On’s New Super Shoe Could Change Your Race Day

Super shoes. Heard of them? If you’re a runner, chances are you have. Carbon-plated racing shoes have become one of the biggest breakthroughs in distance running since Nike first introduced the Vaporfly 4% in 2017. Designed with ultra-responsive foams and a carbon-fibre plate that helps improve running economy, these so-called “super shoes” have rewritten marathon records and become the footwear of choice for everyone from Olympians to weekend race warriors.

Today, nearly every major brand has its own take on the formula: lightweight foams, carbon plates and aggressive rocker shapes designed to propel runners forward. But while the concept has become commonplace, the innovation hasn’t slowed down.

Last week, I travelled with On from its headquarters in Zurich to Paris Men’s Fashion Week for an inside look at the future of running shoes. Between the near-40-degree temperatures and a packed itinerary, I watched robots build the brand’s newest racing shoe one day before seeing it make its official debut in Paris the next.

I’ve been running since the Terry Fox Elementary School track meets, and over the years I’ve logged everything from 10Ks to ultramarathons. Yet somehow, I’ve remained a super-shoe skeptic. I’ve always preferred trainers that feel dependable and familiar over carbon-plated racers. But after seeing how On’s latest innovation comes to life, I’m beginning to understand why these shoes have inspired such devotion.

Taking centre stage was the LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2, On’s lightest racing shoe to date, tipping the scales at just 158 grams.

It’s also the shoe that helped two-time Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri run a personal best (2:15:53) in London this spring, shaving nearly two minutes off her marathon time. Rather than being stitched together from dozens of pieces, its upper is created by a robotic arm that sprays 1.5 kilometres of filament onto a mould in one continuous process. The result is a seamless, one-piece upper that’s produced in under four minutes, replacing what would traditionally require hundreds of manufacturing steps. Watching it happen in person felt like I had a glimpse into the future of manufacturing.

Beneath your foot sits a curved carbon speedboard paired with a new generation of the brand’s Helion HF super foam, 15% lighter than its predecessor. While carbon plates often get all the attention, what I learned is it’s really the combination of foam, geometry and plate that makes today’s super shoes so effective. Rather than acting like springs, the plates help stabilize the super soft foam and create a smooth rolling sensation.

Of course, no On shoe would be complete without its signature CloudTec sole. For the Cloudboom Strike 2, the brand has evolved the design into CloudTec Sphere—a series of sculpted hollow pods that absorb impact and spring back with each step to help keep runners’ legs feeling fresh. Especially late in the race.

On says the LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2 improves running economy by 1.6% compared with leading industry benchmarks, and its elite athletes are already seeing the payoff. I already mentioned Hellen Obiri, but Yeman Crippa—who I met during a training session at a decidedly chic Paris boutique gym—told me he chopped 48 seconds off his personal best when he won the Paris Marathon this spring in these shoes. Casual.

Will a pair of $400 racing shoes magically shave minutes off every runner’s marathon? Of course not. Training will always matter more than technology. But after watching these shoes emerge from robotic arms in Zurich and make their fashion-week debut in Paris, I’m no longer convinced super shoes are just hype. They represent one of the biggest leaps in running innovation in decades—and for the first time, I’m genuinely tempted to make one my race-day shoe.

The Cloudboom Strike 2 and LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2 are available starting July 30.