Super shoes have moved from novelty to default. Strava’s trend report found 44% of marathoners wore them, and since their introduction in 2016 the men’s marathon world record has fallen by three minutes and 27 seconds.
What gets less attention is that the benefit is not the same for everyone — and the difference is large enough to change a purchase decision.
The number that matters
Running-economy research shows the advantage shrinks as you slow down. The same shoe technology that delivers 2.7–4.2% at fast speeds drops to around 1.4% at 12 km/h.
Twelve kilometres per hour is a five-minute kilometre, or roughly a 3:31 marathon. That is a strong club runner, not a beginner — and even at that pace the benefit is roughly a third of what elite athletes get.
For a four-and-a-half or five-hour marathoner, the gain is smaller still.
Why the effect depends on speed
The mechanism relies on the interaction between a curved carbon plate and a highly compliant, resilient foam. Both depend on the forces generated at footstrike. Slower running produces lower forces, compresses the foam less, and engages the plate less effectively.
The shoe is not doing less work because you are slower; it is being given less to work with.
Who benefits most
Research suggests female athletes may benefit especially from advanced footwear technology — possibly due to lower body mass, stride characteristics, or greater cumulative benefit across a larger number of ground contacts over the same distance.
That last point is intuitive: more steps means more opportunities for a small per-step saving to accumulate.
What to do with this
If you are running sub-3:30, the case is straightforward. A 2–4% economy gain over 42 kilometres is minutes, not seconds.
If you are running 4:30 or slower, spend the money elsewhere first. A 1.4% gain is real but small, and race-day shoes at this price point are not the highest-return purchase available. Consistent training volume and a realistic pacing plan return more.
Do not race in them untested. Super shoes change loading patterns. Calf and foot structures adapt to them, and a first long run in a new plated shoe on race day is how people arrive at the finish injured.
Train in a normal shoe. Options such as the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 for training and plated shoes reserved for racing is the common structure among coached runners for a reason: the softer plated foams degrade quickly under high mileage.
The technology is genuinely effective. The honest framing is that it is most effective for the runners who need the help least.
Sources
- Marathon Handbook — How Super Shoes Are Changing Marathon Pacing Strategy
- The Irish Times — Have super shoes changed the face of marathon running forever?
- iRunFar — Best Marathon Shoes of 2026