A decade after Nike's "super shoes" revolutionized distance running, a new trend is grabbing the sport's attention: running shoes with soles even higher than what's allowed in official races—despite an explicit 40mm (about 1.6 inches) rule set by World Athletics. Brands like Adidas and Puma are now marketing models with stack heights well over the permitted limit, driving interest among runners even if the shoes are banned in competition, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Adidas' Adizero Prime X 2 Strung shoes, for example, with a sole about 10mm over the legal cap, carries a $300 price tag and often sell out. Puma's Fast-RB Nitro Elite brand took things further with a 58mm sole. Both companies say they'll keep making more models that flout the existing rules, only pausing due to safety concerns—around a 50mm limit. According to RunRepeat's Jens Jakob Andersen, rule-breaking models are popular, with 18 of the site's last 100 reviewed shoes exceeding the regulations.
As for racing bans against this kind of footwear, ultramarathon runner Rajpaul Pannu learned his lesson the hard way after winning the USA Track & Field 100-mile road championship—only to be disqualified due to wearing a Hoka shoe that was 8mm over the limit. He said he was unaware of the infraction and noted that his sponsor, Hoka, still paid his first-place bonus. Race organizers are now sending out reminders to clarify the rules, particularly for road events; off-road and trail races impose no such limits.
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The appeal for runners is clear: the more foam underfoot, the greater the comfort and endurance, according to Adidas' Patrick Nava, the company's global VP for running product. Despite a recent slight drop in the number of running shoes sold, the rise of these high-stack, costly models have driven a 14% jump in overall sales value. The Athletic, meanwhile, published a piece last fall on how "shoe doping" is affecting marathon times. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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