The more experience I gain in the world of endurance sport, the more I learn what elements determine my ultimate shoe. The characteristics I look for, ideally create a shoe that stays out of my way, does not intrude upon my run and allows me to perform at my best; support and comfort are key to achieving this. These characteristics come from a combination of carefully designed details throughout the shoe. Although there was a time when Asics appeared to have been left behind in the move towards nimble shoes, this is no longer.
All images credit to Korupt Vision
For the past three months I’ve been running two of Asics revolutionary new models; the Magic Speed and the Metaspeed Sky. I am stoked to have these shoes as an integral part of my build towards the Europe and America race season.
The Magic Speed is an awesome shoe. Although it is a fast and efficient top race-speed shoe. It has been my go-to for long runs, steady-state training as well as longer tempo efforts. The shoe has a firmer foam and allows you to mid/heel strike a little bit in the shoe when the turnover is not as high and you are not up on your toes. This also allows your stabilising proprioception muscles to rest more when you are running at a slower pace and mid-strike. The three-quarter shank allows for more flex in the forefoot and is more forgiving on the calf. The fabric and shape design in the upper makes it very supportive and comfortable especially, on those long run sessions. It is also very hard-wearing so you get a lot of mileage out of them. It’s a great overall baseload shoe but still fast and responsive; it could be used as a race shoe, I’m still undecided which shoe I will use in the 70.3 and half-distance mainly because the Magic Speed is so forgiving.
Moving onto the Metaspeed Sky; this shoe makes a statement when it comes to the evolution of running shoes. Its full carbon shank makes it stiff and has a very soft heel rear foam which is probably to do with the weight factor; giving you quite a lot of that light rocker which is good for running faster paces when you’re up on your toes. The design is optimized for that forefoot speed, top-end running. I’ve been using this shoe a lot for the race pace and faster efforts. Although it may not be quite as hardy as the Magic Speed, it’s very light for the volume of the shoe which is perfect for its use. It’s an awesome shoe.
I’ve really enjoyed the process of having the Metaspeed Sky and Magic Speed as my two high-performance shoes and I’m stoked to have them in the tool belt going forward.