In the same way that in swimming the type of swimsuit can influence the final result, in athletics, footwear is essential. We have seen an example of this with Kilian Jornet. Another with the marathon records. And now comes another breakthrough, the Forever Run Nitro sneaker, by Puma, capable of maintain their benefits for up to 9 marathons, more than 380 km. of intense use.
Taking into account that in marathons, elite athletes use one shoe per race, that in mountain races, many professionals change their shoes in the middle of the competition and that in high competition they rarely accumulate more than 100 km. with the same footwear, talk about more than 380 km. They are big words. These shoes were evaluated, among others, in the facilities of the recently renovated NITRO LAB, by Puma. It is a complex designed to carry out tests and performance analysis where not only the current European, world and Olympic champion of the 100 meters Marcell Jacobs are prepared, it is also accessible to the public. There were 196 volunteers who tested the Forever Run Nitro and They traveled a total of 75,200 km. with the purpose of evaluating their wear.
The base technology of this shoe is found in the dual-density foam used in its midsole. A softer inner core (for impact reduction) surrounded by a firmer outer edge (for foot control and balance). The foam is based on polyether block amide or PEBA, a material with high wear resistance (hence, to a large extent, its great durability) and a very good elastic memory, which allows it to recover its shape after each stride and thus propel those who use it as if it were a spring.
The foam has supercritical nitrogen inside, something that sounds like space technology but its use is quite common. Many pressurized gases are actually supercritical fluids and nitrogen is one of them. Nitrogen inside the foam speeds up its reaction to impact, making it easier to take off and further extending the life of the foam. In this way, the spring effect that is achieved with the foam has a faster reaction.
To this we must add one more detail. The durability of a sports shoe lies not only in the materials, but also in its impact on the anatomy: it can last a long time, but if it is uncomfortable, its resistance will never be fully tested. The Forever Run Nitro insoles were designed by evaluating the entire foot configuration of nearly 200 volunteers. The complex thing is to achieve that, despite the individual differences in the arch, in the support area and in the heel, it was possible to create a “universal” model, one made by hand that was later digitized to produce it on a large scale. The marathon schedule has started and it’s the perfect setting to see Forever Run Nitro compete.
Discussion about this post