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This is the first running economy case study I ever conducted comparing the Nike Alphafly to the Hoka Carbon X. I had just raced my first marathon in the Hoka Carbon X in January of 2021 and was considering buying v2, but wanted to test them in the lab to see if they were providing any benefit relative to a standard racing flat. Turns out they weren't so I purchased the Alphafly thinking maybe I'm just not a responder, but would test them as well to see. Here's what I found.
Testing Methods
I tested the Nike Alphafly and the Hoka Carbon X for two reps each at both 7:00 and 6:20/mile pace. Check out this link to see what running economy is, how it is measured, and how it impacts performance.
Results
In my first time running in the Nike Alphafly, my economy was improved by ~4% straight out of the box relative to the Hoka Carbon X.
Take Home Message
This was the lab rat case study that started my entire research line into super shoes. After seeing no benefits from the Hoka Carbon X, and substantial benefits from the Nike Alphafly it seemed that the racing shoe market was likely on an uneven playing field. This lead directly into the Super Shoe Study where we saw these discrepancies hold up across multiple runners and several brands.
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