Designed to Run Beyond: The Nike Vomero Premium Is Pushing Boundaries To Build Miles

Made for the long miles of daily training, the Nike Vomero Premium is the first of its kind. For this Vomero iteration, Nike’s design team set out to create an “anti-gravity sensation,” redefining training and recovery.

When the team began work on the Vomero Premium, they anchored their vision to a bold brief: “build an anti-gravity experience for your feet.” Their mission was to redefine what recovery and training could feel like, to help athletes put in more miles while limiting the wear and tear on their bodies. Inspired by anti-gravity treadmills, the Vomero Premium aims to replicate the sensation of reduced body weight through a more protected sole that combines plush ZoomX foam with responsive forefoot and heel Air Zoom units – the same ones used in the Nike Maxfly 2 and Victory 2 track spikes. The result is a shoe that delivers maximum cushioning, high energy return, and impact reduction.

As Nike product line manager Ashley Campbell explains, this shoe “gives athletes an anti-gravity sensation. The shoe does a lot of the work for you. Gives you a feeling that you can push your body outside of its limits.” This unique sensation isn’t just about comfort – it’s about performance and protection. Whether recovering from injury or logging high-mileage weeks, the Vomero Premium is designed to help runners go farther with less wear and tear, reinforcing the idea that recovery and intensity don’t have to be opposites, they can coexist in every stride.

When collaborating on the creation of the Vomero Premium, the Nike design team wrestled with expectations of what a “serious” running shoe should look like and the pressure to stay within traditional product lanes like recovery or lifestyle. The Vomero Premium defies those boundaries with its bold, elevated silhouette and unapologetic style. Although, with a stack height of 55mm, the design posed a technical challenge. As Nike’s tallest and most cushioned road running shoe, designers worked to obsess the balance between delivering an anti-gravity sensation underfoot and maintaining a stable platform on the pavement. While a higher stack height combined with soft cushioning can compromise stability, this shoe counters that risk with a wider sole, delivering a stable ride and reinforcing confidence in every mile.

When most people imagine the process of designing a premium running shoe, they picture sterile labs, advanced machinery, and sleek digital renderings. But that wasn’t the path for the Vomero Premium.

Through the entire design process, this shoe was born out of a rebellious spirit and a simple mission: to create something that makes runners smile the moment they slip it on and to enjoy every mile between races.

The design journey started on a trip to Korea, where Nike designer Charles Han and developer Rachel Nichols pieced together scraps of Nike’s best technologies—ZoomX foam, Air Zoom Units, and a Waffle outsole.

With a rough prototype glued together, Han took it for a 5K beach run, joking he thought it might explode midstride. But it didn’t. It worked. The shoe wasn’t innovation by design; it was innovation by defiance, by necessity, and by Nike’s own rebellious devotion.

The Vomero Premium was designed with unapologetic freedom. The team pushed boundaries with an unprecedented 55mm stack height, introducing it as the tallest road running shoe in Nike’s portfolio. With Air Zoom units strategically placed in both the heel and forefoot, extra lift allows for the typically concealed pods to expand and contract freely, maximizing their ability to deliver energy return and propulsion.

The design is complete with a bold “AIR” branding on the back, which is what Han describes as a rebellious decision that channels the fearless spirit of Nike.

Visually, the shoe radiates confidence with dynamic linework, oversized graphics, and a silhouette that refuses to blend in. Internally, the team debated the boldness of the design but ultimately chose to “Just Do It,” embracing the idea that innovation means taking risks.

As Campbell puts it, we “pulled together all the best elements to craft the perfect running shoe, without playing it safe.” Grounded in real runner insights and made for the grind, the Vomero Premium isn’t just a shoe. It’s a statement. It’s Nike at its most daring, delivering breakthrough comfort and performance to serve runners for the miles that matter most.

Choosing to defy every constraint, the design team didn’t play it safe; they went all in. The result? A shoe so bold and boundary-pushing that Han, a 13-year footwear veteran, declares,

Handing the Vomero Premium to elite athletes was the final validation for this design team. Once the scrappy prototype tested on a Korean beach became a workable model, it reached Kenyan middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon, who went from curious to captivated in seconds. She used the Vomero Premium to train for her Breaking4 attempt, running 20 seconds faster per mile in her training runs while preparing for her goal of being the first woman to run a mile in under 4 minutes.

American long-distance runner Conner Mantz, the 2024 U.S. Olympic marathon trials winner, reflects that “it was a shoe that played a big role in me being ready to run the Olympic Trials marathon and, ultimately, qualifying for the Olympics post-injury.” He explains, “During the transition period of going from anti-gravity treadmill back to running on the ground, this was the perfect shoe because it is super soft and over stacked… it allowed somebody like me, coming from a bone injury, back to running. It helped me get the confidence back to start running and competing, just in time for the Olympic Trials marathon.”

Mantz also emphasizes the long-distance benefits: “It just saves your legs. When you're running 120 miles a week, your legs get pretty beat up and there is risk for stress injuries and bone injuries. Training in a softer shoe takes that pressure off your bones and your joints.”

The Vomero Premium is more than a shoe; it’s a concept car for recovery, engineered to empower runners to push boundaries. As a “super trainer,” it defies convention with bold design and breakthrough comfort. Shaped from real runner insights, it’s Nike’s unapologetic answer to performance: rebellious, refined and ready for the miles ahead.