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Marathon Shoe Rotations 2026 | Our Top Picks
2.2k Plays16 days ago
With many people planning for the first wave of 2026 marathons, there are going to be a lot of running shoes being bought over the next few months. In this podcast (also available as a video) we chat through our top choices for marathon shoe rotations in 2026.
Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers
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Transcript
Introduction to Marathon Shoe Discussion
00:00:05
Speaker
Hey, Tommy from The Run Testers. In this episode of the podcast, we are going to be talking about marathon shoe rotations. So we'll be talking through the shoes that we would pick for our perfect rotation if we were going for a PB in a marathon at the moment.
00:00:18
Speaker
Right, let's dive in and see what we've all picked.
00:00:29
Speaker
Happy February, gentlemen. How you doing? Good. Not happy it's February, but it actually didn't rain today for the first time in, what, six weeks? It's raining here now. Is it? All right. Yeah, I mean, I'm happier it's February than it is that it's January. That's true. I had two jackets on for a run of the weekend, Kieran. I was thinking of you. Oh, blimey. Well, my run at the weekend, I was the only body inside who was wearing a jacket as they ran you know indoors and outside. Everyone else had singlets on. was in a full jacket. I was going to ask you about this, actually.
Winter Olympics Update
00:00:58
Speaker
Let's ah just do a quick update from Nick on Winter Olympics, Nick. how How's it going? ah So after two runs in the women's big air snowboard, ah the the Brits in 10th, Mia Brooks, I have to say it's ah it's a confusing sport because they they go down a big slope. They do multiple twists and turns in the air and then they all celebrate like they've done the gold medal jump because I guess that i guess that must affect the judges a bit as well. And then as far as I can tell, the judges count how many times they span around in the air and with how much decorum, I guess they they did that. And then ah a score is assigned mostly at random. But the commentators don't seem to really know how good... Commentators are really good at counting how many turns they've done in the air. And I think that's mostly what they're basing their commentary on.
00:01:36
Speaker
But we were meant to have a chance of a medal in this and she's down in tenth after two runs. I couldn't tell you if only one run counts or if they need to get two, but I'm excited. I love the Winter Olympics because a lot of stuff happens and it's mostly completely incomprehensible.
00:01:51
Speaker
I love the curling, although we just we just messed up the curling. was going ask you about the curling. Yeah, we just lost in the semifinal of that. What I didn't like o it was in the downhill skiing finals. I thought they always put the fastest ones at the end of these finals, in my memory of watching it growing up, right? So it builds up and builds up. And I was about 10 minutes in and a guy went and went, oh, brilliant run, brilliant run. on Well, yeah, but he's quite early. and then And then that guy just won. So for the next hour, I watched just inferior skiers get nowhere near his time.
00:02:16
Speaker
i and we couldve We could have basically fixed this by just but letting that guy go. Yeah, yeah. that and a then All they would do was just discuss together things because all these guys are basically irrelevant. It's like, well, why are we watching them? well What's happened? um so Yeah. So, yeah, it is good fun. And I do like the curling. like the ski jumping and because, yeah, that's quite funny as well. But I think there's too many of the variations where they do flips in the air now.
00:02:43
Speaker
And I don't really understand what's going on. Well, that's the the main thing with snowboarding, isn't it? There's not really much else happening. they so They have a very good snowboard slalom race. There's two at once, which is pretty sick to watch, and I will say. And ah they're really fast and you can't even really focus on both of them. But yeah, it's good. What's the next big... Because it's been it's been a lot of curling going on at the moment. What's the next big thing? It's curling the whole time. There's like just mixed men's and women's curling. So watching all of that.
00:03:09
Speaker
I imagine we're all the same, Tom. What about the one that's in that James Bond film where he's doing like five different... Is it pent out modern pentathlon or something? Oh, biathlon, you shoot and ski. That's the one, yeah. A of that has happened. was sure as swear as my friend yesterday, was thinking, it must be quite different, like the Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics, in terms of the athlete camp, because all of these people, quite lot of them are quite cool and like quite young. a lot of them are quite young. ah Nearly all of them are from money, obviously, because it's destin they're a ludicrous set of sports.
