I Lab Tested 17 Super Shoes - The Results Shocked Me | IMO 38

Matt dives into the results of his recent super shoe testing at Griffith University, comparing 12 of the best Chinese racing shoes before putting the leading models up against some of the biggest Western brands. Using laboratory running economy testing at 17 km/h, the results produced some major surprises - including a sub-US$100 Chinese shoe outperforming several of the world's most established super shoes. Matt Fox Links Coaching: https://sweatelitecoaching.com/matt-fox/ Supporters Club: https://sweatelite.co/supporters-club/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattinglisfox/ Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/6248359 Email: matt@sweatelite.co The Anta C202 G9 Edition 2 emerged as the best-performing Chinese shoe, ahead of the Li-Ning Feidian 6 Elite and Qiaodan Feiying Plaid 3.0. Matt breaks down the rankings, the impact price and expectations can have on perceived shoe performance, and just how much difference the right racing shoe could potentially make across a marathon. Matt also looks ahead to the Sydney Marathon, where he plans to attempt the world record for the fastest marathon run in jeans. He discusses the Australian Championships uniform rules, the maths behind breaking the 2:34:45 record, Sydney's challenging course, and why the record may be considerably harder than he initially expected. The episode finishes with Melbourne Marathon goals, the Fat Fox Method for managing body weight around marathon training, strength training, HYROX, longevity, an upcoming 5K attempt, and a preview of several upcoming podcast episodes. Episode Chapters 00:00 Podcast cold open 00:35 Why test super shoes 02:52 Lab testing setup 04:14 Chinese shoe rankings 04:49 Dragonfly hype check 06:19 Price and placebo 08:22 Third place surprise 10:14 Western shoe clues 11:59 Anta wins overall 12:54 Name confusion explained 14:49 Who this applies to 16:40 How big the gains 19:04 Cost and who should test 21:33 My marathon shoe history 23:22 Next race Sydney plans 24:20 Jeans Champs rules 25:57 Record maths reality 27:55 Sydney trip logistics 30:12 Melbourne dreams and Kipchoge 31:09 Fat Fox Method 34:23 Getting leaner safely 36:22 Gym, HYROX and longevity 40:57 Early mornings and wrap-up 42:07 Jeans and 5K prediction 44:14 Next content teasers