Some Nike shoes are actually making runners too fast

The Adidas shoes that helped break the marathon's 2-hour barrier

Two men broke the two-hour mark at the 2026 London Marathon, a feat previously unofficially achieved only by Eliud Kipchoge, thanks to a number of aides not permitted in an official race. Both men who broke the two-hour barrier in London wore the same shoe, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, a new model that weighs just over three ounces.

Eliud Kipchoge broke the 2-hour mark in a 2019 exhibition

In 2019, Kenya's Kipchoge ran 1:59:40.2, though it was part of an exhibition that included numerous aids—including elite runners cutting his wind and a laser marking the necessary pace—not permitted in officially sanctioned events. As such, it is not eligible for the world record.

Nike couldn’t sign legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine due to regulations

Because of amateur running regulations, Prefontaine—who held every American running record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters at the time—couldn’t do a paid endorsement for Nike. So Nike’s Phil Knight decided to give him a $5K yearly stipend and print business cards that said Prefontaine was the “National Director of Public Affairs.” When asked what that meant, Knight said, “it means he can run fast.”

Running became more popular in the mid-20th century

Once considered a fringe activity, running eventually became an American interest. The trend was spurred in part by the 1966 book "Jogging," which was cowritten by Bill Bowerman, the cofounder of Nike.

The first shoes Jordan got from Nike were against NBA regulations

The initial mockups Nike gave Jordan were entirely black and red. The NBA had strict rules around shoe color at the time that these colors violated. The story goes that Nike paid the $5K fine for each game that Jordan wore the shoes in, but there’s no photographic evidence that Jordan ever wore them in a game at all. Regardless, Nike created the “banned” ad, capitalizing on the controversy.

The most expensive shoe ever sold is from Nike

A prototype of Kanye’s Air Yeezy’s from 2008 sold for $1.8M in 2021. Kanye West wore the shoes at a Grammys performance in 2008, and they became one of the most sought-after samples in sneaker history.

A NASA engineer came up with the idea for the air-cushioned Nike Air shoes

Frank Rudy came to Nike with the idea of using air capsules in the soles of running shoes to provide better cushioning. The first shoe with this technology, the Tailwind, came out in 1979.

Watch Bill Nye discuss biomechanics and sustainability while shopping for sneakers

While exploring sneaker history and technology, Nye covers the science of structural design, air bubbles and materials, including algae foam. He once voiced a 20-minute guided run on the Nike Run Club app.

Runners typically burn 2,600 calories during a marathon

They also burn between 5-10 pounds of water weight, often feel more focused and elated (thanks to increased neurotransmitters), and, oddly enough, temporarily grow about a half-inch shorter due to back muscles tensing.

Nike’s labor practices became controversial in the 1990s—leading to widespread protests of the brand

In the 1990s, Nike came under fire for its use of factories with unsafe working conditions and child labour to produce its products. While Nike didn’t own the manufacturing sites, many people felt Nike was ultimately responsible for using sweatshops in countries like Vietnam and Thailand.

One ethnic group in Kenya is responsible for most of the country’s running success

Both the men’s and women’s world record holders in the marathon hail from the same region in Kenya. They’re Kalenjins, a minority ethnic group responsible for nearly 73% of the country’s Olympic gold medals in running. Studies have determined that the success is thanks to high-altitude training, a healthy diet, and a tradition of excellence.

There are over 800 annual marathons, but only seven deemed World Marathon Majors

The races—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, Sydney, and New York City—are on some of the best-known courses in the world and are run by some of the sport’s top athletes.

In 1980, a woman cheated her way to a Boston Marathon win

Rosie Ruiz, an unknown runner, finished first in the Boston Marathon, cutting her qualifying New York time by over 20 minutes. The world would soon learn, though, that Ruiz hadn't run the entirety of either race, something that her first interviewer seems to piece together by her strange answers to basic questions.

The gray area that makes PEDs seem like leveling up to hardcore athletes

Doping in sports is broadly condemned as unsafe and unfair. Significant controversies in major sports, including baseball and cycling, have been prompted by the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs, which are described as clear-cut dangers and abuses of the rules. But to many competitors, the line between a PED and the next smart technique to adopt is unclear. This podcast episode explores that gray reality.

NFL kickers are kicking the ball farther than ever before

A combination of training, technique, and new rules regarding equipment has led to a sharp improvement in kicking since 2020. Certain players are now allowed to keep footballs with them throughout the practice week and play with a ball of their choosing during games.

Many startups now have shoes-off policies

This website keeps track of startups with "no-shoes" offices so you can browse a list of barefoot companies—plus, see which of them are hiring.

Heat-related complications are of greater concern for distance runners than cardiac threats

Analysis of more than 130,000 runners in Tel Aviv events during a seven-year period indicated that the runners were 10 times more likely to experience heatstroke than serious cardiac problems. Scientists suggest that runners should take 10 to 14 days to acclimate to a hot climate before tackling a serious run.

Why Guinness stopped giving these world records

It's all fun until someone gets hurt. Here's an explainer on why Guinness, the world's official purveyor of superlative records, won't officiate certain events.

Statcast runs machine learning models in the 23-second gap between every pitch

The same Hawk-Eye cameras that track spin rate, exit velocity, and sprint speed also feed proprietary team models that update in near-real time. Some organizations have built streaming pipelines to surface insights mid-at-bat before the next pitch arrives.

Formula 1 cars are the world's fastest regulated road-course racing automobiles

F1 is the highest international level of open-wheel racing, where the wheels are not covered by the car’s body, differing significantly from NASCAR, which have covered wheels.

Peloton paid a $19M fine for its handling of treadmill injuries

In 2021, a six-year-old died after getting caught underneath a Peloton treadmill. A federal investigation into the company revealed that Peloton knew about injuries on the treadmill as early as 2018 and failed to report the incidents to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Is human evolution speeding up or slowing down?

In the past 3,000 years, many populations have evolved genetic adaptations to their local environments. People in Siberia and the high arctic are uniquely adapted to survive extreme cold. The Bajau people can dive 70 meters and stay underwater for almost 15 minutes. So what are other recent changes? And will our technological innovations impact our evolution?

Rent the Runway recently lost over 90% of its value

The COVID-19 pandemic and increased competition post-2020 are just two factors plaguing the designer clothing rental company.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp is an avid skier

Karp takes health and fitness very seriously and reportedly skis more than five hours each week. He has frequently recommended Norwegian-style cardio training, which emphasizes the length of a workout rather than effort level. In 2023, Karp reported having just 7% body fat—similar to that of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps during the 2008 Olympics.

Do sleep-tracking apps work?

Can technology help us sleep better? As wearables and apps promise to optimize our nights, this New York Times investigation reveals some troubling findings after columnist Brian Chen used a wearable for two weeks to track his sleep. He discovered that sleep trackers not only provide frequently questionable data but can also paradoxically worsen sleep problems by causing users to obsess over their metrics — a new condition researchers are calling ‘orthosomnia.’

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.