00:03:35
Speaker
So yeah think they're all good. But then we thought, no, there are some nerds, because there's the ones who have to go like uphill on skis. You're not doing that if you're good downhill on skis, are you? So they're the losers. Yeah. I would guess of the Winter Olympics. Don't come after me with your silly guns. ah but um yeah ah But yeah, it is quite a it must be a different vibe in that village because and also all these sports associated with like apreski and cool fun things. Whereas I love the Olympics. I love all of these athletes. but They're all draw nerds, right? like all the ah the ah The sprinters are quite cool, but mostly it's just yeah loads of skinny people who just run the entire time. like
00:04:09
Speaker
Well, why isn't there like a vertical snowy K? That's what wanted. There should be like some kind of winter uphill running there. Straight up. There was one that had a 10K plus 10K. And the first 10K was when they have those little tracks they have to ski along and it's very tiring. And then there's 10K without the tracks. I think that was just mostly uphill. And it looked just really, they always look really miserable and cold.
00:04:28
Speaker
ah Winter Olympics generally need apparatus to do any of the activities, don't they? It's not like the, you know. Just a tray in the skeleton or the luge, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, we've got to lose it yourself. and Just send someone down there in in a suit.
00:04:45
Speaker
God, the breath of burn. Yeah. Well, that's our... This has been the Winter Olympics update from the run testers. Nick, thanks for that update. This big air final is heating up.
00:04:57
Speaker
We've been wanting to ask you about your weekend. You did an ah interesting event.
Running Event: The Maze by Sockany
00:05:01
Speaker
Got out the maze. Well, yeah. I mean, speaking of really exciting format sports, I yeah no i went to Peckham Rye in South London, which is very, very urban, very gritty. And and we did ah what's called the Sockany. It's called the Maze. And they're doing a series of these events all around kind of, I've had some in the States. They've done them around Paris they're doing them in Europe. But but essentially, you've got a run on what is like a 200 meter, quite twisty, turny track, a bit inside, a bit outside.
00:05:29
Speaker
And you run in teams of four. for an hour, you run in pairs. So there's like an A pair and a B pair, and you're going to do, the whole team's going to do four sets of 12 minutes, two runners out on track at any one time.
00:05:41
Speaker
You have to sort of both finish together and hand over the baton before the next team can go. And the idea is the most cumulative distance, so you've both got trackers on, the most cumulative distance that your team can run. When you get to, once the fourth interval is done, the the top five teams who have run the most distance go out again and all four go and run on the final 12 minutes.
00:06:00
Speaker
team with the most distance. After that, well, after that, I think, yeah, I think on the fourth one you have to finish the klaxon just goes, I think, and then it's just how much distance you've all covered. It's all kind traffic. interesting interesting I have done races like that before, but I've never, I've never done anything where you run, you run as a pair in your stretch. That's an odd addition. You don't have to run together, but you go out on the course together. And then for that last lap, the last one. So when you get into close to the 12 minutes, you know, if I come in 11 minutes, 30 seconds and my runners behind me, I'm not going to make another whole lap. So I just wait and they finish and then we can hand over the band. So 200 meters. So you can, you know where they are roughly, i guess.
00:06:38
Speaker
Yeah, and it's sort of, so even if you, if they're running slow on that last lap and you've sort of caught them, there's no point you busting ahead of them for that last time. Anyway, you might as well, you'd stop and take your recovery. But it's, I think actually from a point of view of sort of leveling out the playing field in a group of runners where you can,
00:06:55
Speaker
have mixed abilities and it makes it interesting. It's quite a nice format. And and how was the Azora for it? Well, it was it was it was good. i think it was good at pace. Like i I was unsure whether or not it would be itd be good for that kind of all out. Like I was basically running sort of not far off my mile pace really for much of it, but it was wet. It was really wet. So raining outside, we came in on the inside bit. had this kind of warehousey flooring, which was just like a- Yeah. So the grip, I mean, it it did all right in the grip, but I don't think any shoe would have handled it, but it was, um yeah, there's a lot of energy in the event. There was a lot of, yeah, a lot of running crews from across Europe were there. I didn't realize that the winning team walked away with a grand, which was... Just about covered your time there. Yeah.
00:07:43
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I should spend a lot time there, but lot of time for 24 minutes running. Oh, good, good. Fair enough, fair enough. That's the big event, the big race of the year, don't they? Yeah. Where did you come? Where did your team come?
