RACING FLAT REVIEW
unning at your peak is a
delicate balance between
comfort and discomfort.
You are already tired from your
two-sport warm-up and most would
agree that “speed” is a relative term
that is gauged, in part, by one’s tolerance for pain, but that doesn’t
have to translate to excruciating
pain, at least not in your feet. To
run at your best you need shoes that
will perform, shoes that won’t hold
you back, whether due to weight,
difficult entry, bad fit, rigidity, lack
of drainage or irritating seams that
create blisters, among other problems. With that in mind, this shoe
review is meant to help you open
the door to your breakthrough shoe
and a breakthrough performance.
Keep in mind that racing flats
and lightweight trainers traditionally
fit more snugly and are more Spartan
than high mileage training shoes.
Also, these are your racing shoes
so think about transition speed,
drainage for when you poor water
over your head, and how they’ll fit
and feel if you run without socks.
Our panel of testers, all experienced and elite racers, rated the
test samples objectively in order to
direct your choice. Envision your
all-time favorite racing flat, improve
it in your head and use that ideal
to determine whether that shoe
would hold your instep firmly or be
roomy in the toe box. Is that shoe
flexible or stiff when you walk in it
and does the underfoot feel soft or
hard? Is your perfect racer low to
the ground or does it have a little
more cushion and suspension? And
when you run in this paradigm of
a speedster, does the impact feel
firm and responsive or is it more
dampening and fluid?
Once you know what you are
looking for, you can head to a running shoe store with a short list of
shoes that best match your needs
and go from virtual to real as you
test the shoes at the shop.
R
Adidas adiStar Adios
Heel: snug Mid-foot: close-fitting
Forefoot: slightly narrow
FEEL Flex: somewhat stiff Weight: very light
Instep: softly wrapping
Cushioning: somewhat firm Stability: stable
Response: bouncy Transition: smooth
FIT
How many shoes have run faster than 2:04 in the
marathon? Only these. And they should probably be called
“Dehaan Kun” because that is elite runner Haile Gebrselassie’s
native tongue for “adios” or “goodbye.” Or maybe “G’day” as
Bevan Docherty would say? These classic racing flats have
a close and narrow fit that really embraces the foot through every stage of their smooth heel-to-toe transition. Our
testers found the tongue was a little sloppy but that it didn’t detract from the shoe’s ride, which was enhanced
by the flexible uppers and firm and adequately cushioned midsole. These are recommended for sprint and 70. 3
distances but only Gebrselassie types would want to use the Adios for iron distance.
RIDE
Asics GEL Speedstar 4
Heel: snug Mid-foot: close-fitting
Forefoot: slightly narrow
FEEL Flex: flexible Weight: light
Instep: softly wrapping
Cushioning: soft Stability: stable
Response: bouncy Transition: somewhat fast
FIT
This neutral lightweight racing and training shoe
is well suited for higher mileage races or speedwork.
With its new asymmetric lacing and the elimination of
overlays, the Speedstar 4 offers a snug fit, which might
be too snug for those with wider feet (although the
close fit was not considered restrictive by our test team). Asics lowered the midsole to make the Speedstar
4 more of a racing flat yet kept the cushioning and mid-foot tooling adequate enough to keep our testers
comfortable over many a rapid-paced mile. The Speedstar makes an excellent shoe for anything from a half
to a full iron-distance race.
74 triathlete.com
october 2010
