Forums >Gears and Wears>Another lightweight neutral racer thread
Marquess of Utopia
I wear the Kinvara everyday, sometimes for intervals and tempo runs. I wear the A4 for races up to the half. At most I've worn the A4 for 16 - 17 miles and I don't know what to wear for my next marathon. Do I risk it and save an ounce fearing the at mile 20 my legs will take a beating. Or wear the Kinvara? I'm open to suggestions for other shoes, but I'd like something with a 4MM drop.
How did your legs feel after the 16-17 miles in the A4? If they felt okay, you are probably fine for raciong a marathon in them. If your legs felt a beat up after running for ~ 2 hours in the a4's (or more than they usually would from a run of that length) then it is best to go with something else. You're going to take a beating in a marathon regardless of what shoes you wear so unless you think you'll take such a beating in the A4's that it will affect your performance late in the race why not lose a few ounces?
"You NEED to do this" - Shara
Yes, but if he's worried about the beating while he's racing, it may rob him of some daring.
"If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus
I'm just pre-taper tweaking. I do feel beat up in the flats, I'll go with the trainers this time and save the flats for a future race.
I've worn the A4 in a couple of marathons, but I went back to the A3 -- and even found some A2s (my favorite shoe) on ebay. If you like the 4mm drop, you may be OK with the A4. I prefer a more cushioned heel.
But if you feel beat up in the A4 at 16-17 miles... yeah. Maybe not. I don't know what it is about the A4; they feel kind of dead to me.
This say's don't wear the trainers:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22845
It's hard to say how "beat up" I feel after wearing the A4 because I'm usually running very fast in them; so yeah I feel beat up. Maybe this weekend I'll give them one more wear test: last 17 miles of a 22 mile hard progression run.
Oh yeah: 22mi two weeks before the marathon!
Why is it sideways?
I've raced in the A4s and the Kinvaras, and I preferred the A4s
I feel like the cushion of the Kinvara reduced energy return, but that's a total guess.
This say's don't wear the trainers: http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22845 It's hard to say how "beat up" I feel after wearing the A4 because I'm usually running very fast in them; so yeah I feel beat up. Maybe this weekend I'll give them one more wear test: last 17 miles of a 22 mile hard progression run. Oh yeah: 22mi two weeks before the marathon!
Sure but it also says that shoes in the 7-8 oz range (like the Kinvara) are usually best for marathons, versus shoes in the 4-7 oz range (like the A4.)
Having worn the A4s in some 5ks and in lots of workouts and runs up to 13 miles, I would NOT race a marathon in them. If I had to chose between the Kinvara and the A4 for a marathon, I'd wear the Kinvara.
I've raced marathons in the Saucony Fastwitch (8 oz), Asics Hyper Speed (7 oz) and the Nike LunaRacer (6.3 oz). Supposedly the LunaRacer weighs the same as the A4 but they feel like they have at least 2x as much cushioning, especially in the forefoot. I don't like them though because the uppers are too stiff.
I guess my favorite marathon racing shoe would be the Hyper Speed 2 or 3, but I wasn't a huge fan of the 4.
Runners run
Sure but it also says that shoes in the 7-8 oz range (like the Kinvara) are usually best for marathons, versus shoes in the 4-7 oz range (like the A4.) Having worn the A4s in some 5ks and in lots of workouts and runs up to 13 miles, I would NOT race a marathon in them. If I had to chose between the Kinvara and the A4 for a marathon, I'd wear the Kinvara. I've raced marathons in the Saucony Fastwitch (8 oz), Asics Hyper Speed (7 oz) and the Nike LunaRacer (6.3 oz). Supposedly the LunaRacer weighs the same as the A4 but they feel like they have at least 2x as much cushioning, especially in the forefoot. I don't like them though because the uppers are too stiff. I guess my favorite marathon racing shoe would be the Hyper Speed 2 or 3, but I wasn't a huge fan of the 4.
I liked the lunaRacer, but it was a little too narrow in the toes. I always had a toe nail slice the toe next to it.
Same here, one shoe was a bloody mess at the end of the 2009 Bay State Marathon. Narrow and the upper was a little too stiff/did not stretch at all. If they put a regular mesh upper on that thing it would be the ultimate marathon racer, imo.