A breakthrough is when you take a tradeoff (here we have puncture resistance and ride quality) and provide both ends at once. I gather that's what's going on with the Marathon line of tires. I haven't tried one. I rode the Vittoria Voyager Hyper for a while, and that was a similar breakthrough. People criticize the tire for having no so great puncture resistant but I'm easy to please in that realm. The tire is heavy and thick, and I was super skeptical when I received it. And I put the two tires on my bike, and I said holy cow, this feels fast; how did they do this? So I do believe in breakthroughs, Auntie Em.