The Legacy of the Nike Pegasus, as told by Joan Benoit Samuelson

Introduced in 1983 as “the shoe for every runner,” the Nike Pegasus has earned a reputation in the running community as a trusted, dependable training shoe. The Pegasus has undergone major technology shifts — though incrementally — while gracing the feet of both recreational and elite runners. That small detail is its magic: The Pegasus’ evolution has been made step by step through each model, leaving runners with a shoe that they know intimately well, a relationship that continues with the new Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 37.

One runner who has a special relationship with the Pegasus is Joan Benoit Samuelson, who made a last-minute swap to run in the shoe in 2008 for a pivotal race in Boston. She had regularly worn the Pegasus for more than 30 years (before that, she trained in now-classic silhouettes such as the Daybreak, Odyssey and Althea). But the switch into the Pegasus for the race was all the proof she needed to rely on the silhouette’s fit, responsive ride, lightweight feel and durability when she needed to rise to the occasion.

Thinking back to the earliest Pegasus models, Samuelson is reminded of the value in the line’s iterative progress.

“The innovation, the design and the function of the Pegasus have come so far, but in thoughtful and calculated steps,” she says. “You want to evolve that way if you want to keep the devoted, knowledgeable runner. Throughout my career, when I wasn’t sure whether I was able to go the distance, the Pegasus was my go-to shoe.”