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The premier footwear from Nike, famously worn by the deceased athlete Kelvin Kiptum, was quickly purchased by customers upon its release to the public.
The UK launch for the Alphafly 3 was planned for 8am on Thursday, March 7, but the majority of sizes were quickly sold out.
Nike initially priced the carbon-plated shoe at £284.99, but the shoe quickly sold out and began to appear on resale websites like eBay at significantly higher prices, occasionally exceeding £500.
Unfortunately, Kiptum passed away in a car accident in Kenya in February. Prior to his death, he had used a test version of the Alphafly 3s shoes during the Chicago Marathon in October, where he made history by being the first man to complete the race in under 2 hours and 1 minute.
The most recent launch was the second wave, following the first one, which was released in January and quickly sold out.
The newest version of the Alphafly from Nike is their most lightweight yet, weighing in at 218 grams. It has a heel-to-toe difference of 8mm and a heel stack of 40mm.
Several individuals who attempted to buy the running shoe were disappointed by its speedy sell-out and the prevalence of listings on resale websites soon after.
Nike is not the sole company experiencing high demand, as Adidas also faced a similar scenario with their Adizero Adios Pro 1s selling out after Tigist Assefa shattered the women’s world record in the Berlin Marathon by two minutes in September.
The Adidas merchandise caused quite a stir when it was revealed that they were only meant to be used for a single race, despite their price tag of £400.
Marathon shoes have become the latest must-have for any runner competing in the longer distances, especially since the development of the carbon plate, which then led to Nike’s Vaporfly and Alphafly models.
There has been much debate surrounding the shoes, as their performance has resulted in a decline in records in recent times. However, restrictions on maximum shoe height for track and road running apply to all new models.
Source: independent.co.uk
