Running Economy: Super Shoes vs Crocs

Running Economy: Super Shoes vs Crocs Here is an interesting set of findings on Super Shoe Performance by Dustin Joubert @labratrundown The most striking finding is that super shoes are significantly better than crocs! But turning to the serious side of the data, Dustin's findings tie in with my own anecdotal ones. Namely that the Super Shoes generally DO offer superior running economy (make you faster) and that the benefit is relatively short-lived. A week or two of running can lower the running economy performance by about 10% He also shows that Hoka Carbon X offers little advantage compared to the others and, again, I would agree with that (I returned my Hoka X 2 for that reason) [caption id="attachment_74232" align="aligncenter" width="1258"] Running: super shoes vs crocs[/caption] Inference If these findings are correct (sample size = 1) then surely there is no way that the carbon plate can degrade in a few days or weeks? So the degradation must come from changing performance characteristics of the Pebax foam? That makes sense to me and is what I suspected. Take Out You really do have to save your special shoes for Race Days. And not too many race days at that. Personally, I find these cushioned shoes offer FAR more cushioning than anything by Hoka and are by far the best type of cushioned shoes even after their 'best by' race date has passed. In that sense, these make great day-to-day trainers for me. And they might still even offer a tad of performance improvement from any longevity in the carbon plate. Also from Dustin: A More scientific Study concludes "most running shoe companies have not yet caught up to the advantages conferred by the Nike Vaporfly 2."