From 5Ks to five-day ultras, the Scott Sports Speed Carbon RC road running shoe enables you to go faster for longer
Time or distance, why choose?
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unners have traditionally had to choose between speed and comfort. The new Scott Sports Speed Carbon RC shoe
turns this on its head. The USA-born, Swiss-based brand has crafted a pair of lightweight, race-ready PB chasers with all the stability and cushioning of a training shoe. But with 60 years of innovation across a smorgasbord of sports and decades of carbon fibre research and development, it’s no surprise that Scott is once again showing its rivals how it’s done…
Although a world-leader in everything from carbon fibre road bikes to trail running trainers to motocross goggles, Scott actually started life on the ski slopes of Sun Valley, Idaho, USA. Ed Scott, a talented engineer and racer, revolutionised snowsport by introducing the first-ever tapered aluminium ski pole; immediately overtaking the bamboo and steel alternatives.
More pioneering products followed, and Scott’s eponymous company soon became a technical product leader in skiing.
The birth of Scott
1958
Keeping Ed Scott’s innovative outlook at the core of the business, the company moved into other markets such as motocross. But it was an invention unveiled on 23 July 1989 that put the brand on the world stage.
It was the final stage of the Tour de France and American rider Greg LeMond was sat in second place, 50 seconds behind the yellow jersey, Frenchman Laurent Fignon. Setting off on the 24.5km time trial course, it was soon apparent that there was something attached to LeMond’s handlebars. The idea of US alpine ski team coach Boone Lennon and Scott engineer Charley French, the aluminium Scott clip-on aero bars instantly provided an aerodynamic advantage previously unseen in road cycling.
The equipment had an immediate impact, enabling LeMond to claw back 58 seconds over Fignon, securing him cycling’s most famous title by just eight seconds – the tightest winning margin in the history of the Tour de France.
Winning on a world stage
1989
If the first 37 years of the Scott story are about being a technological innovator, the following 27 have seen the brand push the boundaries of what’s possible with one truly revolutionary material – carbon fibre.
In 1995, it introduced its first carbon mountain bike – the Endorphin – and by the early 2000s, Scott had entered the road bike market with the Team Issue (2001) and CR1 (2003), both of which were the lightest frames worldwide on release.
After almost three decades of research and development, the results speak for themselves. Olympic golds, world championships, and world cups have been won in everything from cross-country mountain biking to ultra-distance triathlons, and Scott has become a byword for excellence across a variety of sports.
The start of the carbon journey
1995
2006
As its reputation for excellence made Scott a household name in cycling, the company decided to take its carbon fibre experience and apply it to another endurance activity – running.
Initially focused on the needs of triathletes and Ironman-distance competitors, Scott developed a line of shoes aimed at those who would be starting their runs with miles already firmly in their legs. The Makani was the result. It was unlike anything else on
the market.
It was lightweight enough to be a race-ready shoe but had the durability required for sustained comfort and maximising performance when the runner’s form wasn’t at its freshest. Its rocker midsole reduced the amount of energy required with each foot strike. It also utilised a carbon plate – boosting the spring in each step – almost a decade before it became commonplace in the industry.
Welcome to the running world
2010
Scott is never one to sit back on its laurels. Not content with the performance of its rocker technology, Scott went back to the drawing board and created eRide – a unique rocker midsole shape that reduced heel strike impacts and improved running efficiency for all running styles.
Rock on
2017
Despite its origins in triathlon, Scott’s running division soon started to dominate the growing discipline of trail running. Collaborating with some of the best athletes in the world, the brand unveiled the award-winning Supertrac RC and its never-before-seen outsole pattern, Radial Traction. Featuring lugs that extend out in rings like rays, the tread provided unrivalled grip and enabled athletes to run with full power and confidence over treacherous terrain.
They weren’t just favourably reviewed, either. In 2018, Ruth Croft beat the world’s best trail runners while wearing her Supertrac RCs to become champion of the Golden Trail Series – the pinnacle
of trail running.
Bright idea
Find out more about the Scott Sports Speed Carbon RC running shoe
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Scott first collaborated with the carbon specialists Carbitex to create its 2017 RC SL and RC Ultimate range for road cycling and MTB. The shoes promised zero loss of power and propelled Simon Yates to the Tour de France best young rider jersey on the road and Nino Schurter to a perfect season in XC MTB (where he won every World Cup race, the Cape Epic stage race and the World Championships).
In the Speed Carbon RC, the Carbitex DFX™ carbon fibre plates offer the best of both worlds. The dynamic technology responds to you and increases stiffness with speed, leaving you with shoes that act like a pair of track spikes during hard efforts and a comfortable training shoe when walking or lightly jogging.
Carbitex DFX carbon plate
The latest evolution of Scott’s rocker midsole, the ER2 takes the forward-thinking eRide technology to the next level. Using Scott’s advanced understanding of biomechanical principles, the new rocker encourages a more dynamic running position, increasing efficiency while reducing the impact of heel strikes. In laymen’s terms, this means not only can you run faster for longer, but it’ll require less energy to do so too.
ER2 Evolved Rocker 2 midsole
A carbon plate and rocker midsole would count for nothing if they were housed in a clunky design. Fortunately, Scott has thought of this too. The Speed Carbon RC shoes feature its lightest and most responsive foam to date – Kinetic Light Foam. The material manages to be soft-yet-responsive and light-yet-durable, amping up the energy returns even more. Completed with a lightweight mesh upper, expect your PB to tumble.
Kinetic Light Foam
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Kinetic Light Foam
ER2 Evolved Rocker 2 midsole
Carbitex DFX carbon plate
The Scott Speed Carbon RC
After conquering trail running, Scott felt it had unfinished business on the tarmac-leaning side of running. Building on a decade of research and development, design and innovation, the aim was to create a shoe that could help all types of runners across every road racing distance. Like its predecessor, the Makani, it would be something that would support its wearer, regardless of distance, but would be light enough to chase down those elusive PBs.
The Speed Carbon RC is its answer. A Carbitex DFX carbon plate, Kinetic Light Foam and ER2 rocker geometry have been combined to create Scott’s fastest road racing shoe to date, enabling you to go faster, for longer.
Hover on the shoe
unners have traditionally had to choose between speed and comfort. The new Scott Sports Speed Carbon RC shoe turns this on its head. The USA-born, Swiss-based brand has crafted a pair of lightweight,
race-ready PB chasers with all the stability and cushioning of a training shoe. But with 60 years of innovation across a smorgasbord of sports and decades of carbon fibre research and development, it’s no surprise that Scott is once again showing its rivals how it’s done…
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