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This article analyses the three key features of the super shoes that Hellen Obiri wore to successfully defend her Boston Marathon title.
Two-time World 5000m champion Hellen Obiri was in a class of her own at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, where she successfully defended her title.
Not much has been said about the shoes she wore on race day but they sure did play a huge role in her victory, which made her the first woman, since 2005, to win back-to-back titles at the Boston Marathon.
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Obiri wore On‘s Cloudboom Strike LS, a prototype running shoe featuring a solid 3D printed upper and they were laceless. Being the first time, she was wearing the shoe, it is evident that On is the next big thing when it comes to developing next-level performance running shoes.
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The shoes were presented in March at World Athletics in two versions, the On Cloudboom Strike LS Dev1 and the On Cloudboom Strike LS Dev1.2, and will be available to the general public starting from next year.
Shoe enthusiasts will be curious to know more about the shoes ahead of buying and it is important to note that Cloudboom is the category of On that encompasses the super racing shoes. However, the new Cloudboom Strike shoes appear quite different, completely revolutionized it seems, both in form and materials.
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The shoe is lace less, something never seen before in a racing shoe and it is made of a flexible plastic material, quite different from the microfiber present in many other high-end On models. The shoe also covers the foot like a true sock, becoming almost transparent and a bit wider around the ankle area.
On Running also uses the carbon plate, called Speedboard, in its shoes which helps to increase the runner’s speed with every On Speedboard being made to deliver a specific sensation. The material, shape, thickness and curve of the Speedboard change to provide different results based on different running needs.
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