TESTED: Under Armour’s New Super Shoe Is All About Running Fast
Ready to run fast over any distance? Try these
Designed for speed, and matched with comfort, Under Armour’s new FLOW Velociti Elite running shoe is designed to run fast.
Designed in conjunction with 2022 New York Marathon winner, Sharon Lokedi, the Velociti Elite is marketed specifically at chasing PBs over pretty much any distance, with a full-length carbon plate, a dual-density midsole, a cushioned Pebax (the gold standard of foams) layer on top of the plate, and UA’s proprietary supercritical Flow foam underneath. At 220g in a UK 8 is also pretty light and has an 8mm drop (the heel-to-toe stack being 39mm/ 31mm).
The Ride
The Velociti Elite doesn’t have that ‘tipping you forward’ feel that the Vaporfly does, even when standing. But what it does have is a really comfortable, lively feel, in a durable shoe that should see you through a lot of miles.
Whereas some super shoes get rid of weight by removing elements that add comfort – a touch of padding on the heel, or on the tongue, for example – the Velociti Elite retains these features, so sure, you get a few more grams, but it’s also super comfy to run in. What they lack in that ‘catapault you off your toes’ feel, they do make up for in comfort. And over 42km that might end up being more important. A fast shoe, after all, is only fast if you don’t end up hobbling over the finish line with a shredded Achilles or similar.
They are also far more ‘stable’ than some carbon plate shoes. There’s none of the wobbliness here that you might get cornering in other super shoes and while the outsole of the shoe doesn’t have a rubber coating (removing weight), they show little wear after 160km across a variety of surfaces.
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