The Shakeout Podcast

Every sport has had its watershed moment when a new technology upends the landscape and redefines what’s possible. Baseball had torpedo bats, swimming the Lazer swimsuits, road cycling the introduction of aerodynamic carbon frames and in running we are living through an era defined by what were first, and best, described as “super shoes.” 

For the last decade, the shoe industry has gone into overdrive to create shoes capable of blending impossible lightness with unbelievable energy return. The holy grail sought by shoe designers in this footwear arms race: crafting the pair of shoes that would propel the first man in history to a sub 2-hour marathon performance. 

As of Sunday, we are now officially living in the new sub-2 era, as not one, but two men, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, tore down the two-hour marathon barrier at last weekend’s London Marathon. 

While every factor imaginable aligned perfectly for these two men to take the sport somewhere no one has gone before, one factor in particular has drawn the lion's share of attention: the shoes. Both Sawe and Kejelcha ran in the just-released adidas Adios Pro Evo 3, a shoe touted as the lightest, fastest super shoe ever created.

This week on The Shakeout Podcast we’re diving into what makes these super shoes so super, and what physiological factors they impact that have helped runners achieve times long-thought impossible. To make sense of it all is Olympian and Mayo Clinic exercise physiologist Dr. Shalaya Kipp, a leading thinker in the science of shoe innovation. As one of the first researchers to quantify the running economy-improving benefits of super shoes, Shalaya reveals to us what specific factors are at play in these record-breaking shoes, how our bodies respond to these factors over the marathon distance and why runners of lesser ability might actually benefit the most from this new era of shoe tech. 

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[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]

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Dr. Shalaya Kipp PhD.

Google Scholar

Shalaya Kipp earned her PhD in Kinesiology from the University of British Columbia, where her research focused on breathing mechanics during exercise, with a particular interest in sex differences and aging. Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed a master’s degree in Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she studied the biomechanics and energetics of human running, including early research on Nike’s 4% Vaporfly super shoe.

Shalaya also has an extensive background as a competitive runner. She is an NCAA champion, a nine-time All-American, and has represented the United States at both the World Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games.

She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she studies human performance. Outside of research, Shalaya enjoys stroller runs with her four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter.

Below is a curated list of Shalaya's running economy research: 

The first "supershoe" paper   https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0811-2?cjdata=MXxZfDB8WXww&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_campaign=CONR_BOOKS_ECOM_PBOK_ALWYS_DEEPLINK_GL&utm_content=textlink&utm_term=PID100086434&CJEVENT=d09b2ac1dcc811f0801f01d10a18b8f6

How improvements in running economy translate to improvements in performance: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00079/full

Supplementary data spreadsheet if you want to see how much a n% improvement in performance translates to your new race time: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00079/full#supplementary-material

Point-counter/point article on the pros/cons of supershoes (also called advanced footwear technology): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pmrj.70149

For shoe designers, bringing a new model to market is always an uphill battle, but when that model is your first foray into the running shoe industry, it’s an even steeper mountain to climb.

Fortunately for Scott Robertson, Innovation product manager at KEEN, reaching challenging summits is nothing new. 

When KEEN decided that now was the time to make their presence felt in the trail running world, they needed to look no further than their own “resident dirtbag”, whose CV includes stints as a park ranger, trail guide, rock climber and product-tester at some of the outdoor industries biggest brands. 

In crafting KEEN's submission to the trail running world, Scott was equal parts innovator and test dummy, and today he joins the show to share his experience crafting the shoe that he hopes will help countless runners take the road less traveled. 

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

Perhaps it comes with the territory for someone with a degree in electrical engineering, but Kieran Lumb has never shied away from exploring the “Why” behind what he’s doing. 

In the context of his current day job, running as fast as possible at distances from the 1500m to the 10k, Kieran’s curiosity has led him to explore virtually every training style under the sun, never afraid to embrace the unknown in the name maximizing performance. 

That tinkerer’s mindset is what pulled him from his hometown of Vancouver  to Seattle, the sight of his breakthrough onto the global stage as young pro, and it is the same sense of exploration that has seen him make another move in the pursuit of excellence, this time across the world to the hub of endurance innovation, Norway. 

Less than a year into this most recent training upgrade, and already with a pair of national record-hitting times on the roads this year, there’s plenty of real-world feedback to suggest the changes made were the right ones. 

This week on The Shakeout Podcast, Kieran joins the show to recap his move across the pond, what immersing himself in the now-famous “Norwegian Method” has looked like, and what new and exciting innovations he believes will be the next to propel his career even further forward. 

To hear more of Kieran's story, be sure to check out our feature article in the latest edition of Canadian Running Magazine, available now on newsstands from coast-to-coast.

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code “shakeout2026” Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026

You need to create an account or sign in to access the discount.Valid on items at regular price only. Valid for a limited time only after sign up. Cannot be combined with any other discount code and/or promotion. Limited to one use per customer. Membership discount not applicable on this offer.

Ben Preisner may be the 3rd fastest Canadian of all time over the marathon distance, but when he toes the line on Marathon Monday in Boston he’ll be a rookie all over again. 

Despite a 2:08 personal best, 3 World Championship appearances, and an Olympic Games under his belt, the 2026 Boston Marathon will be the 30 year old’s debut at a World Marathon Major. 

What makes this year’s Boston debut even more exciting for fans of the sport has been Ben’s transparency in inviting fans along for the journey towards Hopkinton through his daily Vlog, Bensmarathontraining, where he’s shared the ins and outs, highs and lows of what goes into an elite marathoner’s buildup for their goal race. 

Today, Ben joins the show to recap his Boston build and share his last minute thoughts on the event before lining up alongside the best in the world for the 26.2 mile trip from Hopkinton to Boylston street. 

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code “shakeout2026” Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026

Valid on items at regular price only. Valid for a limited time only after sign up. Cannot be combined with any other discount code and/or promotion. Limited to one use per customer. Membership discount not applicable on this offer.

When Christopher Morales Williams ran his personal best in the indoor 400m in 2024 he became the first–and only–man in history to dip under 44.5 seconds. Due to a faulty sensor in his starting blocks however, what should be the official world record was never ratified. 

Two years later, and Morales Williams has finally gotten his shot at redemption, removing any doubt as to who the best indoor 400m runner in history really is. Two weeks ago in Poland he capped an undefeated indoor season with Gold at the world indoor championships, setting a new championship record in the process. 

Still just 21 years old, Morales Williams has racked up a resume that is the envy of pros far more seasoned than he is, yet while this World championship title has been two years in the making, it’s far from the limits of where he believes his career can take him.

This week on The Shakeout Podcast, Christopher joins us to recap his record-setting run, the training that got him the gold, and some of the secrets to his success that have made him the man to beat in the one-lap race.

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

Thanks to this week's sponsor, CanPrev

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