As long as I've been running, Nike was never a top choice for long distance runners.
It was always brooks or asics or suacony.
Now it's Hoka and On
So why are we blaming our current woes on Nike running?
5 replies (most recent on top)
Middle aged runners have been ignored by Nike for years if not decades
That’s why “everyday runners” trust other brands.
Did we live in 2 different worlds? In your world, did the Vaporflys / Alphaflys not completely dominate the racing market between 2018 and 2022-ish?
Well, because Nike made a lot of stupid choices. Their tech was geared towards fast rather than your everyday runner, they backed out of running stores in favor of DTC, they change their fits/sizing too much, performance isn’t consistent, et.
Nike didn’t lose because they make bad shoes—they lost because they tried to win running like it was basketball: top-down, hype-driven, and elite-first. Meanwhile, brands like HOKA and ON built community-first ecosystems that invited everyone in.
Agreed - Nike running shoes have always been for the casuals and normies not people who consider running their “sport”
I am talking about middle aged runners in local marathons