00:07:55
Speaker
Oh, I don't know. Oh, right. That's annoying. Did you leave before they did the scores? No, we didn't make the top five. don't know that much. We were about, I think, it was quite good. They like a live leaderboard as well. So it is all quite dynamic. It's all quite yeah cool. But we were in like 11th or something. No, ninth out of 11.
00:08:15
Speaker
And then they didn't they didn't print all the rest of it. So only the top five. Didn't even bother with it. Gosh. well i didn't I don't know how far I ran. I lost count of how many laps I'd done. see just sad Yeah, no idea. All right.
00:08:27
Speaker
Well,
Marathon Shoe Categories
00:08:28
Speaker
nice. Well, we're going to we're going to talk about marathon shoe rotations now. So, ah should we get into it? Right, it's for our videos.
00:08:46
Speaker
So we are going to be talking about marathon shoe rotations. Now, on the channel at the moment, we already have a video, or we will have a video. It's not up yet, is it? Yeah, it's been up but for a week, Tom. We've got so many conversations about rotations at the moment. Yeah, true. There's another rotations video coming coming up as well.
00:09:04
Speaker
Yeah. But this video is about specifically our marathon shoe rotation. So if we are running or if we were to be running a marathon at the moment, what are the shoes that we would each pick ah based on the times we're going for, the style of running we're doing and our preferences. So let's just kick off by talking about the categories of shoe that we are looking at here. and what what What are the key shoe shoe categories that we um we generally put these shoes into? Well, I guess it'll be similar to our general rotations in that we are often running for marathons in general, but usually if I'm building a marathon shoe rotation, I've got to think about the shoe I'm going race in if I am going for a PB, my fast shoe. I've got think about the shoe going log a lot of easy miles in, and then a shoe that I might want to be using for quite long like workouts as part of marathon training. Those are kind of shoes I'm normally thinking about on marathon training. How about you guys? Yeah, I mean, I would, yeah, race day shoes, and then I will have like ah ah a training shoe, which I would sort of classify that as just a shoe that I might have to do sort of faster stuff in with. going to a long run with some sort of marathon pace intervals in it, and then maybe like an easy day shoe that's going to cover when I'm just plodding around, racking up big, easy, slow mileage. Mm-hmm.
00:10:13
Speaker
Okay, well, my one, would pretty much have a easy run shoe, which I enjoy running in. So most of the time, that's going to be just for lots of mileage over the period. But I'll generally want something that I look forward to running in for those runs. um My middle range shoe would be the really versatile daily trainer that gives me you know the ability to do tempo runs and sprint sessions. And then yeah i so then I'd have my race shoe as well.
00:10:42
Speaker
But at the moment, I am actually doing a marathon. doing Seville on Sunday. And that has not been the rotation that I've got. Basically, my rotation at the moment is all easy shoes because at the moment, I'm basically just doing the mileage and not doing anything else. So if I was to do my actual rotation at the moment, would be very different. I'll do that in a bit.
00:11:06
Speaker
Right, so let's just talk about the rotations. Kieran, do you want to go through what is your current marathon rotation? Yeah, you want me to do all of them? Yeah, let's start off with, yeah. How do you want to this? you want to go through, do we all do our... Let's do one each. in a circle. Yeah, then we can discuss each one. Then as a treat, we'll do Tom's three easy day shoe rotation.
Kieran’s Marathon Shoe Rotation
00:11:28
Speaker
Yeah. What's your easy, easy daily shoe, Kieran? So at the moment, I am training for, I've got a couple of marathons coming up. I'm going to do Brighton first, then two weeks later, I'm going to do Hamburg. Hamburg will be my kind of that I'm training for fastest and for my for my easy mileage shoe it does kind of fit into that category you were saying tom about shoe that just like to run in that's comfortable easy one to kind of pick out the pile that i know i'm going to enjoy moving for long stretches of of very low know it might be for me eight nine minute miling for long kind of plots on a sunday and that at the moment has been the kit run kit ride max which is a new one that we've you know the review went up on the channel just recently and it's in there is just a really kind of soft but quite light but also a little bit bouncy super comfortable it's got lots of nice kind of plush sort comfort detailing and it's just a very easy shoe to run in i think right from my kind of slowest almost up to a little bit below my kind of marathon pace if i want to um but overall it's just got a really nice kind of forgiving platform that's It's not too soggy, not too mushy, which is something I like in my easy day shoe. I don't really like shoes that are going to be too sinking like I'm working too hard on those days. I know some people really like to feel super cocooned and, you know, have the shoe almost of put a limiter on them. But I still like a shoe that has a bit of a bit of something about it underfoot. And I think the Kip Ride Max do that really, really nicely. It's, you know, it's one that we picked up at the end of December and it's just slotted really happily into that bracket. There's a couple of shoes that sort of works around and replaced and I would sort throw out the Vomero 18 and also think the New Balance 1080 V15 in that mix as well. But the Kit Pride Max is the one that is going on the foot more often than others at the moment.
