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In the hilly 13.1-mile run course of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship on October 28-29 in St. George, the running performance—and running shoes—of top athletes was something to marvel at. In the women’s race, three of the top 10 finishers ran 1:20 or faster $275
After wearing Nike Air Zoom X Alphafly Next% 2 shoes in the past, both Magnus Ditlev and Jackson Laundry wore pairs of the newly remodeled Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 2 shoes in St. George. Same goes for women’s sixth-place finisher Holly Lawrence. What’s the difference? Nike’s secondary carbon-fiber racing shoe has a light and resilient Zoom X midsole, but it also has dual forefoot Zoom Air pods that combine pressurized air and tightly stretched fibers, for added cushioning and rebound.
Who wore it?
Women
6. Holly Lawrence (UK), half-marathon run split: 1:22:55
Men
3. Magnus Ditlev (Denmark), half-marathon run split: 1:14:07
7. Jackson Laundry (Canada), half-marathon run split: 1:12:58
RELATED: Nike’s Air Zoom Alphafly Next% Just Got Redesigned
On Cloudboom Echo 3 |Â $280
On is becoming a key player in road running with its evolution of its carbon-plated Cloudboom Echo. Gustav Iden famously wore a high-stack prototype of the Echo 3 while running away with the Ironman World Championship in Kona in early October. He was back wearing bib No. 1 in St. George, and he looked pretty good coming off the bike, but he just didn’t have it on the run. Wearing a similar pair of shoes, he ran 5 miles in 31:17 (or 6:21 mile pace) but dropped after the first lap. Germany’s Frederick Funk, however, sealed his fifth-place finish with a pair of On Cloudboom Echo 3.
The carbon-plated race shoe from On is unique in its approach. While other carbon supercharged shoes are soft and bouncy, the Cloudboom Echo has a soft but decidedly firm ride to optimize efficiency.
RELATED:Â World Triathlon Confirms: Iden’s IMWC Shoes Not “Illegal,” No Rules On Running Shoes
Who wore it?
Men
5. Frederic Funk (Germany), half-marathon run split: 1:16:43
Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 |$225
The Endorphin Pro 3 is a light, soft, bouncy and very fast long-distance racing shoe as Thor Madsen exhibited with a strong run split to seal a top-10 finish in St. George. The Endorphin Pro 3 has the thickest stack of hyper-resilient PWRRUNPB foam ever incorporated into a Saucony shoe (about 4mm thicker than previous Endorphin Pro models) and it also features a new, curvier carbon-fiber plate to provide the optimal spring and pop in every stride. Although there was only one pro among the top 10 men and women wearing this shoe, we spotted quite of few of these on age-groupers as they ran the two-lap course in St. George.
Who wore it?
Men
8. Thor Bendix Madsen (Denmark) 1:14:14