NIKE VAPORFLY VS HOKA CARBON X // NEW BALANCE 1080 AND £10 SHOE! SUPRISED! - Ben Parkes

Aug 13, 2025

Intro

This is a quick summary of NIKE VAPORFLY VS HOKA CARBON X // NEW BALANCE 1080 AND £10 SHOE! SUPRISED! from Ben Parkes. It’s a fun watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the workout today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points

Four‑by‑four‑hundred: 4 × 400 m repeats with 2–3 min recovery, each repeat run in a different pair of shoes.
Shoes tested: £10 Decathlon shoe, New Balance 1080, Hoka Carbon X, Nike Vapourfly.
Data insights: Cadence stayed around 200 spm for all shoes; stride length increased from ~1.5 m (Decathlon) to 1.65 m (Nike), adding roughly 21 m per minute of running in the carbon shoe.
Practical tip: Keep effort level consistent across shoes; the carbon plate gives extra forward propulsion without changing cadence, so you can use the same effort but cover more ground.

Workout Example

Warm‑up: easy jog + a few 200‑m strides.
4 × 400 m at a hard but sustainable effort (aim for ~68 s on the fast shoe).
- Rest 2‑3 min (light jog or walk) between reps.
- Switch shoes after each 400 m (order: Decathlon → New Balance → Hoka → Nike).
Optional 1 × 1000 m at the same effort (use the shoe that felt best for the 400 m).
Cool‑down: easy jog 5‑10 min.

Closing Note

Give this shoe‑swap interval session a try and tweak the paces to match your own training zones in the Pacing app. Have fun testing your gear and see how a few centimeters of stride can make a big difference—run fast, run smart! 🚀