00:13:07
Speaker
Nice. And we get we've got we've tested a lot of um cushioned Max shoes recently, but that's a pretty cost-effective shoe, isn't it in comparison to most of the ones that we're testing? £120, yeah. it's, yeah, I think you're getting lot of value for it, yeah. Yeah, really good value here in the UK in particular. think it's coming around to the US in April, I think we were sold, wasn't it? Also, I love that shoe as well. think it's a really good shoe. I think that and my top pick in this category are proving that you don't need to have you know, quite dull foams in these big cushion shoes. You can have foams with a bit of foam, bit of bounce. Like the actual foam composition in that Kipron shoe a bit of a mess, like five different foams in there or something, but the actual end result is a really nice, resilient, but comfortable foam that just helps you tick along. I, yeah, I'm a big fan of that shoe as well.
00:13:47
Speaker
Cool. All right, then let's ah do
Nick’s Marathon Training Shoe
00:13:49
Speaker
yours then, Nick. what's your What's your... So mine is actually is the Nike Vemero Plus. I would say that I know don't love overly soft and shoes that... I don't like shoes that i end up feeling like I'm having to work to pick up my feet against. So I haven't always gone for big Max Christian shoes. I'd say the Vemero Plus is probably the first Max Christian shoe I ever really loved. like The others have always been just kind of fine and the Kiprod Max I would do love as well. And that's...
00:14:10
Speaker
It's very similar actually in lots of ways to the Kipride Max in that it's a big massive stack of foam, but it's a foam that's resilient, it's bouncy. And what I love about the Meribus is the bounce just stays the whole way through runs. So it's like my go-to long run shoe if I'm not testing something new, because I know at the end of 90 minutes, two hours, whatever, it's still going to feel bouncy on the thing. And it's still going to help me kind of tick along very nicely. Loads of cushioning at the heel, very protective where I land, big Zoom X midsole. Yeah, like said, it's It is a shoe that is fairly versatile, such a max cushion shoe, but I'm looking for in my marathon shoe rotation in this category, it's just going to eat up all those miles. Got full outsole on it as well, which don't actually always get on cushion shoes these days. so I think that's good for durability.
00:14:46
Speaker
ZoomX foam after 100 miles of use has not lost any of its kind of bounce. and i think it's going to be a very durable shoe as well. so And actually, again, in the UK, it's pretty good value. So the Vemero Plus thing ticks every box, a shoe that can just do loads and loads and loads of very happy miles in and, you know, just retains the same really enjoyable bouncy feeling. So it's definitely one that I look forward to, yeah, pulling on for long marathon training miles. I was looking at those earlier. I need to i need to buy a pair of those. Might pop up in sales soon, I guess. There the Vemero Premium as well, which I do like, but it's 10 millimeters more stack. It is still bouncy. It does actually still turn over well. it' known It's a really heavy shoe, the Vemero Premium. Probably just put it in the category of just slightly too much for my like ah overall as a shoe, but like both in terms of price and just general vibe. and I think Vemero Plus is a slightly more just kind of traditional effective shoe. The Vemero Premium is undeniably fantastic at soaking up big mileage if you don't mind that big high price. Yeah, it's going to be a while until that one gets cheaper.
00:15:36
Speaker
Yeah, that they're just selling them out, I think, every time they put them up. um And yeah, I did like the Vemero premium a lot more than I expected, I will say. in fact, yeah actually, that was the case with the Vemero Plus as well. I think this is Nike's strongest little set of shoes in a long time, the Vemero line, like much better than what we're seeing from like the Pegasus line.
