Sharon Lokedi Opens Up About Her Record-Setting Boston Marathon Performance and the Under Armour Super Shoe That Helped Her
Kept secure behind glass, Under Armour revealed the latest update to its Velociti Elite super shoe franchise at The Running Event (TRE) in November 2024. On Monday, that same shoe helped Sharon Lokedi achieve a record-breaking performance at the Boston Marathon.
Lokedi — with the Under Armour Velociti Elite 3 laced up — locked in a time of 2:17:22 during the race, breaking the Boston Marathon’s women’s marathon course record. It was her second World Marathon major win in just her fifth-ever marathon appearance.
Fresh off her victory, the decorated athlete — joined by Under Armour global product director for run footwear and apparel Doug Smiley — spoke with FN about the shoes she wore to achieve the Boston Marathon record and offered insights into the future of the Velociti Elite franchise.
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What has life been like for you in the days since your record-setting performance in Boston?
Sharon Lodeki: “There’s been so many things to do here and there, but it’s been exciting. It’s slowly settling in and I’m just trying to start to think of how it went and everything that has happened since. It’s all excitement, just feeling happy and proud of the time and the training and everything that’s gotten me to this point.”
At any point during the race, did you know accomplishing something truly special was possible?
SL: “Not really (laughs). When you start running, you’re just like, ‘I’m here to compete, put myself in a good position to be on the podium.’ When we started out, the first kilometers were really slow and then all of a sudden the pace picked up and it was like that all the way through. And then halfway through, I was like that’s almost my PB [personal best] time. We we’re running so fast and I’m like, ‘This is Boston, this is too fast for Boston.’ I had to start to think, ‘If I go with this pace, will I be able to hold on to it all the way through to the finish line? Or should I slow down?’ So many things I tried to figure out. But it worked out well. I trusted in my training.”
Having worn other shoes from Under Armour’s Velociti franchise, what are the greatest differences in how the Velociti Elite 3 that you wore for Boston feels compared to past models?
SL: “I’ve been lucky enough to train and run in this shoe for a little bit. I got it last year before the Olympics, but it wasn’t approved then. I got the chance to race in it in New York and then again [at Boston] and the half in March, and I’ve also done many long runs in it. Going through [Boston], I was very confident, because I know this is something that I’m used to, this is a shoe that I know and it’s helped me so much. When the shoe was being made, I was a big part of it. Knowing that the feedback and everything was put into that, it gave me so much confidence. The first one, it felt like it was [firmer]. This one, I felt like it was I had more control of my foot and how I run. Given the course that we were running on, you’re starting with downhills and then you come up to half hills, but it was even with different terrains, I was still feeling the pop, I was still feeling support. I had all the things that I needed to get the finish line.”
Obviously you have tremendous talent and train relentlessly, but how would you estimate how these Under Armour running shoes helped improve your performance?
SL: “You can’t really do much without the right gear or the right shoe to train in. Yes, part of this is talent, but you also have to have the confidence and the belief in the gear or the shoe that you’re training when with to know that this is going to help me run fast or be confident to push knowing that I have the best shoe out there.”
Doug, what change from past models has had the greatest impact on how the Velociti Elite 3 performs?
DS: “Some of our technologies we had in the first two Velociti Elites, we had Warp on the upper, which is that exoskeletal design for lock in, and we also had Flow on the outsole, a supercritical version. For the latest one, we went to a new version of Hovr+, which is an HTPU foam. It has higher energy return, more bounce, more liveliness and allowed us to create that underfoot sensation. Every athlete is going to feel great in the first half of a race, but really toward that end of the race, we want to make sure the shoe is giving back all that pop and all that energy return. That allowed us also to change the plate configuration where we centered it in the midsole and also across the upper. We went to a Leno weave upper, where we’re able to create something that’s really lightweight, moves with the athlete. It’s aerodynamic, hydrophobic, so if you’re drinking your water and you dump it on your shoes it’s not going to absorb water. It’s really obsessing all those details and how it comes together, and ultimately the goal is when Sharon gets to race day, she’s completely confident in her shoes and not thinking about him for the duration of the race.”
I spoke with senior product line manager for run Jonathan Hutnyan in November 2024 and he said Under Armour will keep working with Lodeki on updates to the Velociti 3. What’s left to work on? How closely will her shoe resemble the retail release?
DS: “It’s going to be insanely close to what Sharon wore, what’s going to be available commercially. This will be an early launch for us in October, so we’re right in the pipeline of commercialization and starting to roll it out. Now we can turn our page to looking farther out to the Velociti Elite 4 and how we test and perfect that next model. What Sharon ran in will be available to runners everywhere.”
The running category is red hot, with several big names delivering consistent hits. What does Lodeki’s performance in the Velociti Elite 3 say about Under Armour’s position in the category?
DS: “I’ve been at the brand five-and-a-half years, I came here from other brands, and the thing from day one that struck me is we operate with the approach that the athlete is the answer. If you’re looking at the run space and what really separates Under Armour, I would say it’s our athlete-centric approach and how we really push innovation to create moments like this. When our athletes perform at the highest level, it’s always the most exciting thing. It’s great to sell shoes, but a day like [Monday] is magical.”
What input have you had in the Velociti Elite 4 so far?
SL: “The biggest one is probably still just having almost the same pop, the same liveliness. We’re thinking about having it a little bit lighter from what it is now. I was there in March in Baltimore and we did a treadmill run where they figured out how my running is and everything like that, so I think that will help going forward in trying to figure out that they have the right weight and everything to make it perfect for the next one.”
You’ve raced Boston twice and now have the women’s course record, but what’s next? What is the next benchmark or goal you have set for yourself?
SL: “We’re trying to go into another first race and get a faster time. It’s just continuing to grow professionally and enjoying life.”
