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Rising Sprint Star Signs for PUMA

Sean FalconerNewsLeave a Comment on Rising Sprint Star Signs for PUMA

Global sports brand PUMA has signed 22-year-old US-American track and field athlete Abby Steiner. The rising star’s victory in the women’s 200-metre final of the US Outdoor Championships in 21.77 seconds made her the second-fastest woman in the world over this distance up till that point in 2022, and this week she made it through to the 200m final at the World Athletic Championships in Eugene, going on to finish fifth with a time of 22.26 in her first appearance in a world final.

Steiner currently boasts impressive personal bests of 10.90 for 100m and that 21.77 for 200m, and she holds both the women’s indoor 200m American record with a time of 22.09, as well as the collegiate-level NCAA 200m record (outdoors) at 21.80, which she set at the NCAA Championships in June this year.

In 2018, Steiner was named her nation’s best high school female athlete, having excelled both in athletics and soccer. That year she began studying at the University of Kentucky (UK) on a dual-sport scholarship, but after tearing her knee ligaments on the soccer field, she decided to focus on the track, and Steiner cites this decision as a key to her track development: “Before, with soccer, I’d be training soccer in the fall, then I would come to track. I think really allowing myself to dive fully into the process of the periodisation of training that we do, so fall training and then going into indoor and outdoor seasons, it’s all really important in developing speed and getting to where you want to be.”

Eyes on the Prize

Since focusing solely on the track, Steiner has quickly developed into a world-class athlete. She won the 2021 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championship 200m title with a meeting record 22.38. Then in 2022, she completed a full sweep of medals at the next installment of the NCAA Indoor Champs, taking gold in the 200m (with a meeting record 22.16), silver in the 60m (with a PB 7.10), and bronze in 4x400m relay.

Next up was the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Champs, where she won gold in the 200m and set that 21.80 NCAA record, added a bronze medal in the 100m with her 10.90 PB, and helped her UK varsity team win the 4x400m relay (in another meeting record 3:22.55). Steiner followed that with her title-winning 200m run at the US Champs, with yet another PB.

Earlier this year, Steiner was named the National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and the 2022 Honda Sport Award winner for Track & Field, presented annually to the most outstanding women’s college athlete in each of 12 NCAA Division 1 women’s sports. Therefore, PUMA is thrilled to announce that she has signed to run in the company’s shoes and apparel. “Abby Steiner is one of the most exciting upcoming stars in Track and Field,” said Pascal Rolling, Head of Running Sports Marketing at PUMA. “We believe that she will have a brilliant career, and we want to be by her side and support her.”

Ready to Fly Faster

Steiner graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science in May 2022, and has been accepted to the UK’s physical therapy programme, but has decided to defer her enrolment in order to concentrate on her professional track career, and she is understandably happy to land a lucrative sponsorship deal with a sport brand so prominent and involved in track and field. “PUMA’s list of high-performance athletes is impressive and being one of them just feels amazing,” says Steiner. “I am very happy to be part of the PUMA family now, and I can’t wait to take off.”

More About PUMA

PUMA is one of the world’s leading sports brands, designing, developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories. For more than 70 years, PUMA has relentlessly pushed sport and culture forward by creating fast products for the world’s fastest athletes. PUMA offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running and Training, Basketball, Golf, and Motorsports. It collaborates with renowned designers and brands to bring sport influences into street culture and fashion. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Cobra Golf and stichd. The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs about 16,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

The PUMA Run XX NITRO is for HER

Roxanne MartinTried & TestedLeave a Comment on The PUMA Run XX NITRO is for HER

PUMA recently sent us the women-specific Run XX NITRO to wear-test, and our Marketing Director Roxanne Martin has been putting the shoe through its paces.

First Impressions

Before taking them out the box, the Run XX NITRO tells you that it is made for women who run – the name is derived from the female double X chromosome in DNA sequencing – and in line with PUMA’s RUN FOR HER motto, the design takes a woman’s needs into account, but more on that later.

The shoe’s design catches your eye the moment you look at it. The colour is bright pink with touches of purple, making it stand out. It’s bold, and in my opinion, a good-looking shoe.

Now, whenever I try a new running shoe, I like to wear it for at least three days before I attempt any running. I find that this gives the shoe a chance to ‘soften’ a bit, allowing me to wear it in before I hit the road. Doing a couple of days of walking always helps me to get used to the shoe, and how the shoe will adapt to my running style.

