Icon Nike Epic React

Can shoes put an extra spring in your step?

A pair of very colourful running shoes. What’s the big deal?

You’re not looking at just any pair of very colourful running shoes. Meet the Epic React Flyknit, Nike’s genuinely innovative new trainers. We all like to think that deep within us lie the baffling stamina levels of Forrest Gump, but the fact is, running is flippin’ hard. With a pair of Reacts on your feet, though… well, let’s just say Wile E Coyote wouldn’t stand a chance.

Oh yeah?

Well, this is the first running shoe to incorporate Nike’s proprietary foam tech, which is designed to cushion the impact of every stride better than ever before. This fancy slab of foam, which makes up the shoe’s midsole, simultaneously performs the functions of both soft and hard materials. It absorbs energy and then returns it to you, so you’ll have more left in the tank for the final stretch of your run.

I’m all for less hopeless panting. What else do I need to know?

There’d be little point in putting all that effort into the bottom of the shoe if the top wasn’t up to it. Fortunately, the one-piece upper has been engineered to ensure it offers the support and flexibility that runners of all standards demand, while being as comfy as your favourite winter sock. All in all, React is 5% lighter, 11% softer, and returns 10% more energy than its predecessor, the Lunarepic 2. How’d you like them stats?

And they can back this all up?

Well, given that React has had 17,000 miles of testing – more than any other Nike shoe – from elite runners the world over, we’re not about to argue with them. As long as they give us an advantage over those fitness freaks at the park, we’re all game.