I need to choose my marathon shoes. I have no idea if it would be better to go heavier but more comfy, or lighter but harder on the body. Right now I have these shoes:
Asics GT-2000
Drop : 8.9 mm
Weight : 11.4 oz
Mileage : 350 km - 215 miles
These are very comfortable and cushiony. Drop feels very good too. I feel like I could go 26.2 in those. But, they are also my heaviest shoes.
Mizuno Wave Riders 16
Drop : 13.1 mm
Weight : 10.1 oz
Mileage : 175 km - 110 miles
I used to love the Riders 16. This is my 4th pair. But sometime during my third pair I got to dislike the huge drop. I almost never wear them anymore. But I wore them last week, and they felt good. I need to make sure of that. If so, they are lighter than the GT-2000s and still pretty comfy.
Mizuno Wave Sayonara
Drop : 8.7 mm
Weight : 8.5 oz
Mileage : 410 km - 255 miles
I ran my two half marathons in Sayonaras. I thought they were pretty good for that. The problem is they (the ones I have) are a bit tight. As the run gets longer, and the feet swell a bit I'm afraid I might hate them. They're like 1/2 size too small.
Adidas Adizero Adios 2
Drop : 9mm
Weight : 7.7 oz
Mileage : 90 km - 56 miles
I run my MP runs on the track in those. They are light and I feel good running at MP in them. They are considered a long distance racing flat, and I bought them for the marathon. I'm afraid they lack some cushioning and I might hurt in them as the marathon goes on. They are also very stiff. They don't feel like a neutral running shoe. I read in a review that their torsion system, what makes them stiff, is effective in the later miles of the marathon when fatigue kicks in and form tends to break down.
Asics Gel Speedstar 5
Drop : 9 mm
Weight : 8.9 oz
Mileage : 690 km - 430 miles
I loved those shoes. They were a great balance of cushiony and fast feel. Problem is I can't find them anymore, and I'm afraid this pair is a little 'worn' for a marathon.
New Balance 1400 v2
Drop: 10.6 mm
Weight: 6.2 oz
Mileage : 0
These are still in the box. I doubt I'll choose them as I don't feel like they're enough shoe for a marathon (for me).
I need to choose soon, as I will need to run in the pair I choose while 'saving' them. Do you guys go cushiony or light weight?
I vote for the Adidas Adizero Adios 2 - you've worn them for your MP runs. They felt good. You will feel terrible in the last 10k anyway. No worries.
I will need to run a long run in them, or run a MP run on the roads (not on the track), to try them in conditions closer to those of the marathon. Thanks for your vote/opinion/advice.
The Speedstars, unless they are in danger of physically falling to pieces during the race.
"I loved those shoes"
That's what you want. Choose one pair that are THE shoes. I race in Elixirs because I have utmost confidence and comfort in them. There are lighter shoes, there are similar shoes that WOULD be fine, but they aren't THE shoes.
I like racing in Mizunos and the Sayonaras are pretty good for marathons, so I would recommend those.
Damaris
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The Speedstars, unless they are in danger of physically falling to pieces during the race. "I loved those shoes" That's what you want. Choose one pair that are THE shoes. I race in Elixirs because I have utmost confidence and comfort in them. There are lighter shoes, there are similar shoes that WOULD be fine, but they aren't THE shoes.
My Sayonaras are a poor comparison to the Elixirs. Putting those on it was like finding a soul mate.
Are we there, yet?
Adidas Adizero Adios 2 Drop : 9mm Weight : 7.7 oz Mileage : 90 km - 56 miles I run my MP runs on the track in those. They are light and I feel good running at MP in them. They are considered a long distance racing flat, and I bought them for the marathon. I'm afraid they lack some cushioning and I might hurt in them as the marathon goes on. They are also very stiff. They don't feel like a neutral running shoe. I read in a review that their torsion system, what makes them stiff, is effective in the later miles of the marathon when fatigue kicks in and form tends to break down.
