Smooth fitting, lightweight Nike Flyknit upper provides support and containment where needed as well as enabling compliance for the foot in motion. Nike ZoomX midsole cushioning is remarkably lighter, softer and more responsive than traditional foams and is designed to maximize speed by delivering greater energy return. Designed to give runners more energy return while simultaneously providing cushioning from the road, the Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite combines athlete insight with biomechanics analysis and cutting-edge engineering. While traditional racing shoes (flats) keep a low profile, the Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite’s progressive Nike ZoomX midsole cushioning - remarkably lighter, softer and more responsive than traditional foams - is reflected in a distinctive 21mm forefoot stack height. Rather than totally reinvent the wheel, the shoe completely reimagines materials employed in racing footwear for decades but uses each more intelligently, and more purposefully than ever before. The disruptive design follows on the composite function of its components. We leveraged aerodynamic insights to deliver a radical and iconic aesthetic that screams speed,” says Stefan Guest, Sr. The concept shoe, individually-tuned for each athlete, highlights the product portion of a rigorously researched path to realizing Breaking2’s bold vision and a paradigm shift suggesting that while a “less is more” system has served the past, a “more is more” approach might define the future. As Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese push to get the most out of every stride they will do so wearing the Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite with Nike ZoomX midsole. The answers to these questions are critical to the success of Breaking2, Nike’s innovation moonshot to break the two-hour marathon barrier. For example, with limited cushion how can a shoe maximize energy return?

However, this wisdom also concedes some compromise. Conventional wisdom dictates that distance racing shoes be lightweight and low to the ground.

Nike zoom x