Nike Reigns Supreme Among Fastest MPRO Runs in Kona

Nike brought about the current generation of carbon-plated super shoes with the original Vaporfly. And although almost every major footwear brand now has some version of a carbon racer in their stable of shoes, it’s Nike that continues to be the primary choice of athletes — both age-groupers and professional athletes alike. Of the top 15 runs from professional athletes in Kona, Nike’s were on the feet of six of them.

Other popular brands amongst the fastest runners in the pro field were ASICS, HOKA, and Adidas. All four brands featured have been towards the forefront of carbon plated run shoe development. Of them, ASICS and HOKA have the more robust stable of athletes sponsored in the field; Nike has extremely limited triathlon sponsorship, whereas anything Adidas does is focused in their home of Germany.

Here’s what we saw on the feet of the fastest professional men on the run in Kona. Interestingly, almost a third of these came from athletes who did not earn prize money; the bike pace was just that hard.

1.) Patrick Lange – 2:37:34 – IRONMAN World Champion
Shoe: Adidas AdiZero Adios Pro Evo 1
This shoe was run to the marathon world record in its debut race in Berlin last year. It’s astonishingly light for a carbon racer, coming in at a mere 4.8 ounces for a men’s US size 9. It’s perhaps the best of both worlds shoe some have been looking for — the weight of pre-carbon racing flats, with all of the benefits that high cushioning and carbon plating can give you. It comes with a price, though: $499 USD.

2.) Matt Hanson – 2:45:23 – 10th Place
Shoe: On Cloudboom Strike
It is no surprise to see Matt Hanson carve through a field on the run. He’s been wearing the Cloudboom Strike for a couple of seasons now. Considered to be On’s marathon racing shoe, it has all of your typical features you would expect: highly cushioned yet rebounding foam, full length carbon fiber plate, slight rocker in the forefoot. It’s 3 ounces heavier than the Adidas Lange wore — that’s not a knock on this shoe. This is more in line with what you would expect a carbon racer to weigh. And as evidenced by Hanson’s run time, it didn’t make much a difference.

3.) Jonas Hoffman – 2:45:46 – 16th Place
Shoe: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
Another German wearing Adidas, Hoffman takes the unfortunate mantle of “first guy not to earn prize money.” Hoffman’s background is in running, so seeing him make this list should be an expectation.

4.) Magnus Ditlev – 2:46:10 – 2nd Place
Shoe: Nike AlphaFly Next%
Ditlev is the first Nike wearing athlete on the list. Curiously, he chose to wear a nearly three-year old model of the AlphaFly for this race. One of the advantages that the current generation shoes have is that the move to Pebax cushioning over EVA means shoes have a longer shelf life. If you find a shoe you love, you can squirrel them away for a couple of years and burn through them. My suspicion is that Ditlev’s foot fits this upper quite well, and wet comfort is critical in Kona conditions.

5.) David McNamee – 2:47:09 – 13th Place
Shoe: Nike AlphaFly 3
Meanwhile, McNamee used the current generation AlphaFly for the fifth fastest run of the day. This generation of AlphaFly features more ground contact under the midfoot, enhancing platform stability. It’s also the lightest version of the AlphaFly, coming in at 7.7 ounces for a men’s size 9.

6.) Rudy Von Berg – 2:48:11 – 3rd Place
Shoe: TYR Valkyrie Elite Carbon Runner
TYR isn’t a brand you think of when it comes to running shoes. The Valkyrie Elite Carbon Runner (yes, that’s the full name) features — you guessed it — Pebax foam sandwiching a full-length carbon fiber plate. The knit upper helps reduce potential friction points.

7.) Dylan Magnien – 2:49:49 – 27th Place
Shoe: Nike Vaporfly Next%
Magnien appears to be shoe agnostic; a cursory look through his Instagram sees him in a wide variety of shoes at races. A classic VaporFly appears to be his current preference, having worn it both here and for his third place finish at IRONMAN Barcelona just three weeks before Kona.

8.) Leon Chevalier – 2:49:56 – 4th Place
Shoe: HOKA Cielo X1
Chevalier had been wearing the Rocket X2 since its debut in Kona in 2022. However, for this race, he opted into the more recent Cielo X1. Launched in late 2023, the Cielo X1 is the heaviest shoe here, outweighing its prior platform mate by 40 grams. That said, the Cielo trades that off with a more robust plate and foam combination that, for those it fits, seems to provide a racier ride.

9.) Menno Koolhaas – 2:50:02 – 5th Place
Shoe: Nike AlphaFly 3
The first man out of the water, Koolhaas was also quite fleet on land. He, too, opted for this year’s AlphaFly on his way to fifth place.

10.) Cameron Wurf – 2:50:11 – 7th Place
Shoe: Nike AlphaFly 3
Wurf had a strong performance in Kona. The long-time Nike affiliated athlete had one of his best runs in Kona as he took seventh place, narrowly missing out on catching the next athlete on our list. Wurf, as you would expect, wore this year’s AlphaFly.

11.) Gregory Barnaby – 2:50:33 – 6th Place
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Paris
It’s perhaps only surprising that it took to 11th place to find an ASICS wearing athlete. The MetaSpeed line has steadily gained share amongst professionals and age groupers. The Sky, meant for athletes who gain speed via longer stride length versus turnover, is more popular with professional men; the Edge (for athletes who gain speed via turnover) appears to have better in-roads with women. Yawn if you’ve heard it before: PEBAX foam, sandwiched by a carbon fiber plate, then try to add lightness. The MetaSpeed Sky Paris only trails the Adidas for lightness here at 6.5 ounces in a men’s size 9.

12.) Kieran Lindars – 2:51:49 – 8th Place
Shoe: Nike Vaporfly 3
Lindars opted for the original carbon racer Vaporfly over the AlphaFly. By comparison, the Vaporfly is half an ounce lighter than its stablemate. The Vaporfly is also a bit lower to the ground in stack height which, combined with a revised midsole geometry for this year’s shoe, makes it a bit friendlier to those with fatiguing run form.

13.) Mathias Petersen – 2:52:37 – 12th Place
Shoe: HOKA Rocket X2

14.) Braden Currie – 2:54:25 – 28th Place
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Paris

15.) Mike Phillips – 2:54:35 – 17th Place
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Paris

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