‘We wanted Apex to look like the future had arrived,’ says Charles Han, Nike’s senior director of running footwear design, when asked what was on the moodboard for the Apex – a silhouette that turns up to the supershoe gunfight brandishing a thermobaric weapon.
‘The double-stacked Air Zoom architecture became the visual hero,’ he says, explaining its formidable aesthetic, ‘so rather than hiding it, we used colour and form to celebrate it.’
Merriam-Webster defines ‘apex’ as ‘the uppermost point’. It’s loaded terminology for a brand whose mission is to perpetually chase just that – because once you’ve reached the summit, where to next? But there’s a sense that the Apex somehow goes beyond the platonic ideal of the supershoe. In fact, to call it a supershoe doesn’t sit quite right. This feels more like the supershoe going supernova – the end of one era, but the Big Bang of an entirely new universe.
When it came to development, all bets were off, with Nike’s engineers effectively given carte blanche to explore the outer limits of what a racing shoe could be.
The Apex made its official race-day debut on the feet of Eliud Kipchoge at the Melbourne Marathon earlier this month, where the 41-year-old duly set a new course record of 2:09:10. The shoe joins the Alphafly 4 and Swooshfly in Nike’s new ‘System of Speed’, which the brand insist is about choice rather than hierarchy. But if the Apex is the pinnacle, where does that leave the rest? And how much further can running footwear realistically go?
We spoke to Nike Running Product VP Bret Schoolmeester about the thinking behind the Apex, the boundaries of innovation and the eternal question of whether wearing such silhouettes on the morning coffee run is acceptable.
Do you think we’re approaching the physical limits of what footwear technology can achieve, or are we still at a relatively primitive stage? Where are we exactly on the timeline?
It’s interesting because every era tends to think it’s getting close to the limit, and then someone discovers a completely new way of thinking about the problem.
A decade ago, Nike helped usher in the supershoe era, and with Apex we’ve unlocked some of the biggest advancements we’ve seen since. But I don’t think the future will be defined by a single breakthrough technology. The next chapter will come from how athletes, sport scientists and innovators work together to better understand running and translate those insights into products.
As we continue to prototype, test and learn from runners at every level, we’re finding new opportunities not just in racing, but across the entire running journey. The goal is helping athletes train better, race faster and recover more effectively. From that perspective, it feels like we’re far closer to the beginning of what’s possible than the end.
What was the thinking behind the Apex’s zero-drop geometry, and how does its stack height influence the overall ride of the shoe?
The zero-drop geometry allowed us to maximise the performance system under the forefoot. Within a 40mm stack-height limit, a traditional heel-to-toe offset would leave less than 40mm in the forefoot, reducing the space available for the double-stacked Air Zoom platform.
By maintaining 40mm from heel to forefoot, we could place more Air where it is most important for compression, energy storage and return. The geometry is one part of the complete system, working with the Air Zoom units, foam, plate, wider outsole and rocker to support running economy, forward drive and stability.
Runners don’t notice the difference of the stack height as much once they start running in the shoes. What gave us confidence was the feedback from our wear testers. We saw athletes put more than 100 miles on the shoe, training and racing in the innovation while becoming comfortable with the ride.
We’ve heard plenty about GOATEK, but relatively little about the workings of the technology itself. Can you explain exactly how it works, what makes it different from existing traction systems, and what benefits runners can expect?
GOATEK is Nike’s latest traction platform, designed to give runners confidence when conditions are less than ideal. Developed by Nike Innovation and validated through extensive athlete testing, it combines a proprietary vulcanised rubber compound with a purpose-built outsole design to help deliver reliable grip across a wide range of road conditions.
What makes it different is its balance of traction and durability. Historically, improving one often meant compromising the other. Through multiple development cycles, five rounds of long-term wear testing and more than 18,000 miles of athlete testing, we refined the compound to help maximise grip while maintaining the durability athletes expect from a race-day shoe.
How much performance gain does a wearer get with one vs two Air Zoom units?
