[boris]

> We have been optimized very hard by evolution to be good at running, so there shouldn’t be any “easy” technologies that would make us dramatically faster or more efficient.

I wonder if these new shoes have the same affect on natural (i.e., non-paved) surfaces? Plus, they all look quite high off the ground (probably all those plates and foam need space) and that doesn't help with stability when running over rocks, etc.

[BruceEel]

Yes. The top marathon racing shoes are optimized for road-running & hard surfaces like asphalt. Definitely not good for trails. They are indeed very tall (though there's limits for official competitions.) Excellent lateral stability is essentially a non-goal so they are not a good choice for volleyball or tennis either. So yeah, we run in a very different world than the one where our ancestors evolved...