For Shalane Flanagan, becoming a Bowerman Track Club coach was a natural extension of a career spent collaborating with the runners around her to reach new heights. In the club they call it the "Shalane Effect", a magic combo of support and competition that makes everyone around her faster. "I kind of laugh", says Shalane. "Because I don't feel like I'm doing anything special, to be honest. I'm fuelled by being surrounded by great people". As a coach, she's part of a true family of runners—from veterans like Lopez Lomong, to first-time Olympians like Grant Fisher—as they train for their dreams together.

Shalane Flanagan
NYC Marathon Champion, Olympic Silver Medallist, Author, Mother

As a child caught in the midst of a civil war in Sudan, Lopez Lomong had to run for his life and was separated from his family. When he immigrated to the United States he found another form of family with his college athletics teammates, and now he runs for another reason entirely with the Bowerman Track Club. "Every time when I line up, I just say I'm running for absolute, pure joy. And I'm no longer running away from danger. I'm running for something".

With two Zoom Air pods, ZoomX foam and a carbon-fibre plate, the Alphafly Next% is our fastest racing shoe, worn by elite runners like Lopez Lomong as they pursue their dreams at the highest level.

Grant Fisher finds his motivation in the family he runs with every day. "We're all from different places. We all have different backgrounds. We had different paths to running. But one big goal has brought us all together and that's just to be as good at running as we can", he says. And for Grant that means a chance to compete on the world stage for the first time this summer.

A carbon-fibre plate in between ZoomX foam gives the Vaporfly NEXT%2 an incredibly fast feel. As Grant puts it, "For Speed Runs, the NEXT% is unlike anything else I've put on. It's so much fun. You just feel like you're on a marshmallow".