If you’re new to running and you’re looking for a cute-but-kitschy starter sneaker, look no further. Nike has created a new jogging shoe for you called the Nike Joyride Run Flyknit. Unlike the shoes they make for speed and distance, this new sneaker is designed to make runners feel "fresh." This is a vague but original way to hype up a shoe made for shakeout jogs or beginner runs.
Their team of genius shoe engineers created it with impact absorption in mind, and gave it cushioning designed for people who run heel to toe. It has multiple, strategically placed pockets on the bottom that are filled with hundreds of tiny beads, which form to your foot. It looks and feels a bit like they inserted baby-sized ball pits into the bottom of the shoes — but it sure seems to be effective.
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“Joyride is a super exciting opportunity to speak to a new kind of runner, a beginning runner, who maybe has been a little intimidated by the sport, or maybe has dabbled in it before, but has fallen off," William Moroski, a senior product manager for Nike Running, tells Refinery29.
Moroski and the Nike team put their heads together for years before they figured out the best way to arrange the tiny pellets in the sneaker’s separate cavities, but ultimately came up with a fairly lightweight shoe that runs well, and has a great midsole for impact absorption. Although it’s designed for easy runs, I kicked the treadmill at Nike's HQ in New York up fairly high, and still enjoyed the experience. (Granted, my “high speed” on a treadmill is only about a 9.) It fit well, and the shock absorption in the heel gave it a great cushion.
Starting August 15, the Nike Joyride Run Flyknit will be available globally for $180. You can purchase it today, though, if you’re a Nike Member.
"[We want to] make it less about running fast or running long, and actually just make it about having a great experience," Moroski says.
