Café to half marathon?

Nike Performance

Black and grey Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% 4 trainers with a textured upper, white laces, and a prominent white swoosh, resting on a branded white bag.

Café to half marathon?Nike’s Vaporfly 4 is for coffee lovers

In Copenhagen — a city where the grind is sacred, whether on asphalt or espresso — Nike’s latest Vaporfly 4 isn’t just a performance shoe, it’s a love letter to two of the Danish capital’s greatest obsessions: running and coffee.

By Ruhi Parmar Amin

12 September 2025 · 2 min read

Be it lacing up for a sunrise run or coaxing the perfect crema from a single-origin bean, Copenhagen doesn’t just appreciate discipline — it romanticises it. Enter Nike’s Vaporfly 4, a running shoe that celebrates the CPH Half-Marathon on September 14, but also asks the important question: what if your marathon mindset and your morning macchiato came from the same place?

The limited edition model has been brewed to perfection for those who chase PBs and pour-overs with equal intensity. A performance running shoe with bold colour blocking and a rich palette of coffee-inspired hues, the design channels Nike’s 1970s running DNA, while paying homage to Copenhagen’s vibrant run culture — and extending a nod to other global running hubs like Berlin, Paris, and London. Since the half marathon was established in the Danish capital in 2015, it’s brought together runners of all levels and backgrounds, to not only set new goals and records, but to experience the unadulterated joy that the city has for running.

Post-run ritual

Because a coffee and a catch-up is exactly what you deserve!

The details? Immaculate. The speckled midsole mimics the look of freshly ground beans while a custom woven label ties together the ritual of lacing up and lining up for that morning pour. And the packaging? A sealed Ziplock-style coffee bag — part storytelling moment, part odour-proof post-run lifesaver. It’s the kind of design that belongs both in your running rotation and on your kitchen shelf alongside that handmade ceramic coffee mug you sip from every morning.

Underfoot, the Vaporfly 4 doesn’t miss a beat. Lighter than its predecessor but no less impressive, it delivers the kind of speed that makes 21.1 kilometres (or 42.2 kilometres for that matter) feel like a flat white run to the café. Nike’s signature ZoomX foam and carbon plate propulsion is still there and still incredibly fast, but yet, somehow, smoother — like the energy boost of a double shot, minus the caffeine crash…

Two runners in black athletic shorts and tops jog along a city street. They are wearing black and white trainers, with one of them sporting blue socks.

Yes, the price tag is premium — but so is your €7 oat milk vanilla cold brew, and you’ve never flinched at that. This shoe really is a treat-yourself situation, because if you're already investing in hand-washed beans and tempo Tuesdays, why not bring that same energy to your race-day fit?

With the Vaporfly 4, Nike has distilled the essence of ritual — the repetition, the obsession, the joy — into one sleek, streamlined silhouette. Whether you're chasing a new PR or your favourite barista, this shoe proves that performance and pleasure aren’t mutually exclusive.