Trainer Wars

The 2026 London Marathon saw new world record times set in both the men's and women's events. Eyes weren't just on the winning athletes but also on the Adidas trainers they were wearing. So what goes into designing and making a pair of trainers and why have some of them become so expensive to buy? Global sales for trainers are in the tens of billions of dollars with hundreds of new styles being produced every year. How does the industry keep up with demand and stay on trend? Giant companies like Nike and Adidas, who dominated the industry for decades, can no longer take anything for granted. Newer brands like On and Hoka have managed to break through and are shaking things up. How have they managed to do it? Evan Davis gets some insights and answers from people who work in the industry.