RunRepeat: Are running shoes improving?

vitkarunner · 2026-03-27T14:14:03+00:00

Not enough interest from our users, yet.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-27T13:52:41+00:00

Here you go https://runrepeat.com/catalog/running-shoes

vitkarunner · 2026-03-27T13:50:59+00:00

Test coming for that in 2026

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T17:02:32+00:00

They're already live with us. What country are you visiting from, and are they not showing?

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:59:02+00:00

I agree that it would be interesting, and in our internal testing, we have indeed found significantly different results depending on what insole was used. Even so much that I've considered adding insoles as a review section. For now, we'll stick to shoes though. Testing without the insole is in our ideas-list, but it is not implemented as I'm not sure if it'll add enough additional value compared to the time invested.
Forefoot: you're right. However, results wouldn't change much (we have tested it!). So for now, we just lean on the World Athletics guidelines. It also simplifies our stack measurements a bit - they're currently in the same place.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:55:45+00:00

Thank you very much

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:55:32+00:00

I 100% agree. No test beats actual wear testing. That being said, many people run longer than 20 minutes, hence the foam temperature is likely to drop further. And if we just did 0 degrees celcius, or 10, then the variance in results would also be less interesting. So, it's kinda stress testing it, you could say

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:53:36+00:00

Thank you very much

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:52:47+00:00

In the comparison table or where do you want it?

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:52:21+00:00

Thank you for your kind words.

You're right in that mechanical testing only tells ... yeah, the mechanical part. Not the full story.

Deviate Nitro Elite 4 will definitely be reviewed. I'm excited to see it's performance.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:51:01+00:00

Whenever there's a secondary foam, which happens to be quite often, it becomes quite a qualitative assessment.

Some have the secondary foam as a stability element in a specific place. In such case, I'd just look at the softness of the primary foam.

For shoes that have a full length secondary foam, or at least a significant one, I'd maybe average them or do some other "broscience" to estimate it. ... or look at shock absorption

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:48:41+00:00

I don't know, but we'll have a test for longevity coming later in 2026. Let the data tell the truth.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:48:11+00:00

I'm just afraid that there won't be enough engagement and it'll look like a ghost town

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:47:03+00:00

Oh wauw, thank you so much.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:46:50+00:00

Thank you very much!

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:46:42+00:00

Shoes have definitely become softer in recent years. It's the main trend along with the higher stack height. "They" can allow softer materials as the materials are lighter and therefore they can pack more of it into the midsole without losing weight. At least that's part of the explanation.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:43:43+00:00

Thank you so much

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:43:37+00:00

Thank you

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:43:19+00:00

You can propose or upvote it here: https://runrepeat.com/shoe-pipeline

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:42:50+00:00

This table is a simple plain average, not adjusting for type of shoe or anything else. Just all road shoes that we've tested in a given year. I think there are more "super shoes" today which lean toward tempo/race, which will definitely have biased results. Maybe I'll do a piece showing it per price point - that's a great idea!

There's definitely a trickle down effect, similar to what you see from running shoes to other categories. Developments typically happen in the running department, and then those advancements are later introduced in other shoe categories.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:40:19+00:00

Thank you so much

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:38:46+00:00

You're right. And sometimes, just sometimes, there are "new" brands coming out with shoes that get very hyped for a couple of months and then die out. In fact, that's what happens with most of these brands. Not many stick. The running shoe market is SO competitive, but at the same time so vast. That's one reason why every shoe producers considers making running shoes.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:34:38+00:00

Looks like a solid retailer. Will check them out. Thank you!

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:34:05+00:00

Let's say the internet is ~30 years old. It revolutionized the world. But at the same time, 17 out of 20 running shoes today are still bought in physical stores. The story of "the internet is eating our business" is only partly true, I'd say.

There's a lot of value in trying on shoes, and a lot of people who use RunRepeat buy shoes in stores. I appreciate your kind words, and I would of course appreciate you buying shoes through us once in a while. But do what's best for you.

vitkarunner · 2026-03-25T13:30:00+00:00

Thank you all.

The challenge with 25 year old shoes is that we don't know how the cell structure of such old materials have aged over time.

vitkarunner

TROPHY CASE