New Delhi, April 14 -- "Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you new running shoes and that's kind of the same thing," goes a meme doing the rounds these days. And if they are carbon tech racing shoes, buyers are looking for more than happiness; they are hoping for personal records too.

Records in the running world have tumbled at a pace faster since carbon shoes debuted about eight years ago, and recreational runners of all abilities have bought into the idea that these shoes can also help them get faster and improve their timings. In the two races that I ran this year - one was a half marathon and the other a 10k race - I came across sub-100 minutes half marathoners as well as runners who took more than 3 hours to complete the...