Ushering a new era in the realm of running, adidas introduces the Ultraboost 19, an impressive effort geared towards technical precision and perfection. Taking it out for a spin, read on to see how we were challenged to take on the city wearing the re-imagined pair and how we might never run the same way again.
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“Welcome to the world of Boosts,” a friend says ever so enthusiastically (four exclamation points excited, to be exact), responding to the Instagram Story I posted sporting the much-talked about and highly hyped release of the new adidas Ultraboost 19. “Your life will never be the same.”
At that point, I had well enough of a first impression interface with the latest iteration of the famed running shoe line of adidas to form an informed opinion. “It’s a world apart,” I reply. And this wasn’t just your standard slipping the pair on and breaking in a fit. This was an actual wear test that had started a little earlier that Saturday afternoon.
Celebrating the release and the subsequent success of the adidas Ultraboost 19, the brand, along with the adidas Running Club mounted the Recode Running Festival, an engaging experience that combined augmented reality with the urban running culture. A response to the growth and evolution of running as a competitive sport to a more sociable one, especially in the city context, adidas has sought to make things more exciting and challenging, by teaming up with the District App to device an encounter that redefines the form of fitness into something different. Think of it as Pokémon Go and The Amazing Race hybrid, where runners were challenged to explore the scope of Bonifacio Global City through the app, encouraging each one to complete many tasks and checkpoints in an hour. “The Recode Running Festival is a great way for our runners to experience a redefined way of running with the Ultraboost 19. Along with our adidas Runners Manila core team, guests of the event were able to explore the city and test out the shoe’s capabilities through the different challenges and checkpoints,” says Jen Dacasin, adidas Brand Communication and Sports Manager. Collecting points, badges, and rewards, the run enabled the participants to put the adidas Ultraboost 19 to the test, wherein one actually got a true feel of the innovations that were put in place.
The Ultraboost 19 is an impressive work of running technology realized. From 4000 creators funneling their collective efforts to four key components, the “reboosted” pair is touted to be an unrivaled package of featurees and fit, raring and ready to make a mark in the new era of running. Renewed with a sense of purpose and creativity, the Ultraboost 19 is completely rebuilt from its predecessor with 17 parts, crafting it to have more support, adaptability, and responsiveness by narrowing down to key components such as Optimized Boost, Torsion Spring, Primeknit 360, and 3D Heel Frame.
The re-engineered running shoe still hinges on the original Boost concept of capturing energy that goes into every foot strike and blasting it right back, creating a positive and efficient feedback loop between runner and shoe. Taking that a stride further, adidas optimizes the mid-sole to provide 20% more Boost in a lighter package. “It really is the next level of Ultraboost,” says Heiko Schlarb, Director of Future Sport Science at adidas. Moreover, the 3D Heel Frame on the Ultraboost 19 is an appropriate counterpoint the soft, sock-like feel of the Primeknit 360, a re-imagined upper that is seamlessly woven to create a second skin that is both flexible and strong. This frame dutifully holds the ankle in place while allowing a natural expansion of the heel, making it easy to adapt and support during your run.
More than a literal spring in your step, there is also an employment of traction on the sole, which makes it suitable for concrete surfaces, especially since this was created for a city jungle type of activity. Needless to say, the Ultraboost 19 is an incredible effort towards achieving technical perfection.
Rethought, re-coded, and re-boosted, the latest revolution from adidas ascertains itself in the running category as more than just a shoe. Fueled by passion and precision, taking running, pulling it apart and creating something new enables it to be unlike anything that came before—and it most certainly feels so. The next logical step is to lace up and hit that stride into this re-imagined future, because if anything, it might have already been here all along.