The stiffness is the very reason I don't like Adidas. If anything, as you get tired that stiffness is going to affect your stride and form more and more as you need to expend more energy to hold your form or have it break down.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
That's an excellent point.
In the spring, I had a problem with the mound of my right big toe. As my shoes get old, the foam doesn't compensate for the funny way I run anymore, and I get that toe mound problem. Before my 5Ks, in the spring, I retired two pairs of Mizuno Wave Riders 16s, put aside my Sayonaras and my gel Speedstar 5, the 4 shoes I was running in this winter, because of that toe mound thing, and unboxed a few pairs. The toe problem went away with the new shoes. Started using the Sayonaras again at the first race (their mileage was low on them so I was pretty confident) but never ran in the Speedstars again. I was a bit afraid the toe mound prob would come back. I think I'll take'em out for a spin this morning instead of the Sayonaras I had planned to use, and see if they were part of the problem, or if it was just the Riders.
D_R, I have raced almost all my races in Sayonaras, so they are a great contender. That's for sure.
George, I read (after I bought them) these Adios 2 need a loooong time breaking in. I'll start wearing them more, and see if they lose that extra stifness after 100 miles or something.
None of you have suggested I use my heavier shoes. That's a big part of the answer I was looking for. Thanks for all the answers so far.
delicate flower
I do all of my runs in the Adios 2 including my last two marathons. So, I vote for those. I have found that being well trained helps in the later stages of a marathon. I'd enjoy voting more though if this thread contained a poll ffs.
<3
Super B****
I would say the one you did your LRs in ... but then, I tend to choose a marathon shoe and then do my LRs in them (and hope I don't find out they won't work).
Side note -- what size are you? (I tend to enjoy finding obscure things online, so I wouldn't mind hunting for those Speedstar 5s.)
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
LOL.
I have the Adiprene midsole version, not the newer Boost. Were you running in them in the Adiprene days? Didn't you find them stiff?
Blue, I wear size 13 in running shoes. I also live in Canada, which makes ordering online more complicated. You can look around for me if you like, but maybe it won't work for me.
I wore the Speedstars on my run today, and although I love them, they are not the perfect shoe. I love their sole (good cushioning but don't feel wooshy), but not the upper. They felt good though. They are definitely finalists.
Mmmmm...beer
I vote for the lighter shoe, but I'm also with Jay, you should have supreme confidence in your shoes, 26.2 miles is a long way to go in shoes that are iffy. Definitely get some long runs in with the Adios 2 if you're considering those. I wore Saucony Virratas for both of my marathons, about the same weight as the Adios 2's. I was 180lbs at Richmond and had no problems with the lack of cushioning, but I also do a lot of my running in shorter stack shoes (Kinvaras, Virratas and now Zealots).
-Dave
My running blog
Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!
I have 400 miles on a pair of Adidas Energy Boost 2.0 and they are still stiff enough that I find myself running almost flat footed toward the end of a hard run. While the cushioning was great as was the greater room in the toe box, the stiffness, which never seemed to decrease, is the killer for me. I''m going back to my Saucony Ride 7s.
LOL. I have the Adiprene midsole version, not the newer Boost. Were you running in them in the Adiprene days? Didn't you find them stiff?
My first pair was an Adiprene pair. Can't really say I remember the difference since I've gone through 8-10 pairs of the new ones since I had that first pair. I don't think they are a stiff shoe but I also haven't taken the time to try anything else. I found what I like so I use it.
I do not run long in my current marathon shoe. Mostly because at 6.4 ounces, there is simply not enough support there to endure the beating that comes with a two and a half hour slog.
Instead, I depended on the feedback I got from MP & tempo runs in the weeks leading up to the race to affirm either way if it would, or would not work for me. From there I kind of made a leap of faith that it would and surprisingly, it did.
For my first marathon however, I went with the shoe that I trained in and that I felt most confident in. Believing then as others have stated that I wanted to have as much familiarity as possible.
Of course none of it will matter during the complete and utter insanity that is the last 45 to 60 minutes of the race, but it's one less thing to worry about before you get to that point.