With 44% of marathoners now wearing super shoes according to Strava’s trend report, a predictable error has become common: training in them.
It costs twice — once in money, once in injury risk.
The durability problem
The soft, highly resilient foams that make plated racing shoes effective degrade faster than conventional midsole materials under repeated loading.
A shoe that delivers its full benefit for a few races may lose a meaningful share of it within a few hundred training kilometres. You are consuming the expensive part of the shoe during runs where it provides the least benefit.
This is why coached runners typically structure a rotation: a trainer such as the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 for daily mileage, with plated shoes reserved for racing.
The loading problem
Super shoes change loading patterns. The curved plate and compliant foam alter how force travels through the foot and lower leg.
Calf and foot structures adapt to that pattern over time. Training exclusively in plated shoes means adapting to a mechanic you use only on race day — and, more commonly, arriving at a race in shoes your body has not adapted to at all.
A first long run in a new plated shoe on race day is a recognisable way to finish injured.
The benefit is smaller at training pace anyway
Running-economy research shows the advantage shrinks as you slow down. The technology that delivers 2.7–4.2% at fast speeds drops to around 1.4% at 12 km/h.
Most training runs are slower than 12 km/h. So the shoe is providing its smallest benefit, degrading fastest, and costing the most — simultaneously.
A workable rotation
Daily mileage: a durable trainer. This is where most kilometres go and where durability matters more than economy.
Workouts: a lighter trainer or a durable plated option. Some plated shoes are built for training loads; racing shoes generally are not.
Racing: the plated shoe, with two or three prior runs in it — including one at goal pace — to adapt.
Who should skip them entirely
If you are running 4:30 or slower, a 1.4% economy gain is real but small, and race-day shoes at this price are not the highest-return purchase available. Training volume and pacing return more.
Research does suggest female athletes may benefit especially from advanced footwear technology — possibly due to lower body mass, stride characteristics, or greater cumulative benefit across more ground contacts — which shifts the calculation somewhat, but not the rotation advice.
Sources
- Marathon Handbook — Super Shoes and Pacing Strategy
- iRunFar — Best Marathon Shoes of 2026
- Outside — Marathon racing shoes tested over two years