The running world loves a good performance story. The Six Minute Mile newsletter recently told one: Rebecca Trachsel finally cracked her sub-3 marathon after years of chasing, once she swapped her Skechers flats for a pair of carbon-plated super shoes. Cue the shiny PR, gear reviews, and chatter about insoles that promise to turn any shoe into a supershoe.
It’s fun, sure. But here’s what gets missed in stories like that: the shoes aren’t just about speed. For women in menopause, they might be doing something even more important than shaving minutes off a race clock. They might actually be helping tendons and fascia adapt to a body that no longer moves under the same hormonal influence.
That part rarely makes the headlines.
What the lab says—and doesn’t say
Researchers love to measure oxygen cost, tibial load, and race results. And the data is pretty clear: these shoes make running more economical and reduce stress on bones and joints. Some studies even show women gaining a little more than men at longer distances.
Feisty Menopause recently pulled together several of these papers and highlighted the same thing: women—especially in midlife—may stand to benefit more than the “average” subject in most shoe studies. They called out that performance data, but also the gaps: very few of those runners were actually menopausal women. Which means what we really have is a big hint, not a full picture.
Because the lab doesn’t capture what happens when your tendons aren’t as springy, your fascia feels more vulnerable, and your recovery window takes longer. And that’s where anecdote—the thing experts love to dismiss—becomes the missing piece of the story.
What I’ve seen in the field
I’ve coached women who couldn’t tolerate the stiffest, flashiest carbon shoes. AlphaFlys felt like too much. But when they slipped into nylon plates or softer carbons—think Saucony Endorphin Speed, Brooks Hyperion Max, Vaporfly—the difference was immediate. Their plantar fascia stopped barking. Their Achilles calmed down. They could run marathon-pace workouts without the crash-and-burn aftermath.
That’s not just about the shoe. It’s about the way the shoe works when you pair it with other layers: adjusting stride, leveling the pelvis, engaging the core, strengthening the feet, hips, and glutes. The shoe doesn’t replace that work—it amplifies it.
Why it matters
The industry sells super shoes as a PR machine. The lab measures them as a performance enhancer. Feisty Menopause points to the data and asks the right questions about who really benefits. And out here in the field, I see the third layer: durability.
Shoes that redistribute load away from a cranky plantar fascia. Shoes that let tendons with less elasticity keep handling volume. Shoes that, when combined with good form and strength work, extend the lifespan of your running body.
That’s not anecdote. That’s lived experience, layered with science, pointing toward a future the research hasn’t caught up to yet.
Flipping the script
I don’t see these shoes as a magic fix. They’re a tool—just like gait retraining, just like strength training, just like the drills I’ve built into my plantar fasciitis rehab guide. Together, they create the scaffolding athletes in menopause actually need.
So yes, supershoes help you run faster. But more importantly, they might help you keep running. And that’s the perspective no one else seems to be talking about.