Men\'s Health UK - 10.2019

400 miles

MEN’S HEALTH 43

A

WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON

24

MIND, BODY

AND SOLE

25

SWOOSH NEW

IDEAS

NIKE JOYRIDE

£160

NIKE.COM

THE NEW JOY OF RUNNING

Nike’s super-soft innovation reinvents the sole to make pounding

pavements a pleasure, whatever your level. Welcome to easy street

MH GAME

CHANGERS

NIKE

JOYRIDE

i_

ii_

iv_

v_

iii_

Initially the beads sat together

in the sole, but this gave them

too much room to move and

killed off comfort. So, Nike

decided to split them into

four sections called “snack

packs”, each serving the major

pressure points of every stride.

The number of beads

squeezed into the sole of

a size-nine shoe. With the

help of the air between the

beads and soft SRO2 foam,

they create a ride that’s

responsive yet cushioned.

It’s no gimmick: in tests, it

outperformed the Hoka

Clifton 5 shoe, considered

the ultimate in comfort.

The Joyrides were “dual

tested”, meaning they were

taken for test runs by elite

athletes and beginners alike.

They reported they could still

feel the cushion even after 400

miles, and the shoe had lost

none of its responsiveness.

4

22,000

10 years

This is how long it took for

the Joyride to develop from

the germ of an idea into

the shoes on your feet.

That’s a lot of testing, a

lot of prototypes and a hell

of a lot of beads. We can

confirm Nike got it very

right in the end, however.

NEOPRENE

The upper combines lightweight

Flyknit fabric with neoprene, the

rubber used in wetsuits, for extra

support. Rather than sewn, they are

fused to stop rubbing under the lace.

N

ike knows how to

make people go faster.

Its Vaporfly 4% trainer

took Eliud Kipchoge

achingly close to breaking the

two-hour marathon mark, after

all. However, the innovators at

its Portland HQ know that not

everyone feels the need for

speed. Whether you’re an elite

athlete on a recovery jog, or a

reluctant runner building up

to your first 5K, sometimes you

just want it all to be easier. The

inspiration behind the Joyride

was the well-trodden grass path

next to every pavement, taken

by runners to give their body a

break. Through the invention of

a new sole that fuses bead and

air technology, Nike has created

a shoe that cushions your body

against impact and makes every

mile far less of a grind. Here’s

a step-by-step guide to this truly

game-changing shoe.

UPTICK IN

FORTUNES

We plot the leaps

and bounds that

took Nike to this

breakthrough

1974

WAFFLE TRAINER

Featuring the famous

Waffle outsole, it

became America’s

best-selling trainer.

1979

TAILWIND

The first with Nike Air:

the cushioning system

that set up Nike’s

success for decades.

2005

NIKE FREE

A lightweight upper

and malleable sole

sought to emulate

barefoot running.

2017

VAPORFLY ELITE

These propelled

Eliud Kipchoge to a

two-hour 25-second

marathon in Italy.

2018

EPIC REACT

The lightest and most

efficient shoe hit the

shelves and became

the go-to long runner.