The defending champs were in the mix all the way to Central Park, but in the end there were some surprising upsets. Andreas Almgren, in his debut, became the first European man to claim victory at the NYC Marathon in 30 years. And Jess McClain outsprinted Hellen Obiri to take second place overall.
There were even bigger surprises—at least in the eyes of the RW gear team—as there was good parity among shoe companies among the fastest runners. Even Xtep got into the mix. Let’s take a look at what the top 10 men and women laced up for their dash from Staten Island to Central Park.
You can’t get this shoe until January 2027, but Nike’s top pros are already having some good success on the roads with the $360 racer. It has two Air units stacked under the forefoot and a zero drop. Lighter and more aggressive than an Alphafly, the Apex is being positioned as Nike’s elite-level marathon shoe, while the Alphafly 4 is being turned into a marathon racer for the masses.
I took an Apex demo pair out for a short run last month and found they feel aggressively propulsive—you’re immediately tipping forward off those Air units as soon as you touch down. On had a big day on the streets of the Big Apple. Even though Hellen Obiri didn’t repeat as champ in the women’s division, the brand’s top racing model with the robot-sprayed upper was seen a lot among the pro fields.
Personally, I love that the collar of the upper is designed more like a normal shoe—the taller cuff of the first version rubbed my ankle and I had to cut the upper. Xtep might be a new name to you, but it’s one of a handful of exciting brands coming out of China right now. The shoes are tough to get here in the U.S., but we’ve received a few of Xtep’s models for testing recently, including the 160X 8.0 Pro.
This shoe has been cleaning house at the World Majors Marathons. Today was one of the rare days when the featherweight, $500 speedster didn’t land on the podium. Bonus: Adidas just refreshed stock so a few pairs are still available.
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