Sonia O’Sullivan takes Nike coaching role in Oregon

 

A recent Irish Times article by Ian O'Riordan reported on how the 2000 Olympic silver medalist over 5,000 metres Sonia O'Sullivan is taking up an assistant coaching role with Nike for the run up to the Tokyo Olympics.

In the interview, Sonia O'Sullivan said... “It all evolved quite quickly, and once we started talking, it felt like an instinctual decision for me, something I felt I’d like to do. I won’t know what it’s fully about until I’m out there, but to be a part of a fully professional set-up, with a good budget behind them, to get the best possible out of the athletes, is something I’m excited about”.

Full story on the Irish Times website HERE

NIKE announce details of the new controversial Alphafly shoe

Nike have recently released photos and details of their new Air Zoom Alphafly Next% running shoe and this is what it looks like...

The first thing that jumps out of the picture is the size of that sole! It is 39.5mm thick which is just under the new guidelines of 40 mm or less imposed by the World Athletics body.

The controversial NIKE Vaporfly shoes introduced in 2016 is supposed to make runners up to 4% more efficient. The new Aphlafly has claims of up to 8%!

Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya wore them to break the two-hour marathon barrier in October of 2019 in Austria.

In a press relase, Nike said...“The groundbreaking research that led to the original Vaporfly unlocked an entirely new way of thinking about marathon shoes. Once we understood the plate and foam as a system, we started thinking about ways to make the system even more effective. That’s when we struck upon the idea of adding Nike Air to store and return even more of a runner’s energy and provide even more cushioning.”



The new shoes will be available to elite athletes at first but should be available for the general public to purchase in a few months time.

The expected retail price is about $250 / €250.

Like the Nike Vaporfly, these new shoes will have a limited life span of probably less than 200 miles.

NIKE Vaporfly Shoes - Should they be banned???

NIKE Vaporfly 4% Flyknit shoes

Here they are, the controversial shoes! Since they were introduced, the NIKE Vaporfly 4% shoes have had a huge impact on the running world with many records being broken.

Back in October of 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran the marathon distance in under two hours by wearing these shoes. In the same month, Brigid Kosgei set a new world record for women by running 2h 14m 04s in the Chicago Marathon.

The 'Vaporfly' effect has filtered its way now down to local road races where the competitive runners feel that are at a disadvantage if they don't wear them.

NIKE Vaporfly's in evidence at the start of a local road race

How they work... The NIKE Vaporfly shoes has a very lightweight and flexible material called Pebax built into the sole. This foam in the midsole both absorbs or cushions the foot at impact and then as it springs back into shape to help propel the runner forward. It is estimated that about 85% of the energy stored in compression is released back to the foot pushing forward.

The shoes also contain a controversial carbon fibre plate which acts as a lever. This has the effect of giving an extra kick when pushing forward.

The net effect of the cushioning and the level action has the effect of improving running economy by an estimated 4%. This results in faster times especially over the longer distances.

Cutaway of the Vaporfly shoe showing the various levels

NIKE have already released their next generation of the controversial shoe with the NIKE ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%.

NIKE ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%

Why the controversy?? ...

a) Unfair... Many feel that the Varorfly shoes give competitors an unfair advantage. In the past, it was a case of whoever was the better athlete would win a race. Now if both are pretty evenly matched, it's probably the person wearing the Vaporfly's that will win.

b) Records... The extra efficiency of the NIKE Varporflys also means that old records are falling by the wayside. It's not that the new record holder was a better athlete than the older one but the fact they had access to the new Vaporfly shoes.

Mary Wittenberg, the former head of the New York Road Runners and the New York Marathon quipped that races results and records should have an asterisk with BV and AV - Before Vaporflys and After Vaporflys.

c) Cost... The NIKE Vaporfy 4% shoes currently retail for about €200 with the newer NEXT% retailing for about €275. As running shoes go, that's pretty expensive and when you factor in the lifespan of just 150 miles or 250 kms then that's expensive.

Running has traditionally been open to all regardless of wealth. As long as you could afford a reasonable pair of shoes then you were at the same level as everyone else. The expense and short lifespan of the NIKE Vaporflys may prove to be a factor for some at the competitive end of the sport.

This 21 minute podcast from RTE features Joe Warne talking about the Vaporflys. It's worth a listen if you have an interest in the subject...