The performance comes from the full system, so we do not isolate the benefit to one component. We understand how each element performs independently, but the more important measure is how Air, foam, plate and geometry work together. And together the system delivers up to 40% more energy return than Alphafly 3.
A shoe like the Vaporfly 4 places a huge emphasis on lightness, giving designers a clear goal to chase. What was the overriding priority when approaching the Apex?
We had tremendous confidence in Alphafly 4 as the marathon racing shoe for a wide range of runners. It delivered an exceptional balance of responsiveness, comfort, stability and efficiency, and we believed it could serve marathoners across different abilities and goals.
That confidence created space for another question: if Alphafly 4 is the shoe we trust for the marathon, how far could we push performance at the absolute edge? We gave the team permission to explore ideas that were more ambitious, more experimental and focused on finding the outer limits of what was possible. That is how Apex was born.
Nike describe the Apex, Alphafly 4 and Swooshfly as a ‘System of Speed’ built around choice rather than hierarchy. But when the Apex is positioned at the very cutting edge of performance, how do you avoid creating a hierarchy almost by default?
Faster isn’t the only variable that matters. Athletes differ in biomechanics, preferences, race distances and what gives them confidence. The best shoe is the one that unlocks the best performance for that athlete. Apex explores one expression of speed. Alphafly 4 and Swooshfly explore others. The goal isn’t to tell runners which shoe is best. It’s to offer distinct solutions to different athlete needs.
Is there such a thing as the perfect running shoe, or is the very idea fundamentally at odds with how differently we all run?
Every athlete moves differently, races differently and looks for something different on race day. That’s what inspired our System of Speed philosophy. Rather than chasing a single solution, we’re creating distinct solutions that help more athletes unlock their best performance.
What was the biggest challenge in the development process?
The biggest challenge was turning a bold idea into a shoe that athletes could trust. When you’re introducing something as radical as a double-stacked Air Zoom platform, every element has to work together seamlessly – and athletes have to feel the difference. We spent countless hours prototyping, testing and working with athletes to make sure the innovation delivered meaningful benefits, feeling and confidence, not just something that looked different.
At the risk of becoming overly philosophical, we continually talk about this ‘running shoe space race’. How good does a running shoe actually have to be and where is the limit between compromising the actual human endeavour aspect?
For more than 50 years, we’ve watched as our athletes have shattered records, redefined human potential, and inspired the world. They have always been our muse. Records aren’t broken by shoes. They’re broken by athletes. Our role is to give them the best possible tools to chase what’s next.
Apex implies that this is the height and ultimate potential of the running series, so does that mean all future blue-chip innovations will fall under this umbrella?
Apex is both a product and a platform. The double-stacked Air Zoom architecture is the defining signal of the Apex platform, and we’re already working on future prototypes within it. What excites us most is that Apex doesn’t represent the end of innovation. It gives us an entirely new foundation to build from and explore what’s next for racing performance.
What is the balance between addition and subtraction when it comes to such innovation? So much of the conversation revolves around what we can add to a running shoe, but how do you approach the question of what to take away?
We always start with the runner and the specific benefit we’re trying to create. From there, we explore every possible solution and build the right system to deliver it.
Addition gets most of the attention because it’s visible. You can point to a new technology or a new component. Subtraction is harder because nobody notices what’s missing. But some of the best design decisions come from restraint. Every element has a cost, whether that’s weight, complexity or simply distraction from the athlete’s experience. So we’re constantly asking what deserves to stay and what doesn’t.
Ultimately, innovation isn’t about putting more into a shoe. It’s about delivering more for the athlete, whether that comes from adding, refining or taking something away entirely.
There’s an eternal debate about people wearing supershoes in a casual, lifestyle context and whether that’s acceptable. From a designer’s perspective, how would you feel if you spotted someone wearing the Apex out for a coffee?!
I would smile. We design these products for performance, but it’s always rewarding when people connect with them beyond their original purpose. It means the design, craftsmanship and innovation resonate with people. If someone is excited enough about the shoe to wear it every day, that is a compliment for sure.
In other Nike news, it looks like the Nike Air Max 95 Lux is on the way back, courtesy of Milan’s One Block Down.
