Your Workhorse With Wings
Shop the Nike Pegasus, now in it's 39th iteration!
History Of The Nike Pegasus
The Nike Pegasus is one of Nike's best selling shoes of all time, and it's not hard to see why! Now onto it's 39th iteration and having been on the scene since 1972, we took a deep dive into the history of the Pegasus to see why this is one of the best running shoes ever.
Early Days
Launched only a few years after the original Air unit shoe, the Tailwind, the Pegasus was the first shoe to have a heel only Air unit and was called the “Air Wedge Trainer” in development.
Its name was drawn from a bowl of employee’s suggestions and was part of a series of Greek mythology inspired names that matched with Nike the god of victory.
By the mid 80’s the Pegasus was positioned as the shoe that was just below the best in every category, from lightness to cushioning and stability, making it the shoe that you would recommend to every type of runner.
The Bad Times and Resurrection
The core philosophy was to keep the Pegasus simple, giving the shoe only what it needed. Over time this philosophy went missing, ending with sales so poor it was dropped from the line.
“We became more concerned with how the shoe looked at retail than how it performed on the foot of the runner.” —Kevin Paulk (Former Nike Running leader)
From 1997 the world had to make do with no Pegasus, but its reintegration into the line-up in 2000 put the customers’ needs back at the heart of the project.
“It started with, ‘This is what the consumer wants.’ And then we worked back from that. We did this really thorough autopsy of all the things that were going wrong.” —Robert Conradt (Nike footwear veteran)
Returning with a full-length Air Sole, and a full Phylon midsole, a first for the franchise, it also featured a system invented for the shoe, baking the Air Unit in the midsole for lightweight cushioning.
Coming back as part of a newly created Bowerman series they were developed to be pure, “Meaning, we’re not going to listen to anybody but runners. We’re not going to listen to anybody in upper management. We’re not going to listen to half the people who work at Nike who think they have a say in this. We’re just going to dedicate ourselves to athletes and runners and do everything that they want to do. Pegasus really became one of the foundation points.” -Sean McDowell (Designer)
The Modern Era
Successfully reintroduced, the Pegasus became a mainstay of running again, and in 2006 they introduced the first women’s specific model, designed completely from heel to toe for women.
The Pegasus 27 released in 2010 was the first to feature the Zoom Air Unit that remains in the shoe to this day.
Pegasus 31 saw the Pegasus move towards speed, with Mo Farah consistently consulted, the design had to work for everyone, from the average runner to the elite runners like Mo who used it for training.
Around the launch of the Pegasus 35, the Next% project was yielding innovations for Breaking2 (Where Nike designed a new speed shoe, the Alphafly that Eliuid Kipchoge eventually broke the 2-hour mark for marathons in). But with the Pegasus, they focused on the smooth transition it was known for.
“Usually at Nike, the conversation is, how do we innovate? How do we bring newness? It was the opposite with the Pegasus. It’s like, how do we leave it alone?” —Brett Holts (Nike Running Leader)
The solution oddly came from heating up a Zoom Air Unit in a toaster oven and forming it around a beer mug. This showed that they could mimic the shape of the Alphafly carbon plate in already proven Pegasus technology.
The Pegasus 37 was the first to move from Cushion foam to the lighter, more responsive, and more durable React foam throughout the midsole.
Current Launch
Finally, the Peg 40. It features Air Zoom units in both the forefoot and heel, react foam, and a brand new upper and fit. It’s still the best balance of lightness, support, durability, and responsiveness around, and it is still the shoe that you could recommend to any neutral runner, of any ability, for any type of run.
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Your Workhorse With Wings
Shop the Nike Pegasus, now in it's 39th iteration!
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