Should they be banned??? Or I guess that should be two questions.... should they be banned and can they be banned.

When they first appeared, the Vaporflys were very much an issue for just a few elite runners. Now that most of the elite runners wear them and since they have appeared at all of the local road races, it has become more of an issue.

Should they be banned? Some say they should be for the reasons outlined already. Others will take the view that shoes evolve. It's new technology and the new controversial shoes are just part and parcel of equipment and gear getting better over time.

As for can they be banned? Who is going to ban them?

Some say that it should be the IAAF, the international federation for athletics. The main focus of the IAAF however is on athletics... i.e. track and field, not road races. NIKE is a major sponsor of athletics which is in decline whereas NIKE sell huge numbers of shoes to road runners. Will the IAAF bite the hand that feeds them?

An IAAF ban would also mean pretty much nothing to the average runner turning up for a road race, they'll just wear them anyway.

And then there is the legal issue. You can't just ban a shoe just because you don't like them. If the IAAF did that then NIKE would quite rightfully be entitled to sue them for a loss of earnings. Any particular shoe probably can't be banned but the specifications of exactly what is a running shoe could be defined. And again, that would probably apply only to elite athletes as the vast majority of runners will carry on with the Varorflys regardless.

Some have said that they should be banned at local races in Cork. The race organisers can't even stop people from wearing headphones let alone asking them not to run in a certain type of shoe.

What do you think? Should they be banned? I kind of think that the cats out of the bag at this stage and there's no going back.

Leave a comment below.... (Please, no comments about any local individuals winning a particular race or their times. Stick to commenting on the shoes)

€250 Nike Vaporfly Shoes...Value for Money???

When Eliud Kipchoge broke the marathon record in Berlin in September, he was wearing Nike Vaporfly 4% running shoes. There has been a huge amount of publicity and hype about this shoe and its performance of late. At roughly $250 or €250 a pair, they're certainly not cheap.

Nike claim the shoes can improve performance by as much as 4% and there has been a huge demand for them. At the recent New Work Marathon Expo, people were queuing up to buy them. Think about that... a $250 sale every minute or so for hours on end.

Do they live up to the hype though?

The shoes contain a curved, carbon-fiber plate embedded in a thick layer of lightweight foam. Tests done with fast male runners determined that the 4% shoe slightly changed how the men ran. This reduced the amount of muscular activity around their ankles and feet and lessened the amount of energy they burned. It seems that the internal structure acts like a lever instead of a spring and this leads to improved efficiency.

It's one thing improving the efficiency of highly trained athletes but will the shoes work for the ordinary Joe Soap?

As Dr.Kram who supervised one of the studies said....“The shoes might help” to shave a minute or five from a plodding runner’s 10K or half-marathon finishing time But, realistically many people will get much more than a 4 percent improvement from more training and maybe a little weight loss.”

On the other hand, €250 for something that will last perhaps 6-12 months is small beer compared to the entry fees of some of the big marathons.

As the saying goes... Caveat Emptor.

More information about the Nike Vaporfly studies can be seen on the New York Times website.

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya runs a 2:00:25 Marathon

In a highly publicised event, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya ran a 2 hour and 25 second marathon in Italy on Saturday the 6th of May 2017. While the time was more than two and a half minutes faster than the official world record of 2:02:57 set by Dennis Kimetto in 2014, it won't count as a new record due to several factors.

a) He was joined by teams of pacers which isn't allowed in a normal marathon.

b) The team of pacers adopted an arrowhead formation behind a Tesla electric car with a giant clock timer on it. This would have greatly reduced the wind resistance.

c) Kipchoge was given sports drinks delivered by helpers on mopeds, another practice not allowed in major marathons.

NIKE are reported to have spent in the region of 2 million dollars in the sub 2 hour marathon attempt with Kipchoge alone said to have got $1 million to participate in the attempt instead of doing a major city marathon.

As you can see, the pace was an incredible 4m 26s per mile for 26.2 miles. He was on course at the half way mark with a time of 59m 58s but slowed slightly in the second half.

Afterwards, Kipchoge said in an interview “This journey has been a long one. It has been hard. It has taken seven good months of preparation and dedication but I am a happy to run a marathon in just over two hours. I think the world now is just 25 seconds away.”


While the time was not an official record, it shows that the current record is under threat. Kipchoge is expected this at some stage in the future.

Closing stage of attempt...

