Only a month into co-hosting their podcast, Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara, long-distance legends Kara Goucher and Des Linden have already covered 2023’s greatest running triumphs and hot-button issues. On last week’s episode, the duo sat down to chat about all things carbon-plated sneakers (aka “super shoes”), from their initial impressions of the technology to how it changed the sport and their advice for youth athletes interested in adding this tech to their race kits.
“I have a child who is running, and he wants super shoes so bad, because the kids he races have [super shoes],” said Goucher, noting that it’s becoming increasingly common for youth athletes to own and run in carbon-plated sneakers. “I’m always like you’re too young, you’re still developing!”
Goucher explained that she believes training with these super-boosted sneakers too early on may prevent your lower body from developing proper strength. And there may be some truth to this: As Kim Hebert-Losier, a researcher in sports biomechanics at The University of Waikato, previously told Runner’s World, much of the research on super shoes has been conducted on elite athletes—not recreational or youth runners. Plus, there are increasing reports of these shoes causing pain and injury when they aren’t gradually and mindfully incorporated into training plans.
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“The parents aren’t doing anything wrong; they’re just giving their kids the best equipment,” said Goucher. Still, she wanted to know Linden’s take. And while the 2018 Boston Marathon winner agreed that developing runners should strive for the strength that comes without fancy-schmancy shoes, it may be okay for them to throw them on occasionally if it keeps the sport exciting.
“If [super shoes] keep a kid in the sport, in running, and they’re like ‘I don’t want to do this if I don’t have cool stuff,’ then fine, whatever. But if they’re completely unaware of them and something looks flashier and it’s not a super shoe, get them excited about that,” she said.
While Goucher said she’s still not sold on buying a pair for her son, the two did acknowledge that the technology has breathed new life into the sport for youth and adult athletes. “The record do get eyeballs on the sport, that’s fascinating,” said Linden. “Watching someone go sub two hours in a marathon… you’re like, wow, the human body just did something miraculous. I never thought I would see that.”
Here’s a transcript of the discussion Goucher and Linden had on Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara:
KG: I have a child who is running, and he wants super shoes so bad, because the kids he races have them. Most of the kids on his team don’t have them, a couple do… he knows that mom’s still bitter about the 2016 Olympic trials, and he doesn’t want to give anything away either. I’m always like you’re too young, you’re still developing. This short circuits what your leg needs to do, your leg needs to flex. Your achilles needs to take it all… It’s just wild bc he’s 12 and he races kids that have all that. The parents aren’t doing anything wrong; they’re just giving their kids the best equipment. But what would you say to a parent of a child who’s young and still developing?
DL: What you said is exactly true. Like you need to build up your strengths and do it in the most natural way for as long as you can. I think about kids who get put in those walkers who stand up and walk around. They should be crawling and there’s a cross-crawl pattern in their brains that when you put kids in those your short circuiting development… There’s got to be something to that when it comes to putting on super shoes. You’re still developing; you’re building strength. I don’t even think about it from a competitive standpoint, but then you think of it from a recovery standpoint and you’re like, well, you can do more of that if you can recover better. Maybe there’s an element of bringing them in occasionally. And then it all gets confusing where it’s like they’re kids, just let them run around. Whatever’s available that day, just put it on them and let them run around. If it keeps a kid in the sport, in running, and they’re like “I don’t want to do this if I don’t have cool stuff,” then fine, whatever. But if they’re completely unaware of them and something looks flashier and it’s not a supershoe, get them excited about that.
Kells McPhillips is a health and wellness journalist living in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Runner's World, The New York Times, Well+Good, Fortune, Shape, and others.
