The World’s Craziest (And Most Illegal) Running Shoe

PUMA’s Fast RB Nitro Elite is the world’s most outrageous and illegal running shoe. 

The Fast RB features rule-breaking innovation and a remarkable design that we’ve never seen before in a running shoe. 

With a 58mm stack height in the heel, Puma’s Fast RB is an insane 18mm above the legal limit set by World Athletics. It also has 46mm in the forefoot, with one of the most extreme rocker shapes physically possible in a shoe design, making it look like trampolines under your feet. In fact, it’s the sort of design that you look at and think: how can you run in that?! 

Part of that is because the shoe’s decoupled midsole, meaning the forefoot and heel aren’t connected – it’s only the plates which extend through the sections of the midsole.

As for the distinctive plates, there are three carbon plates in the PUMA Fast RB, which overlap under the ball of your foot, reinforcing the feeling of a trampoline, which combines with the foam to make it a wild ride. 

It’s also a shoe that doesn’t have any laces, which you don’t even notice to begin with because all you can see is the mad geometry. 

PUMA says the Fast RB “offers a cheat code of cushion and responsiveness.” As to why they made this shoe, Romain Girard, Head of Innovation Design at PUMA, said: “With Fast RB NITRO™ Elite, we asked the question: what if we pushed running technology as far as we can? This is not just a running shoe; it’s a statement. Proof of our intent to not only be the fastest brand in the world, but the most innovative.”

It’s certainly a new innovation in running shoes and the 58mm height is way beyond the 40mm limit set by World Athletic rules, but those rules only apply to professionals who are not allowed to wear the shoes in races. The rules do not apply to amateurs, so could you see these rule-breaking shoes as being record-breaking ones?

It’s a wild shoe and only 1,000 pairs are available worldwide, with prices expected to be €350/$400. 

We’ll be taking them for a run soon, so stay tuned to hear what they’re like to run/bounce in!