Nike’s AlphaFly Next% Just Got Redesigned

Search at the feet of runners on any marathon starting off line around the world and you’ll uncover the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% on most of them. It shouldn’t be stunning soon after all, this was the shoe Eliud Kipchoge wore when he clocked a 1:59 marathon in 2019. What runner wouldn’t want to use the equivalent kicks that contributed to the speediest marathon at any time?
As you glimpse towards the back again corrals, nonetheless, the Alphaflys start off to disappear. It is not that these runners are not severe more than enough to shell out $275 it is due to the fact the Alphafly Future% was intended exclusively with the elite runner in intellect. The shoe’s intense, forefoot-favoring geometry and tender, unstable midsole benefits economical runners and leaves most wobbling at the rear of.
That is about to alter. The world’s fastest marathon shoe has been given a entire major-to-bottom update to create a shoe that will accommodate much more of the masses, not just elites like Kipchoge. I was one of the couple granted early access to the new Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Future% 2, and after paying a several months screening the new supershoe, I can verify that the brand hit its mark.
Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 2 Specs
MSRP: $275
Pounds: Men’s, 8.8 ounces women’s, 7 ounces
Offset: 8 millimeters
What’s New
- Three more millimeters in heel width and two much more millimeters in forefoot width, to boost balance
- A heel drop that has elevated from 4 to eight millimeters, to accommodate more mid- and rear-foot strikers
- A contoured insole and additional midsole width underneath the arch for much better assist
- A new, lighter outsole for enhanced traction and longevity
- The addition of a slim layer of ZoomX midsole beneath forefoot Zoom Air pods, for smoother transitions
- A revamped higher, which presents a extra protected lockdown, increased breathability, and improved over-all comfort and ease
- A softer heel counter to relieve pressure together the Achilles tendon
- Added padding in the tongue to improve comfort when laces are cinched tight
What’s the Very same
- Nike’s lightest and most resilient ZoomX foam, for remarkable cushioning and energy return
- A whole-length curved carbon-fiber plate, to include rigidity and support with toe-offs
- Twin forefoot Zoom Air pods that merge pressurized air and tightly stretched fibers, for added cushioning and rebound

The Lowdown
I’ve been reviewing solutions for Exterior given that 2018, and it can take a ton to get me genuinely excited about a pair of sneakers, specially updates to present versions. Following listening to about the advancements to the Alphafly Upcoming% 2, nevertheless, I was keen to examination it out and see if the buzz was correct.
A single of the most important grievances I have heard from non-elite runners about the unique Alphafly Following% was a experience of sinking back again into the heel, which diminished the rolling, ahead strength of the shoe. That, combined with its supersoft midsole, developed a wobbly, unstable experience, especially for rear-foot and some midfoot strikers.
As soon as I stepped into the Alphafly Subsequent% 2, I could inform it was much more grounded and secure. I did not see the exact sinking feeling as the primary, thanks to two sizable updates. First, the heel drop doubled from 4 millimeters to 8. Second, the midsole geometry was altered, creating a wider foundation beneath the heel and midfoot and wrapping even more up the sides, cupping the foot.
Elliott Heath, footwear merchandise manager at Nike Running, said the reasoning powering the increased heel drop peak was to let runners of unique foot strikes and strides to sense a bit extra relaxed. Heath preserved that quicker runners will also benefit, due to the fact as they get started to tire for the duration of afterwards phases of a marathon, they certainly start to shift towards much more of a rear strike. At that level, the better heel will superior support the foot and and roll it ahead. As somebody who lands midfoot to forefoot, the further drop was recognizable, but not in an obtrusive way. With the authentic, if I wasn’t jogging up on my forefoot, it felt like I was pressured into the back again seat of the shoe. The new design felt a lot more fluid across all paces.
Just one of the a lot more refined updates, but a activity changer for me, was the broader midfoot. On the primary Alphafly, I experienced severe troubles with the extremely narrow midsection, which still left the arch unsupported. The midsole beneath the Alphafly Up coming% 2 arch is minimize away a lot less and attributes a slight upward contour for support. Whilst the new iteration is a very little far more than 50 percent an ounce heavier for each pair, the result is a considerably stabler really feel that persisted as I took the shoe by way of various paces.
What ever pace I ran, the Alphafly Future% 2 fell into a easy, rhythmic cadence, as if it knew what speed I preferred, and locked in on it. The first, in distinction, felt disjointed as I transitioned from the gentle ZoomX heel onto the firmer outsole underneath the forefoot Zoom Air pods.
Heath explained that the essential to this smoother changeover is a new, thinner, lighter, and much more resilient outsole product. By making use of a thinner rubber, Heath and his team could incorporate a four-millimeter layer of ZoomX beneath the Air pods, correcting that disjointed sensation I had seasoned. As a reward, the new outsole also appears to be to grip the road greater.
To get a superior experience for the differences amongst the old and new versions, I did some runs wearing the unique Alphafly Following% on my correct foot and the new Alphafly Upcoming% 2 on my left. The distinction in between the two was placing. The new variation available a great deal smoother driving, especially at slower speeds. It shipped the exact same highly cushioned experience, but as I transitioned from heel to toe, the new shoe shown a cohesive stream that the unique lacked. I also found the new version’s upper and insole built for a extra comfortable, superior-fitting shoe.
It is worth mentioning that, while several of the steadiness challenges have been settled with the updates, this shoe even now has a incredibly high stack height. Its cornering means has marginally enhanced, but personally, for races up to 50 percent marathon in duration, I’d want a leaner, additional nimble racing design.
As a coach, I have tended to shy away from suggesting the Alphafly to runners whose marathon times are slower than their Boston qualifying standard. Following testing the Alphafly Up coming% 2, which is likely to modify. Though I question these runners will see the same efficiency gains as elite racers, I consider the new version will improved accommodate their stride and the shoe’s maximal cushioning will lessen leg pounding.
I questioned Heath what Kipchoge believed of the Alphafly Following% 2, which he wore at the Toyko Marathon in March. “This is the route ahead,” was Kipchoge’s succinct reply. A really robust endorsement from arguably the biggest distance runner of all time. Following tests the new shoe, I echo Kipchoge’s assertion, with an addendum: this is the route ahead, not only for elites but for all of us who want to increase our marathon performances.
Did Nike make the Alphafly far better? Indeed, unequivocally—especially for the 99.99 percent of runners who are not Eliud Kipchoge.
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