Kenyan wins Berlin Marathon in 2:04 with his insoles hanging out

One of the big talking points this week across the various running media sites is how Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya won the Berlin Marathon last weekend in a time of 2 hours and 4 minutes despite the fact that the insoles of his shoes came loose from as early as the one mile mark.

These are the six fastest marathon times on record eligible courses.

Fastest Marathoners on Record-Eligible Course: Men
Dennis Kimetto (Kenya)    2:02:57    Berlin, 2014
Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya)    2:03:13    Berlin, 2014
Wilson Kipsang (Kenya)    2:03:23    Berlin, 2013
Patrick Makau (Kenya)    2:03:38    Berlin, 2011
Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)    2:03:59    Berlin, 2008
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)    2:04:00    Berlin, 2015

The question that everyone is asking is how fast could Kipchoge have run if he didn't have problems with his shoes? Would he have broken the world record which was 63 seconds faster? After the race, he said...“There are blisters on the left foot and my big toe is cut, with lots of blood”...which certainly suggests that it must have had an impact on his finish time.

As for the shoe, it would seem that it was a special type of prototype racing flat from Nike. Even though it had been 'tested' beforehand, the insoles weren't glued properly and the Kipchoge's powerful forefoot striking and paw-back motion caused the insole to fail and be pushed backwards as early as the first mile. Considering how early it failed, it certainly sounds as if it wasn't tested properly and should have been picked up prior to the race in a short training run.

NIKE sponsor drugs cheat Justin Gatlin

Justin Gatlin of the USA is one of the world's top sprinters with a personal best of 9.77 seconds for 100m. He is however a controversial character having twice been banned for drug offences.....for amphetamines in 2001  and for testosterone in 2006.

The news that he has been given a sponsorship deal by NIKE has been greeted by dismay by many in the athletics community.

Paula Radcliffe in her twitter posted the following........“I am very disappointed to hear this news. I don’t believe it truly reflects the core values of the Nike that I am proud to represent, nor the integrity and the ideals of the people I work with on a daily basis.”

Athletics Weekly have an article on it HERE .....and they ask how can a company like NIKE sponsor a known drugs cheat like Gatlin and yet drop someone like Jo Pavey who won the 10000m at the European Championships last year aged 41.

Nike design new track suit to improve times...

In the world of elite sprinters, the difference between first and second place can often be measured in hundredths of a second. With that in mind, Nike have designed a unique track suit called the Nike Pro TurboSpeed which it claims can reduce times by 0.023 seconds in a 100 metre race.

The theory behind the suit is that there are strategically placed dimples on key areas of the suit to help reduce aerodynamic drag as much as possible.  The roughly follows the same principle as the dimples on a golf ball which help it to travel further.

Needless to say, this got me thinking about what would happen if you wore one for a Marathon! The result is a reduction of 9.7 seconds. Needless to say those that the savings at the slower running speeds would probably be a lot less. Food for thought though ;o)

Cork athlete Ciarán Ó'Lionáird joins Oregon Track Club Elite

Ciarán Ó'Lionáird, who finished tenth at last summer's world championships at 1500m, has decided to switch training groups in advance of this summer's Olympic Games. Previously, Ciaran had trained with another Nike-sponsored group, the Oregon Distance Project under coaches Alberto Salazar and Steve Magness.

In an interview, he said..."At a personal level I feel like I needed a change. I think moving down to Eugene will be a good change for me on both a personal and a training level." Commenting on his time at the Oregon Distance Project, he said that Salazar was "an unbelievable coach" and that he had "learned a ton and became a better athlete".

With reference to new coach Mark Rowland and the OTC, he said that their expertise in the middle distances would benefit him. "I got to sit down with him before I made a decision," O'Lionaird recounted.  "We kind of immediately hit it off.  He's the kind of guy who is an extremely dedicated coach, and a really down to earth guy.  He's a guy I can easily relate to.  I'm really excited to work with him and I think training with the team will be great."

O'Lionaird and Rowland are now battling against the clock in their Olympic preparations.  O'Lionaird has been managing an inflamed left Achilles tendon, so he is behind in his training schedule.

Flo Track interview with Ciarán O Lionáird...

FloTrack caught up with Ciarán O Lionáird and his coach Alberto Salazar in Albuquerque.

Interview with Ciarán......


Interview with Alberto Salazar, head coach of the Nike Oregon Project.....