--- description: Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon even as his Nike shoes fell apart. title: Nike Runner Missed World Record Because His Shoes Disintegrated image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaab578a736b9b7df/698865cce20a875c44a8d7dc/rtx1soky.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Nike](/tag/nike/) ## Nike Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nike Runner Missed World Record Because His Shoes Disintegrated by [John Kell / Fortune](/author/john-kell-fortune/) ## John Kell / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 28, 2015 4:32 PM CUT  The insoles of Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge's running shoes are seen slipping up to his ankles, after he crosses the finish line to win the men's 42nd Berlin marathon, in Berlin, Germany September 27, 2015. The insoles of Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge's running shoes are seen slipping up to his ankles, after he crosses the finish line to win the men's 42nd Berlin marathon, in Berlin, Germany September 27, 2015.© Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters—REUTERS by [John Kell / Fortune](/author/john-kell-fortune/) ## John Kell / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 28, 2015 4:32 PM CUT Eliud Kipchoge [won](http://www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com/en/news-and-media/news/2015/09/27/eliud-kipchoge-runs-world-leading-time-of-20400-while-gladys-cherono-breaks-the-220-barrier-with-21925.html "undefined") the Berlin Marathon over the weekend, a remarkable achievement even before considering the fact that he ran much of the race with insoles that were falling out of his Nike shoes. The 30-year-old elite Kenyan runner won the race at a 2:04:00 personal best, defying footwear problems, according to the Berlin Marathon’s official website. The insoles were falling out of his shoes by around the 10-mile mark, though Kipchoge was reportedly aware of the issue early in the race. “It was not easy,” said Kipchoge, [quoted](http://www.runnersworld.com/berlin-marathon/kipchoge-wins-berlin-marathon-despite-shoe-malfunction "undefined") by Runner’s World. He said that there were blisters on his left foot and also a cut on his big toe. The malfunction prevented Kipchoge from capturing the world record, which was set by Wilson Kipsang at 2:03:23 – also in Berlin. Ahead of the race, Kipchoge [said](http://www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com/en/news-and-media/news/2015/09/22/eliud-kipchoge-is-thinking-about-the-world-record-in-berlin.html "undefined") he had hoped he could push himself to top that record this year in Berlin. Kipchoge was wearing a prototype racing flat that Nike and the athlete have been working on together the past several months. “As with any prototype, elements can sometimes go wrong,” a Nike spokesman said. “On this occasion, the sockliner didn’t work. As in all innovation, we will learn quickly from mistakes.” Nike is the world’s largest athletic footwear maker, commanding almost two-thirds of the market in the U.S. alone. Nike’s global footwear sales for the latest quarter jumped 18%, to $5.12 billion. And while the issue with Kipchoge’s shoes at the marathon is not ideal from a branding perspective, it will almost certainly go unnoticed by most customers. Many of Nike’s shoes for running and basketball aren’t even used to play those sports, especially as the “athleisure” trend permeates more greatly across the footwear and apparel markets. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4052379/nike-shoes-berlin-marathon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4052379/nike-shoes-berlin-marathon/"},"headline":"Nike Runner Missed World Record Because His Shoes Disintegrated","datePublished":"2015-09-28T16:32:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:19:28.157Z","description":"Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon even as his shoes fell apart","url":"https://time.com/4052379/nike-shoes-berlin-marathon/","keywords":["Nike","Marathon","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaab578a736b9b7df/698865cce20a875c44a8d7dc/rtx1soky.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"John Kell / Fortune","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/john-kell-fortune/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaab578a736b9b7df/698865cce20a875c44a8d7dc/rtx1soky.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The insoles of Kenya's Kipchoge's running shoes are seen slipping up to his ankles after he crosses finish line to win the men's 42nd Berlin marathon","caption":"The insoles of Kenya's Kipchoge's running shoes are seen slipping up to his ankles after he crosses finish line to win the men's 42nd Berlin marathon","creditText":"© Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters—REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nike/","name":"Nike"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4052379/nike-shoes-berlin-marathon/","name":"Nike Runner Missed World Record Because His Shoes Disintegrated"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Does Jogging Cause Arthritis?","description":"Is arthritis caused by years of running? 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