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Galen Rupp sports custom spikes during indoor 5K

The 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and 2017 Chicago Marathon champion hits the track with unique footwear

Galen Rupp
Galen Rupp
Photo: tafphoto/Instagram.

Galen Rupp wore what appear to be custom Nike Zoom Fly/Vaporfly 4% spikes at the University of Washington Invitational on Friday.

Racing the 5,000m on the indoor track, at the Dempsey Indoor Centre in Seattle, Rupp, the 2017 Chicago Marathon champion, rocked all-white with gold trim Nike spikes, which featured a standard six-pin design. The spike plate appears to be the Nike Zoom Victory 3 plate as it features six pins on each shoe, instead of the Nike Matumbo’s four-pin design. (Track athletes wear spikes – typically 3-5 mm when indoors – both because of their grip and because they’re lightweight.)

What makes the spikes stand out, however, is the pointed heel of the sole, which is synonymous with the Zoom Fly and Vaporfly 4%, two of Nike’s flats released in 2017.

The primary difference between the Zoom Fly and Vaporfly 4% is the foam used in the cushioning. Zoom Fly uses Lunarlon while the Vaporfly 4% uses ZoomX.

Photos (use left/right arrows to scroll through to see the spikes)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BecH6xSD-CG/

Rupp’s Oregon Project training partner, Yomif Kejelcha (who appears to be wearing a custom upper for his spikes), won the heat in 13:34.67 while Rupp closely followed in 13:34.78. You can also see Rupp, who seldom races on the track, got spiked during the race as he sported a bloody knee for the 5,000m.

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