RISE OF THE "ILLEGAL" RUNNING SHOES

Banned shoes emerged courtside long before they found their way onto a marathon course.

- MORGAN PETRUNY

Legend has it that nearly 40 years ago, Michael Jordan laced up a pair of red and black high-tops in violation of the NBA's approved uniform colors. In 2010, the league cracked down again-this time, for reasons besides aesthetics-on a pair of basketball shoes that were shown to increase a player's vertical jump height. Today, Nike's Air Jordan brand is a household name and multibillion-dollar business, and shoemaker Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) has since released additional banned styles (Superfuture and Concept X) of its performance-boosting kicks.

Though some speculate these bans were mostly crafty marketing, the same can't be said about the wave of "illegal" shoes that is flooding the roadways on the feet of runners. Super shoes have proven a true performance boon to both elites and recreational runners on race day. Now the tech has trickled down to shoes for daily runs, ushering in super-thick, though still permissible, shoes that have created their own category: super trainers.

What Is a Super Trainer?

Technically, a formal definition doesn't exist. But we'll establish some general parameters.

Super trainers share many of the same qualities as super shoes built for race day: a tall stack height, efficient midsole geometry, high-powered super foam, and usually some sort of plate. But these trainers aren't meant for racing, like a Nike Vaporfly or Saucony Endorphin Elite-they're designed for everyday mileage.