Racing Flats//Any recommendations? (Read 1083 times)

I'm looking to find a good pair of racing flats to primarily use for 5k (and possibly longer) road races. I'd like for them to be very lightweight but I don't want to feel like I'm running barefoot on the pavement either. Does anyone have any recommendations for me? On a side note, I'm very partial towards Asics and am currently looking online at the Asics Gel-Ohana Racer, Asics Gel-Hyper Speed and the Asics Gel-DS Racer. That said, I suppose my racing flats really don't HAVE to be made by Asics as long as they're good shoes to wear for a race.

It's pretty much a matter of fit and what you like. Since you train in the GT-1100's and Kayano's you will probably like the DS Racers. They are slightly posted. It's been a couple of years since I bought a pair of flats but I'll be in the market before Spring. In the past I've had good luck with the Brooks T4 Racers, Nike Air Streak Spectrum and the Nike Air Streak Ekiden (which are pretty much the same as the spectrum but with less goofy graphics.)

At what point are flats worth it? Probably about the point where you feel you're willing to buy them. I would say that you could get a pair of lighter shoes just for racing, without them being specifically called "racing flats", that you wear only in races. This is kinda what I do. My racing flats I wore for my marathon. But, they are more cushioned than a standard racing flat (i.e. the waffle racers), so I wasn't hurting too bad. Some people like the Free's because they say it mimics running barefoot, while still protecting the feet. I tried them on once, but didn't buy them. I don't think they'd work well with my personal running style.

A slight high-jack (sorry), but this might be the place to ask: At what point is it worth it to get racing flats? I mean - is there any point in someone still running a 22:00 5-k getting flats? Would it actually make any difference in race times? A couple more: do you wear flats in longer races (HM or more)? Is the advantage just the weight?

To be honest, I used to run low 16s for my 5ks and I'm hoping to get back into the 17s on a consistent basis by the end of the year. Thus far, I've only just begun to build up my base with little to no speed work to speak of as of yet. Whether it's possible or not remains to be seen, but I've always worn specific shoes for racing only. In the past it was either spikes or waffles. The whole racing flat is new to me since I wasn't big on road racing back in the day. To answer the second series of questions, I've never actually run a race longer than 10 miles before. That may also change by the end of the year, but I'd like to take things one step at a time. No need to shoot for the stars before I've reached the moon, right? The weight of the shoe is definitely one big advantage (at least in my mind)... the other advantage I would get from wearing flats is knowing that I'm equipped to race. If I'm running a race in the same big cushy shoes that I train hundreds of miles in, I feel like I'd be more apt to fall into a comfort zone and could potentially slow my pace as a result. Having lighter shoes that feel fast on my feet will help to keep me in the right mindset. Thanks for everyone's feedback so far! It's definitely given me a couple of additional shoes to check out. I've read good things about those Brooks T4 Racers and they are the lightest pair out there I think. Hey Mike, are those things really under 6 ounces?! That's less than half the weight of my Kayano's!

I've used a Puma Sprint as a flat shoe for doing my intervals and hill training and never had an injury with them. I suspect that with racing flats you'd want a firm, snug, flexible shoe without much of a wedge or posting. The ASICS Racers don't work as well for me as the Pumas.