If you could not get your hands on, or feet into, a pair of PUMA’s crazy FAST-RB NITRO Elite running shoes, there is now another option. PUMA has revealed the FAST-RB NITRO Elite LD, a sister shoe of the above mentioned, with one key difference – laces.

While the rest of the shoe remains pretty much the same, the new lace-up system is integrated into the ULTRAWEAVE upper ensuring a more secure fit. There is only 1000 pairs available worldwide, and at a price of R8 499, your bank balance needs to be as thick as this shoe’s midsole.

Indeed, the FAST-RB NITRO Elite LD is packed with 58 mm of NITROFOAM Elite, PUMA’s most advanced foam technology. This is 18mm above race regulations, so if you were considering running records in these, World Athletics might want to have a word or two afterwards. Puma says the shoes are “offering a cheat code of cushion and responsiveness that releases a confidence in runners rarely experienced,” and we tend to agree.

Locked between the layers of midsole is a triple-stack of PWRPLATE’s that are strategically placed for powerful propulsion, once again highlighting the opulence of this shoe.

If you want, or need a pair, you have to move fast to secure one of the 1000 available, with the Puma FAST-RB NITRO Elite LD available to purchase from PUMA.com, and in select retailers in South Africa.

PUMA x HYROX footwear range also available

However, if the FAST-RB NITRO Elite LD is perhaps too much shoe (or too much moolah), then the new PUMA x HYROX footwear range might be better suited.

This features HYROX branding on three Puma running models: the Deviate NITRO 3, Deviate NITRO Elite 3 (not available in SA) and Velocity NITRO 3 (review). HYROX is a fitness race that includes running and “functional workout stations’, which includes things like sled pushing, burpees and sandbag lunges. A HYROX race consists of eight rounds of a 1 km run, followed by one functional movement. There are four different race categories: Team Relay, Doubles, Individual Open and Individual Pro.

And for the first time, HYROX is coming to Johannesburg soon, with the event taking place on 1 March 2025. By the looks of things, all tickets have sold out already.  

If you are looking to purchase a pair of the PUMA x HYROX range, then you need to get yourself to a HYROX event, or to PUMA.com, in PUMA Retail stores and Totalsports.