women is just three. In the eight years since the launch of the Nike Vaporfly, more than three times as many men’s marathons were completed in under two hours and five minutes than in the eight preceding years. 

效果显而易见。我们的数据分析显示：男子马拉松50个最快成绩中，仅9个诞生于2017年前；女子项目这个数字更是仅有3个。自耐克 Vaporfly 问世后八年内，跑进2小时05分的男子马拉松人次是前八年的三倍多。

Before super shoes, only 26 women’s races had been run in less than 2:20. In 2024 alone there were 35. High-tech trainers have been estimated to shave between one and four minutes off elite marathon times.

在超级跑鞋出现前，女子跑进2小时20分的赛事仅26场；仅2024年就有35场达到该标准。据估算，高科技跑鞋能让精英马拉松选手的成绩提高1到4分钟。

Regular runners benefit too. In 2019 the New York Times analysed real-world marathon times to measure the speed gains attributable to Nike’s Vaporfly or Next%—the leading shoes at the time. 

普通跑者同样受益。2019年《纽约时报》通过分析真实马拉松数据，测算当时领先的耐克 Vaporfly 和 Next% 系列带来的速度增益。

Using data from Strava, a fitness app where users post details of their workouts, they found that runners wearing super shoes completed races 4-5% faster than those in average trainers, even after controlling for ability and training. Their analysis also showed that wearing the premium shoes gave runners a 73% chance of setting a personal best.

基于健身应用 Strava（用户可上传训练数据）的数据显示：在控制跑者能力和训练水平变量后，穿着超级跑鞋的参赛者完赛时间比普通跑鞋快4%-5%。分析还表明，穿着高端跑鞋创造个人最佳成绩的概率高达73%。

This extra speed doesn’t come cheap. Adidas’s top model, the Pro Evo 1—worn by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa during her record-breaking Berlin marathon in 2023—cost $500 and are marketed as a single-race shoe. As the miles add up, most super shoes quickly lose grip and the foam in the sole deteriorates, dampening their signature springiness.

然而，速度的提升代价不菲。阿迪达斯旗舰款 Pro Evo 1（埃塞俄比亚选手蒂吉斯特·阿瑟法2023年穿着该鞋在柏林马拉松破世界纪录）售价500美元，官方定位是“一次性比赛用鞋”。随着使用里程增加，多数超级跑鞋会快速出现抓地力下降、泡棉老化等问题，标志性回弹性随之衰减。

So, with a big race approaching, and money to spend on new kicks, runners may wonder about the best sneaker strategy. In Mr Andersen’s opinion, super shoes should be broken in a little: he suggests around 20-50km of pre-race use to reduce the risk of blisters and improve race-day performance (some foams get bouncier after a small amount of wear). Buying a new pair of shoes for every race makes for an expensive habit, but it could be worth it for those desperately chasing a personal best.

临近大赛又预算充足的跑者常会纠结最佳用鞋策略。安德森建议：超级跑鞋需要提前磨合——赛前穿着训练20-50公里既能降低起泡风险，又能提升比赛表现（部分泡棉材质经适度穿着后回弹性更佳）。每场比赛换新鞋虽是奢侈习惯，但对迫切追求个人最佳成绩者而言，或许值得投资。

（红色标注词为重难点词汇）

重难点词汇：

prototype [ˈprəʊtətaɪp] n. 原型；样机

squishy [ˈskwɪʃi] adj. 柔软而有弹性的；湿软的