The Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2023 came with endless opportunities for the homegrown racers. The organizers were anticipating one of the legendary athletes of the country to achieve the fabled sub-two-hour mark. While none succeeded, one foreign marathon racer, Kelvin Kiptum made incredible gains on the untrodden pavements of the Windy City.

Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum smoked fellow countryman Eliud Kipchoge’s one-year-old world record at the Chicago Marathon on October 8, 2023. Although it’s been nearly three months since that outstanding achievement, the running world still remembers his performance with fondness. Interestingly, this fandom resulted in Nike’s sales skyrocketing and causing a massive frenzy in the resale market.

Nike’s sale of Kelvin Kiptum’s shoes causes a brief frenzy

Kelvin Kiptum became the first man to finish the 26.2-mile race in less than two hours and one minute. While the world record holder has kept mum about the importance of his shoes in his success, the rest of the world has connected the dots. Therefore, when Nike added the Alphafly 3 Proto men’s running shoes to their online catalog, it caused a massive spike in demand. RunBlogRun encapsulated the buyer’s soaring interests in an X post that said, “NIKE Alphafly 3 sells out globally in 2 minutes!”. The blogger also updated the post with a parenthetical statement that said, “Nike released the shoes for public sale on Thursday morning, pricing them at a £284.99 ($360 approx.)…Some have since advertised the shoes for resale, with one listing them on eBay at a price of £589 ($746 approx.)”.

The initial price of the shoes justified the ultra-light responsive foam and carbon fiber plate used to design them. However, the exorbitant inflation can be traced back to Kelvin Kiptum’s performance. While Nike is enjoying the success of the Alphafly 3, it is not a sole player in the “Super Shoes” market.

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Adidas ignites competition

Since 2020, every track and field athlete has been on the lookout for super shoes or super spikes. Adidas has captured a fair share of the market with its Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1. Tigist Assefa relied on this gear for her record-breaking run at Berlin in 2023. Interestingly, in terms of specs, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 outperforms the Nike Alphafly 3.

Read More: Self-Trained Kelvin Kiptum’s Mystery Coach Reveals the Gruesome Training Regimen That Led to His Triumph in the 2023 London Marathon

It is at least twice as light as the super shoe from Nike and is reported to provide lesser energy loss at each stride. Therefore, the success of Nike Alphafly 3 is clearly owed to Kelvin Kiptum’s racing virtuosity.

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