Straight out of the box, the shoe was a firm fit, but after wearing it for a few days, the upper had a chance to stretch a bit, and I had a chance to get used to the way the shoe guided my foot. Naturally, the sole design of a shoe has a massive impact on this, and in the case of the Run XX NITRO, it really feels that it is designed with running in mind.

Running in the Shoe

The Run XX NITRO is marketed as a women-specific neutral cushioned shoe, so being a female runner, I was understandably excited to give it a wear-test. 

When I read up on the shoe, I found that PUMA says the following: Featuring an updated fit that hugs a woman’s foot at the heel, instep and arch, the shoe’s new, firmer NITRO midsole is the perfect balance of durability and lightweight cushioning, while RUNGUIDE promotes proper alignment and increased stability for longer distances.

The first thing I noticed was that the front of the shoe was wider than other PUMA shoes I have run in. I am always appreciative of this, as the front of my foot needs some breathing room, and this ties in with the fact that women often have wider forefeet and narrower heels than men. With the wider fit upfront, my foot can hit the ground more evenly, making my running feel more stable. Meanwhile, the back of the shoe holds my heel nicely, while I run, especially around my ankle. Having weak ankles and a bunion by my big toes, I really appreciated these design elements, as it’s not often that a unisex shoe will cover these bases.

The second thing that I felt when running in the shoe was that my arch felt supported the entire time. Again, women-specific shoes usually have a more built-up arch, as women’s feet tend to be quite different to men’s, and I really felt the benefits of this in the Run XX NITROs. This also makes the shoe incredibly cushioned throughout your stride pattern, but with a terrific springiness that makes you feel like you are ‘springing into action,’ with just the right amount of give and take between putting your foot down on the ground and lifting it again, giving you even cushioning and smooth rebound.


Things to Consider Before Buying

Women often have wider hips than men, causing our legs to naturally pivot inwards at more of an angle, so many women will require anti-pronation shoes for running. When designing women-specific shoes, designers bear this in mind, adding more support in the arch, but keep in mind that this still a neutral shoe, so take that into consideration before buying.

The easiest way to understand what shoe will fit your running style is to have a gait analysis done. This measures how your foot hits the ground and how far it rolls inwards as you move forwards. The good news is that this does not need to be an expensive exercise, as you can simply pop into your local Totalsports, which coincidentally also stocks this shoe, for a free gait analysis with one of their Run Specialists.

Another thing to remember is that most running shoes are made to be unisex, meaning the men’s shoes are simply down-sized for women, and not specifically made for women. However, with this specific shoe, I found the fit is slightly bigger than normal, and I needed a size down from my normal choice, so I suggest you first try on the shoe to make sure you have the correct fit.

 

 

Would I Buy this Shoe?

After running in the shoe, my answer is a definite yes! Thanks to the women-specific features and tech built into the design, I think PUMA has done its homework well to come up with a shoe that really addresses the needs of female runners, and I really enjoyed running in them. If you want to check the Run XX NITRO out, you’ll find them at your nearest PUMA stockists, selling at a recommended price of R3199.



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Made for Her, the PUMA RUN XX

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PUMA releases its first women’s specific running shoe!

For too long, running shoes have been made for men and then redesigned to fit a woman’s foot shape. This season, PUMA is rewriting that narrative with the Run XX NITRO, a running shoe made for her.

Named for the woman-specific double X chromosome DNA sequence, the Run XX stands behind PUMA’s ‘Run for Her’ positioning to prioritize female runners’ needs in the way we build and engineer our products. In collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Biomechanics Lab, PUMA launched a research study recruiting 224 runners who logged more than 36,000 miles over eight weeks. In conclusion, 81 percent of women in the study preferred the Run XX over the control shoe and said they liked the cushioning and responsiveness of the Run XX over the control.

“This was the first time we conducted a large-scale study on female runners and the results will help us shape our approach to women’s running shoes going forward,” said Erin Longin, General Manager of the Run/Train business unit at PUMA, adding, “I believe this study will help us to continue to support female runners and keep them running longer.”

The Run XX features a progressive, female-specific design. Featuring an updated fit that hugs a woman’s heel, instep, and arch, the running shoe’s new firmer NITRO Foam midsole is the perfect balance of durable and lightweight. The shoe’s RUN GUIDE promotes proper alignment and increased stability for longer distances.

