Nike Apex: The new super shoe aiming to take the New York City Marathon by storm
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in
The 2026 New York City Marathon is here and there is a secondary race between brands to emerge as the best super shoe in the market.
Nike led the revolution in 2017 with the original Vaporfly, before rivals caught up and, in the case of Adidas, and specifically the Adizero Adios Pro EVO 3, took over, after helping Sabastian Sawe become the first sub-two hour marathoner at this year’s London Marathon.
It is now established that the margins between brands and super shoes is slimmer than ever, with runners being afforded more options and, usually, better value as a result, even if the latest Adidas super shoe will retail at £450, should you even be able to get your hands on a pair.
But Nike’s latest top racing option, the Apex, has turned heads and should provoke curiosity on the streets of the five New York boroughs and at the finish line in Central Park this Sunday.
The shoe. which will cost you £319.99 and is available from January 2027, is marketed as a superior option to the Alphafly 4.
The shoe has a carbon-fibre plate, like all of the best racing shoes in the sport, but the difference here is that the shoe also has two double-stacked Air Zoom units, with the pockets of air thought to add to the propulsion off the Asphalt in road races.
“The Apex is crazy,” US marathoner Charles Hicks, who has a PB of 2:04:35, tells the Independent. “And I loved the Alphafly 2, but the No 1 thing you get out of it is the responsiveness, it felt like I was able to fly in it, kind of like the Alphafly when it first came out, but I’ve never felt as bouncy in a shoe.”
While US marathon record holder Connor Mantz, who is aiming for a podium place in New York on Sunday, told Citius Mag: “It was incredible, a lot of people mention it’s a one marathon shoe, but it still looks pretty new and has about 50 miles on it, I was impressed by how well it held up. I’ll be racing in it. I heard Galen [Rupp] loved it [at Chicago Marathon 2026], he really, really liked it.”
