A purist might want the athletes to wear the same gear as Pheidippides

Why stop there. Why not deny them modern medicine or nutrition?

Let's save that for the second act. Need to draw these feats of strength out to sufficiently monetize the experience.

Such a purist should also note that Pheidippides was likely the runner who ran to Sparta and back, hundreds of miles, the preceding week to ask for their aid at Marathon.

A purist just wants it to be about the runner not the shoe.

Purism is extremism about a thing. Pick a thing, be purely about that thing.

I used to love F1 for the tech that would filter down to my car in ten years time, but that is not a thing anymore.

I for one love the advances in technology in something as supposedly simple as a shoe. And maybe I'll get to use it on a hike in a few years.

> I for one love the advances in technology in something as supposedly simple as a shoe. And maybe I'll get to use it on a hike in a few years.

These shoes are practically disposable. They trade longevity for noticeable gains in performance. Even the tier below don’t last very long. This is not tech that is going to filter down to your hiking boots.

Fair enough, I obviously haven't looked into it.

But the initial tech on an F1 car was not made for 200k miles either.

Even if the full tech stack to make it all work - material science, physical layout and construction - doesn't transfer, maybe some bit of it will.

My point being though, unlike some purists, I like the technology race. It is much better than having a brand war simply on the basis of brand loyalty.