History of the Nike Pegasus

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It’s the longest-running franchise in Nike history, it’s the top-selling franchise in Swoosh history, and it’s a critical part of Nike’s future plans to recapture its historical dominance in the running market. Meet the Nike Pegasus, one of the best-selling running shoes of all time. 

The Nike Pegasus running shoe was first released in 1982, and since then (with the exception of just two years — more on that later), it’s been a stalwart in Nike’s storied running line. Named after the winged stallion of Greek myth, the show is also the favorite shoe of legendary Nike founder and two-time Footwear News Achievement Award Person of the Year Phil Knight, who told Good Morning America that the Pegasus was his go-to for runs.

The Pegasus shoe has been not only a sales juggernaut for Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike, it’s become synonymous with running for a huge segment of American runners – a role it holds to this day: More than 40 years after launch, run tracking service Strava named it the most-worn shoe for its 135 million global users in 2024.

The franchise has earned its legendary status in the running world, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Here’s how the Pegasus flew to the top.

Nike Pegasus: Something Special Starts Here

The first Nike Pegasus debuted in 1982, ready for shelves of a United States now firmly established as a nation of runners after the continued rapid growth of jogging culture throughout the 70s. 

The Pegasus featured some of the brand’s top-tier tech for the day. The Pegasus style had Air cushioning in the heel, with Nike’s signature waffle outsole and a new foam — all the ingredients needed to create a responsive, cushioned running shoe that would work for a big swath of runners. 

And work it did. According to Nike, the new Pegasus style sold 8,000 pairs in its first month,  and 35,000 pairs after two months. All told, the style sold 35,000 pairs in the first half of 1983, establishing the shoe as a major player for American runners. 

A New Era Begins

Sales of the Pegasus remained brisk for the following decade, with the shoe becoming a running world institution. However, by 1993, the growth had slowed. After a decade of making updates without substantial innovations, the Pegasus franchise was starting to feel stale. By 1996, the company introduced new changes to the shoe, including a new visible Air sole unit, a stiffer upper and a Spandex sleeve, but runners didn’t respond as the brand had hoped. 

It was clear that the magic in the franchise had waned. In fall of 1998, Nike ceased production on Pegasus shoes for the first time since the 1982 debut. 

But that’s not the end of the story. Pegasus had fans both within the company (Knight was still at the helm as CEO) and in the broader running world. After taking the model back to the drawing board, Pegasus relaunched in fall of 2000 with a new look. 

The new Pegasus, created to be part of the Bowerman series, took away the visible Air unit and instead incorporated it into the midsole to create a light, cushioned running style. Runners welcomed the shoe back with open arms — the company reported almost $19 million in new Pegasus sales in its first year. 

Pegasus Evolves

After relaunching, Nike kept pushing the Pegasus franchise forward. A women’s version debuted in 2004, and a completely women’s specific model followed in 2006. In 2010, Pegasus was upgraded with the brand’s premium Zoom Air cushioning, giving the style a more responsive feel in a still-cushy ride. 

By 2018, the franchise was ready for big change, which the Pegasus 35 delivered. Following more than two years of development and what the company described as “47,000 cumulative miles of wear testing,” the new model was retooled with the first full-length Zoom Air cushion that contoured to the shape of the foot. Available in 12 colorways, the Pegasus 35 was a certified smash, selling 12 million pairs in its first 21 months. 

Subsequent iterations on the franchise tweaked the winning formula: In 2020 the Pegasus 37 introduced a forefoot-only Zoom Air cushioning unit that was twice as thick as previous versions surrounded by a soft React foam that created a more energy-returning platform. In April of the next year, the Pegasus 38 made minor updates to the model as well.

The Pegasus 41: Futureproofing Nike Run

In June of 2024, the Pegasus franchise took its next step into the future with the Pegasus 41, one of its most ambitious update yet.

The 41st edition of the shoe features ReactX cushioning, a proprietary midsole material combined with Zoom Air units in the forefoot and heel in a more rounded sole unit with a more breathable, lightweight engineered mesh upper. The combination offers 13 percent more energy return than the previous model. 

In addition to the core road running shoe, today the Pegasus family includes Gore-Tex trail, winterized, winterized Gore-Tex, Easy-On and ultra-cushy models, as well as kids’ sizing. In January 2025, the Pegasus Premium will hit the market. The Pegasus Premium will be the brand’s first shoe to showcase a visible full-length Zoom Air unit sculpted to match the curves of the sole of the foot, with ZoomX foam in the midsole and ReactX foam in the heel combining to give more energy return than any previous model.

The new and improved Pegasus is central to Nike’s plans to regain a leadership position in the running category after having lost share over the past several years to running upstarts like Hoka and On. 

In 2025, Nike will strip down its running offering to concentrate on three main pillars: Supportive cushioning, featuring the Structure family of shoes; maximum cushioning, lead by the Vomero shoes; and responsive cushioning, where the new and improved Pegasus will be the marquee shoe. 

Analysts believe that Nike’s new, more beginner-runner friendly running structure, as well as an increased focus on technical innovation, will be the key ingredients to orchestrating the turnaround the brand is counting on. It’s a full circle moment for the Pegasus franchise: After 41 years, it’s still giving runners wings.