Why I Wear Super Shoes For All Of My Runs

I started wearing carbon-plated shoes for all of my runs: easy runs, threshold intervals, long runs, races, etc.

Why?

I recover much faster when I wear them, and everything hurts less, especially my shins.

What are super shoes?

Super shoes are running footwear engineered with specific technology designed to significantly boost performance.

Unlike traditional running shoes, they combine lightweight foam, responsive cushioning, and carbon-fiber plates, creating an ultra-efficient stride.

The real magic comes from carbon fiber plates embedded within the foam.

These plates act like springs, providing an explosive rebound with each stride.

Studies have shown they can improve running efficiency by 4% or more!

In short, they make you faster and more efficient immediately.

Should you get a pair?

For racing, yes, absolutely.

I think most people would benefit from using them on high-intensity days as well.

A couple of downsides:

• They’re expensive: Usually priced between $200–$300.
• They wear out quicker: ~100 miles is about all you can get out of them for races, and an additional 100-200 for training after that.
• Not ideal for every workout: They don't work as well at slow paces, so if you are fairly slow, I'd keep them more for races and faster training workouts.

Wearing them for every run

As for wearing them for all runs, that's something you'll have to experiment with.

I think if you are a lower-volume, heavier runner (like me), it's worth the extra cost to do all runs in super shoes.

But who knows?

This is new technology, and there isn't much research or evidence on the effects of long-term use of these shoes.

Maybe after a few more months, I'll start developing issues and change my mind, but for now, I'm all in on using super shoes for all types of training runs.

Capacity Training

I built Capacity Training to plan your running and your lifting together, with race plans for the mile, 5K, 10K and half marathon. Your 5K time sets your training paces, from long runs to threshold intervals.

Run faster. Get stronger. capacitytraining.app

Mike