“As a runner myself, I want to know my running shoes will support by own biomechanics because women are made differently, and the Run XX does exactly that,” said Erin.

Run XX NITRO will be available from 24 June 2022 on PUMA.com, PUMA Stores, Totalsports, Superbalist, and selected retailers with a retail price of R3199.

 

Even Better Than Before

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The lightweight, neutral PUMA Velocity Nitro 2 is a slight upgrade on what was already a really good shoe, offering a cushioned, responsive and comfortably smooth ride. – By Sean Falconer

In 2021, PUMA made the running world sit up when it introduced its Nitro range, featuring new nitrogen-infused NITRO foam midsoles. These immediately proved popular because of their cushy, soft feeling, but still with a snappy, responsive ride. The Deviate Nitro Elite garnered widespread attention that year when US marathoner Molly Seidel wore them as she won the bronze medal in the Olympic Marathon, and another popular model in the range was the Velocity Nitro, a budget-friendly neutral trainer designed more for recreational runners. Now with the Velocity Nitro 2, PUMA has managed to enhance the performance of the original shoe.


Targeted Cushioning

As much as NITRO foam has proven popular, some runners have found that the softness of the NITRO can start feeling a bit sluggish as your legs tire and you tend to heel-strike more and ‘sit’ lower on your heels. In other words, they wanted a bit more structure in their shoes, not just out-and-out soft cushioning, and that’s where PUMA has tweaked the design to improve the shoe’s performance.

The Velocity Nitro 1 featured a midsole made predominantly of NITRO, but with a heel plug of firmer EVA foam and a stabilizing plastic shank in the heel. In the Velocity Nitro 2, PUMA has extended the layer of EVA foam, which now runs the entire length and width of the shoe and sits underneath the NITRO layer. This provides more stability for the NITRO, allowing it to do its cushioning job without compressing too much and becoming sluggish. At the same time, PUMA has reduced the EVA foam’s thickness in the heel, and increased the NITRO foam’s thickness there, while eliminating the heel clip. The heel stack height remains the same at 33.5mm, with a 10mm drop to the forefoot.

These changes are responsible for a softer feel in the heel and a smoother, snappier toe-off, but that plusher heel is obviously of more importance to heel-strikers, especially with that 10mm heel-drop. That said, because I am a midfoot striker and like running lighter and faster, more up on my toes, I still found the midfoot and forefoot provided great cushioning and a most enjoyable ride, with a noticeable feeling of forward propulsion as you transition to the forefoot. I therefore found these shoes ideal for faster tempo runs and speedwork, but I could definitely still do long runs in them.

I also found that the PUMAGRIP rubber outsole coped well with several different surfaces I ran on, including tar, gravel and grass, as well as wetter surfaces, and the treadmill. The Velocity Nitro 2 features more outsole rubber than the original, but more importantly, the new triangular lugs on the outsole provide exceptional grip. I felt really sure of my footing these shoes. Oh, and at just under 250 grams per shoe, these shoes are light, but they also ‘feel’ really light, too.


Comfort Ensured

I don’t mind admitting that I have really soft feet, and thus I like a bit of cushioning around the heel area. Otherwise, shoes can rub my Achilles up the wrong way… That’s pretty much the only reason I was not the world’s biggest fan of the Deviate Nitro plated shoe last year, and also why the original Velocity Nitro was criticised. Happily for my heels, this new Velocity Nitro 2 ticks all the boxes in this area, with a well-cushioned and comfy heel collar, and I had no problems with slippage, because it’s not too bulky to prevent the heel being locked down securely. 

The shoe’s new seamless mesh upper proved comfy, too – not quite the stretchy sock-like fit of other shoes I have run in, but still very comfy. I particularly liked the toe box area, which is unstructured and allows my toes room to wiggle. The tongue is now also slightly thicker and more cushioned, for extra comfort.

What My Feet Said

The key to this shoe is its NITRO midsole, providing exceptional shock absorption with energetic rebound, but that grippy outsole and comfy upper are also big plus-points. Meanwhile, the women’s version has been created with specifically for the female foot, with a narrower heel, lower in-step and sculpted arch.

