Nike shoes are most popular with marathoners in North America: study

According to a study that analyzed data from over 101,000 participants in some of North America’s largest races over the past year such as the New York City Marathon, Peachtree Road Race and Brooklyn Half, 31.8% of American marathon finishers wore Nike shoes, far higher than competitors like Saucony (17%) and Brooks (10.8%).

Runners wearing Nike shoes. Photo by Reuters

Across all distances, 21,3% of runners wore Nike shoes, ahead of Brooks (16,5%), Saucony (12,6%), Asics (12,5%), Hoka (12,1%), New Balance (7,4%) and adidas (5%).

Brooks was the more popular shoe choice for shorter distances like half-marathons and five-, 10- and 15-km races.

Running USA’s report said faster runners tend to favor Nike shoes while slower finishers are more likely to wear Brooks.

It also said men were most likely to choose Nike followed by Brooks and Saucony while women ranked Brooks first, Nike second and Hoka third.

A September 2024 Statista survey further underscored Nike’s popularity in the U.S., with 66% of respondents expressing a preference for the brand.

Some 57% of Americans reported owning Nike shoes, significantly higher than adidas’s 41%.

Nike’s influence extends well beyond North America. Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan Olympic marathon champion, famously wore a pair of bright orange Nike Alphafly Next% 2 shoes when he broke his own world record at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, finishing in 2:01:09.

A Nike report highlighted the brand’s success in Europe, where 65% of sneakers users in the U.K. and Germany expressed a strong preference for it.

Campaign Asia, a marketing insights site, surveyed 14 Asian and Pacific countries, and Nike emerged as the dominant footwear brand in all but two markets: China, where it ranked third, and Thailand, where it ranked second. Adidas, Nike’s closest competitor, followed right behind, ranking second in all but two countries— Thailand, where it claimed the top spot, and China, where it dropped to sixth.

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