Technology Driven Performance
Sports have long been operating on a fine line with technology. The controversy with swimming tech suits and the back-and-forth cycling equipment regulations for the 1-hour record are notable examples. In the last five or so years, advanced footwear technology has taken the cake, prompting new on the types of shoes allowed in competition.
Nike first made waves with their 2017 Breaking2 project, where a group of runners attempted to break 2 hours in the marathon in an unofficial event, utilizing any technology and strategies they could to increase their running speed, regardless of legality. They had a recent iteration this summer with Breaking4, where Faith Kipyegon attempted to run a sub-4-minute mile. Both of which were marketing machines and huge events.
Adidas Technology for Chasing 100
The latest running technology showcase was Chasing 100 by Adidas, an attempt to break the 6-hour mark in a 100km race by whatever technological means necessary.
Chasing 100 is the story of our deep-rooted drive to go faster. An opportunity to see what’s possible when we work at speed, break new boundaries in design, and test new possibilities in footwear and apparel.
– Alasdhair Willis, Chief Creative Officer
The event took place this week, at midnight, around a race track in Italy, and it wasn’t as prominent as Nike’s Breaking4, which included, among other things, an Amazon Prime documentary. I wasn’t even aware of the attempt until I was sent an Instagram post of the feat the following day. They utilized a group of relatively unknown professional runners, similar to Nike’s original Breaking2 project, and implemented some interesting yet unspecified shoe and clothing technology.
The shoes were the Adizero Evo Prime X, which were apparently individualized to each runner’s biomechanics and body type. They have an “illegal” stack height of 50mm, which is the amount of material between the ground and your foot. The cushioning is a responsive, bouncy, proprietary technology, and it almost assuredly has a carbon fiber plate embedded.
The most curious aspect of the shoes is the Ultracharge technology, which involves injecting pressurized air into the midsole foam several days before the race to increase responsiveness. According to their website, it is an innovation 2 years in the making, but further details are not available.
They also used specialized cooling vests and jackets, similar to those used by Formula 1 drivers, to regulate body temperature. Additionally, they wore a singlet made of advanced materials that allegedly help the body cool itself down. Again, they are keeping the data and exact technology secret, for now, but the singlet will be available for purchase in 2026. The other clothing innovation was their TechFit shorts, which they claim “stabilize the hips to support running economy”. These will also be available next year.
How fast did they run?
Sibusiso Kubhek, Charlie Lawrence, and Aleksandr Sorokin all broke the previous 100km official world record, which Sorokin had held. Only Kubhek broke 6 hours (5:59:20) while the other two came just short in 6:03:47 and 6:04:10. For Kubhek, that comes out to about 3:36/km or 5:47/mile. For 6 hours! Absolutely incredible.
While these aren’t official world records and were supported by advanced technology, it still takes incredible athleticism to accomplish something like that. It’s fantastic to see companies devoting this much time and energy to pushing forward human limits.