Carbon shoes have been a big change in the world of running over the last few years, with more brands entering the carbon shoe market, creating another topic of discussion when it comes to race day decisions. Let’s dive into some of the considerations to make when it comes to picking carbon shoes and using them in training and racing.

 

Which is the best/fastest shoe?

Initially Nike had no competition as the first brand to introduce the carbon plate in their shoes however, even when other brands managed to get their own versions on sale, the technology wasn’t up to the same standard, and many professional athletes broke contracts or were allowed to wear disguised Nike shoes so they could perform their best. 

This doesn’t seem to be the case as much now, with brands like Saucony and Asics onto their second or even third iterations at the time of writing this blog, and having made adjustments as you’d expect. The popular view is still that the Nike shoes are faster.

Whilst lightness of materials, compression and rebound rates of foam, and positioning of plates will determine the “speed” of a shoe to an extent, we mustn’t forget that all athletes aren’t built the same. These shoes are designed predominantly for elite athletes and their running styles which cover a far narrower spectrum than us amateur athletes, and as such the shoes won’t always give us anything like the same benefit. Some will even be absolutely unsuitable for you.

 

Assessing technique

I’ve worked with numerous runners through the Runner’s MOT service I offer where we’ve looked at their running style in both normal training shoes and their carbon race shoes, and the differences have at times been stark, but unfortunately rarely in a good way.

That’s not to say that I’m against them using carbon shoes, but that the one’s they’ve been wearing haven’t been helping them to move well. Trying a variety of brands to find one that suits their particular mechanics would be a good idea. One guy I saw had a phenomenal heel lift, lifting high and quickly when running at 10k pace in normal shoes. When we looked at him in the pair of ON Cloudboom carbon shoes, everything that had been great in his style had been exaggerated to levels which no longer worked well, and elements of his running style which had been fine in “normal shoes” were now not as good.

It was clear why he’d been experiencing the pain and injuries he’d had since first using them. Whilst they had indeed made him faster, they had created problems that didn’t need to exist and which potentially wouldn’t have done in another brand of carbon shoe. We did some massage and strength work and I advised not using the shoes which he initially did and we saw the pains disappear in a few weeks without skipping runs (a great result). Unfortunately the allure of the faster times won out, and the shoes were once again used in races with pain resulting.

 

Saucony Endorphin Pro 2 vs Altra Vanish Carbon

I’m not the most experienced carbon shoe runner, having bought my first pair in June 2022, a little late to the game. That said, the team at Sportlink let me try a pair of Saucony Endorphin pro 2 shoes on their treadmill when I was collecting a pair of training shoes one day. I’d never tried any carbon shoes before, but could immediately notice the difference in effort, making running at marathon pace far less effortful. That said, personally I didn’t like the shoes, feeling unstable and noticing the speed at which my foot was rebounding off the floor was far higher, making my knee and hip flex much faster as a result.

For a lot of people this could well be very helpful and this model of shoe appropriate for them, but for me, that part of my running technique isn’t an issue, so when I ordered and then ran in the Altra Vanish Carbons (the brand I mostly wear these days), I was relieved to feel much more in control with a smoother hip extension due to the rocker shape of the shoe, something which absolutely helps me in an area I’m weaker in.

 

Check out part 2 for training and racing advice

 

Written by Kyle Brooks, Running Coach based in Norwich, Norfolk