Nike changed the landscape of performance running shoes when it debuted the Vapor Fly 4% in 2017. Almost a decade later, every major shoe company has a racing model designed to compete with what Nike led with: carbon-plated, nitrogen-injected foams to dramatically improve runners’ performances.

But Nike is incredibly commercial, sometimes inventing, but almost always chasing whatever is trending. The newest Alphafly I saw at The Running Event looked like a wearable meme. A flame pattern was sprayed across the upper while the overall package was, sorry, very clown-shoe-ish.

You can’t shade the Alphafly’s performance, but it is certainly not for everyone. Tracksmith hopes to be the antidote to Nike and adidas’ super shoes’ garishness with its new Eliot Racer.

Tracksmith — which has joined other apparel-first companies like rabbit, Lululemon, Satisfy, and CEP — entered the footwear category with a solid debut shoe, the Eliot Runner. It’s a neutral trainer with the very modern midsole composition PEBAX. I’ve got 100 miles in that shoe. It’s a perfectly suitable and typically stylish daily running shoe, excelling on all surfaces and maintaining durability and integrity.

But Tracksmith celebrates running’s history, records, culture, and lore. It needed a dedicated race-day shoe to complement the Eliot Runner’s daily grind approach. From the mind of Tracksmith’s founder Matt Taylor to the high-performance lab where it was refined, the Eliot Racer is the output of a brand looking to stamp its position at the start line of races.

In short: Tracksmith’s Eilot Racer ($280) will help runners get a competitive edge in a subdued package not typical of road super shoes. Fast is fun, and even if you don’t race, the shoe is a joy to train in. You’ll push more off the toe and find increased turnover. Lab testing has shown that the Eliot Racer has class-leading energy return and 70%+ midsole resilience, making your investment not just fast but long-lasting, too.

Tracksmith Eliot Racer Review

Tracksmith now has two shoes in its burgeoning line; fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to test them both. The Eliot Racer offers half sizes on a new, wider forefoot last. The Eliot Runner suffered a bit because I particularly appreciate a true 12.5.

I had to sneak up to a less precise size 13 in that shoe. This half-size made a huge improvement in the ride quality and lockdown. Not only is the forefoot roomier but the improved heel design also has a much more precise fit. 

Tracksmith Eliot Racer Review: Where the Speed Comes From

One of the founders of fastestknowntime.com, Buzz Burrell, told me recently of modern running shoes, “Rocker is the key — I literally put running shoes on a table, and if they don’t rock back and forth, they are for hiking or climbing, not running.”

Burrell’s statement, especially when put in the context of racing shoes, is dead-on. The Eliot Racer may not be as rockered as other shoes in the category. But it deliberately uses what Tracksmith calls “cross rocker geometry” to balance toe-off efficiency in tandem with the full-length carbon plate — this keeps your power in a straight line and gives the shoe stability.

From the first run, it was immediately noticeable how Tracksmith recrafted the Eliot Racer for speed. There is so much more pop and propulsion in the Eliot Racer’s PEBAX midsole chassis.

Like some other major super shoe players (think On’s Cloudboom Strike), the Eliot Racer adds cushion and rebound from a super thick, ATPU drop-in midsole. Tracksmith says this drop-in midsole eliminates excess glue and layers. Because the foot is directly in contact, energy return and comfort are enhanced.

The midsole stack drops 1.5 mm from the Eliot Runner’s debut design. With 38 mm at the heel and 30.5 mm at the forefoot, the Eliot Racer’s drop is 7.5 mm compared to the Eliot Runner’s 9 mm. This subtle change helped improve turnover and made the Eliot Racer feel more aggressive.

Crucially, the 38mm heel height puts the Eliot Racer within World Athletics’ “40mm” rule, where a limit of sole thickness at 40 mm applies to use in professional road races. (Runners can use World Athletics “Cert Check” to see the shoes that comply.) As of this publication, the Eliot Racer goes by the name “Racer Dev6” in the database and is marked “approved.”

Responsive Foam

The foam itself is delightfully cushy. That feeling underfoot is not just nice but also effective. One of the primary reasons super shoes are such a game changer on the roads is for the reduction in fatigue. You finish training with less damage to the legs while ideally training harder/faster, thus creating a virtuous circle of “train better, recover better” and “train better, recover better.”

Super shoe performance has to be highly objective, so Tracksmith had the Eliot Racer independently tested by Heeluxe. Though it didn’t share the specific numbers, Heeluxe said the Eliot Racer had one of its highest energy return levels ever recorded.

Heeluxe also measures the foam’s cushion-to-responsiveness rates. It said the Eliot Racer is an ideal ratio between fatigue reduction and efficiency for late-race performance.

A Translucent Upper

Tracksmith’s “sash” motif has adorned its products from the start, particularly its staple Van Cortlandt singlet. The sash is for style, but it is also functional on the Eliot Racer, helping wrap the midfoot and providing stability and control. The sash in an Olympic gold color presents a striking visual contrast with the upper’s other materials, notably the almost-translucent mesh at the forefoot.

Other material choices are distinctly Tracksmith, like the microsuede collar and tongue, along with the red/white woven tag at the heel, a small but significant nod to the brand’s design language. These race-ready materials help bring the Eliot Racer’s weight down to 7.7 ounces in a men’s 9, almost a full 2 ounces lighter than the Eliot Runner (9.2 ounces).

On foot, these shoes cuts an entirely different profile from other super shoe competitors, whose loud designs can create a somewhat self-conscious spectacle.

For all its performance, this shoe is very understated. I’ve been training in it daily, something I wouldn’t consider doing in the Alphafly.

Conclusion: For Race Day or Everyday? The Influence of Price

In this day and age, foregoing bi-carb is one thing, but if you’re a serious runner trying to get the best performance out of yourself, a super shoe or a super trainer is necessary.

Lately, I’ve been interval training like crazy, dialing back the volume of miles I’m running and increasing the quality. So far, I’ve reached for nothing else than the Tracksmith Eliot Racer reviewed here. My typical route is road-to-dirt; my speed sessions happen on the forgiving and packed gravel surface of the open space trail network near my house.

This isn’t serious trail-running terrain, but there are some wide switchbacks. You can’t hurl these shoes around those corners like you could in a trail shoe, but the Eliot Racer’s outsole is very satisfactory and grippy.

I haven’t raced in this shoe yet, but I’ve really committed to hard workouts. I’d argue that this shoe is the perfect training companion for fast running. It shouldn’t be relegated to race days only.

It’s on the expensive side so depending on your budget you may want to use it sparingly, but if you’re doing multiple workouts per week and racing and want to feel fast and recover better, you should consider investing in it for dual purposes.

It’s a huge leap forward from its debut shoe. If this is any indication of where Tracksmith is headed as a shoe (not just apparel) brand, the future is bright.