A runner wearing the £400 new Adidas ‘super shoe’ that sold out to the general public within hours has set another major marathon record.
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola became the first man to run under 2hr 5min over the challenging New York City course on Sunday to win the 26.2 mile race by more than two minutes and break the event record that was set by Geoffrey Mutai 12 years ago.
It follows Tigsit Assefa’s stunning run in Berlin six weeks ago to beat the women’s world record by more than two minutes in the new super-light Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, which are recommended for optimal use in only one marathon.
The shoes went on general sale at the end of September but almost instantly sold out. Nike, who had manufactured the first carbon-plated ‘super shoe’ back in 2016, then hit back last month when Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum became the first man under 2hr 1min while wearing a pair of Nike prototype shoes which will go on general sale next year. They went by the name ‘Nike Dev 163’ when they were registered with World Athletics, but these will be formally released as the new ‘Alphafly 3’.
The first prototype of the Alphafly was worn by Eliud Kipchoge in 2019 when, in an event with pacers that did not count as an official world record, he became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. The Alphafly 2s are currently on sale for £279.95 and, like the Adidas range of ‘super shoes’, benefit from super responsive foam as well as a carbon plate or rods running through the midsole.
Tola had finished third to Kiptum in the London Marathon in April, when both runners were wearing earlier versions of respective Adidas and Nike shoes, and completed the New York course in 2hr 4min 58sec to win his first major marathon.
The 32-year-old was also last year’s world marathon champion and was an Olympic bronze medallist behind Kipchoge in 2016.
Hellen Obiri, meanwhile, completed a major marathon double this year by following up her win in the Boston Marathon with victory in New York in a pair of ‘super shoes’ manufactured by the sportswear company On.
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