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| Elid Kipchorge and his shoes |
Having just returned, am catching up on all my mail and news and I came across the results from the recently concluded 2015 Berlin marathon.
Eliud Kipchorge ran and won in a personal best time of 2:04:01 hours in a pair of prototype shoes that malfunctioned!!
According to reports, Kipchorge started having problems with his prototype Nike Air Streak 6 barely just a kilometre into the race. He bravely ran on even after the insoles popped out at the 20 kilometre mark forcing him to run the remaining 22 kilometres with flapping insoles.
Look in your own running shoes and you will find a insole (or sock liner) which is usually easily removed and can be replaced by your own custom orthotic if needed. They are normally fairly secure and I've never seen them come off during a run (or a race for that matter). Racing flats usually have flatter and thinner inserts that are often glued down and not easily removed.
He ended up with blisters on his left foot and a cut on his big toe with lots of blood.
Remembering he was a sponsored athlete, he added with good PR skills "We have talked with technicians and even the highest authority of the (Nike) company. They are resourceful people. Remember, in life, challenges must be present and I urge my fans to run to Nike stores and grab this version immediately when it's out".
Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebrselassie joked tongue-in-cheek that Nike shoes would never be better than his preferred brand of Adidas. Maybe that's why Gabrselassie joked about it, as Kipchorge was previously sponsored by Adidas.
As you've often heard from me, don't try anything new on race day. I've learnt the hard way before too. Now that's a different post.
Talking about the Nike Air Streaks, I owned a pair of the first version way back in 1997. You can see it below.
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| The original Air Streak |
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