In terms of fit, I have wider feet and found the half-size did the job in giving my feet enough room, while my usual 8.5 UK sizing seemed just right – the thumb-width of space in front of my toes is definitely a thumb-width. However, some reviews I read said that testers found the shoes a bit on the longer side, and thus recommended trying a half-size down. This is one of those situations where you will only know if you go into a PUMA stockist and try the shoes on for yourself. As they say, if the shoe fits…

GET THEM HERE

The PUMA Velocity Nitro 2 retails for a suggested selling price of R2799 at PUMA stores, Totalsports, Sportsmans Warehouse, Superbalist and selected retailers, or you can order the shoes online at puma.com.



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Some Nitro Served on a Plate

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The world’s elite athletes are all running in plated shoes these days, because very simply put, they make you faster, and if you have that same need for speed, you should give the PUMA Deviate Nitro a try. Ed Sean Falconer gives his views on the latest PUMA shoe.

Over the years, I have found it interesting to watch the development of the tech in PUMA’s shoes. One of their projects that stood out for me was Mobium technology – introduced around 2013, if my memory serves – which featured a thin figure-of-eight bungee cord built into the midsole, which contracted and stretched with your foot to give the shoe better rebound properties. It was an interesting concept that unfortunately didn’t really hit the spot with the running market, but I give PUMA points for trying something new.

Now PUMA have come out with the Deviate NITRO, which the company describes as a “max cushion shoe with improved efficiency for long runs.” But that’s just marketing speak, and could just as easily describe every other running shoe on the market. No, the real story here is the new tech, and it starts with the carbon-composite plate embedded in a nitrogen-infused midsole!

Riding the Plate Wave

The midsole is made from PUMA’s new NITRO foam, which is a supercritical material that provides a lighter and bouncier ride than previous midsole materials from PUMA, even their IGNITE foam. In layman’s terms, they pump nitrogen into the compound as it is formed and baked, which then creates subtle bubbling that ensures better cushioning and springiness in the midsole.

PUMA then added the carbon-infused INNOPLATE, sandwiched between two layers of NITRO and running till midway in the forefoot. This plate is designed to really make your toe-off ‘pop’ as the shoe helps to propel you forwards… much like PUMA’s Mobium band was designed to do, but this is so much more effective and efficient!

When I ran in the shoe, I found it a little on the rigid side at slow speeds, but that’s understandable – this shoe is designed to help you go faster, after all. Once you get up even a little speed, and pivot ever so slightly more forward than you may be used to doing, those plates really kick in. Overall, I felt the shoe gave me the right balance between soft cushioning on landing and a snappy take-off.

The tooling of the shoe is rounded off by a PUMAGRIP outsole, which is particularly effective in the forefoot to ensure firm grip on the road as that plate does its ‘slingshot’ act. After all, the last thing you’d want with that extra power is loss of traction, like an over-revved car spinning its wheels. The stack height drop is 8mm (32mm in the heel, 24mm at the toe), which is pretty standard stuff for a well cushioned running shoe.

My Only Criticism…

The mesh upper of this shoe is breathable and looks both modern and cool – and personally, I love the bright orange colour, because I like my running shoes to look fast! The upper has minimal overlays, which is good – while they provide structure and form to an upper, they can make it less flexible and giving, and I think this shoe has just the right amount.

Furthermore, I like that the tongue has minimal padding and is gusseted (attached to the footbed), meaning it stays in place throughout your run, but at the same time my wider foot found the forefoot area roomy and comfy enough. That’s an important consideration for me, given that PUMA did build some of its shoes on a narrow last in years gone by, which I found too tight.

However, there was one part of the upper that rubbed me up the wrong way at first. The first time I put on the shoes, I noticed slippage in the collar around my ankle, and I put this down to the interesting design of an unpadded collar with two prominent pads a little lower down that wrap each side of the heel. I also found that the slightly harder upper edge of the heel cup area was digging into my Achilles. I therefore put the laces through the extra eyelets closest to the ankle and synched them really tight, and that took care of the slippage, and to a large extent the Achilles irritation as well, but I did find that thicker socks were better.

…But the Ride Solves That!

That said, once I got up to speed in the shoes, I quickly forgot about the collar, because the performance of the rest of the shoe was so good! This shoe seems to promote forefoot striking and a quicker toe-off, and thus the collar of the shoe doesn’t play nearly as prominent a role as it would if you were heel-striking and squishing down on your heels. So, my take on this is that each individual runner will need to experiment with lacing and socks to find the most comfortable fit, and when you get that right, you will feel the real benefit of these shoes and their snappy forefoot.

 

Get Them Here: The PUMA Deviate Nitro retails for a recommended R3999 and is available from PUMA stores and at PUMA.com