00:15:52
Speaker
Well, my pick is, as I mentioned earlier, but what I look for when I'm properly training for a marathon for my easy runs is a shoe that I just look forward to running in. So it's not, I don't just want it to eat up the miles. I want to actually look forward to to going out in it. So the shoe I've picked um for this current generation of shoes is the
Tom’s Easy Run Shoe Choice
00:16:12
Speaker
Rad UFO. Yeah. Now that shoe is, it's not your classic easy day shoe because it is quite versatile. You can use, it's, it's, you know, getting on, onto the realms of super trainer territory of, you know, it's got really bounty midsole in it, but I love it for easy runs because it just, you know, as soon as you step out in it and you just start running, it just feels like it's given you so much back. And if you've got tired legs, if you're not really in the mood for doing it, if you, know, you're up to your 60th kilometer of the week, and thinking, I've got to another 10 K now. It just feels great. It's, It's sort of like, ah you know, I could even have picked probably like the Evo SL to be a comparison with this, but the Rad's got little bit bigger base on it. It's just a really nice plush, comfortable shoe to run in. And I just associate it with fun and nice runs. It's a very fun shoe. I will say, I think that's one of the strongest kind of full debuts in the running area. You know, if their previous shoes were kind of classed more as cross-training shoes. ah Yeah, I was very impressed by it.
00:17:13
Speaker
Okay, so what about your mid-level ah rotation
Mid-level Marathon Shoes
00:17:18
Speaker
shoe? Kieran, what are you going to go for and what type of shoe is it? Yeah, so I guess for this, I go for something that's going to probably be able to cope for me in the way that I run even at the slowest paces, but definitely work at the faster end and that kind of middle end of, you know, for... I always sort of think about when I'm going out and I might be doing, you know, 14, 15 miles and I want to drop, you know, marathon pace miles within that.
00:17:39
Speaker
And this shoe can also cope when I want to maybe do faster intervals than than marathon pace within my kind of training. And the shoe that does it for me, gonna be any surprise. I could, yeah, commenters will be at me for it, but it's the Endorphin Speed 5. It's just a shoe that...
00:17:54
Speaker
I love the way it feels on my foot. It's it's one those, it just feels super natural in terms of the fit and the feel for me. It's kind of light. I i love the energy of it. I like the rockering to it. I like the fact that it's got a bit of stiffness as well as a bit of bouncy energy, but it's not, you know, it's not bounding. It's just sort of really kind of has a nice sort of stiffness and ah and a pop to it that I think really suits my running style. So I find it very easy to turn over very quickly in the speed five and I can shift up through the gears, you know, pretty effortlessly in it. And I know it can cover such a sort of wide range of my training runs that, you know, if I'm out and I'm, if I've done something long and I've, you know, run, sometimes I'll go and do things where I'll like, I'll run maybe 10, 12 miles at regular pace then I'll do six, seven sort fast marathon pace or a bit faster and then I might knock on the last couple of miles sort slow and ragged home and it can cope with all of that I think that shoe some people might find it a bit too sort of direct or a bit too firm and aggressive but for me it really works and and I just again it's it's one of those that I really love you know When I want to go out and do a run or I've got a particularly hard session or something, I i enjoy lacing it up. I don't have any troubles with kind of the fit and the feel and it instantly feels so comfortable and like it belongs on my foot. and I know it's going to look after me no matter what i throw at it. so It's got that kind of good versatility but definitely a nice top pace range.
00:19:12
Speaker
Can't really go wrong with the speed, can you? No. It's shoe that's getting a bit underrated these days, I think, because it's just a really great, effective shoe. and I think it's a bit underrated now.
00:19:22
Speaker
only Yeah, and I get i guess it out out of that, there is another one. I mean, I'm mentioning more shoes than I'm supposed to. couple others. I think the Azura might yeah' sort of edging its way in a little bit. And I also really like the, I might be one of the only people out there, but the Sonic Blast sort of fit the bill for me as well. it i kind of felt like it had quite a similar sort of and profile in terms of what it could cover.
00:19:43
Speaker
But the Speed 5, just an old favourite that always goes on. Go on there, Nick. It's tricky this this one, I would say. like because i do For this, my speed shoot, I do want it to be able to handle yeah a lot of speed work. like i don't you know I do a lot of fast running during marathon training, so it's not like all out, but there's just lots of sessions. so I do double threshold days, that kind of thing, lots of long workouts at the track, lots of long runs that finish with 30 minutes, five miles or something at a decent pace. so It doesn't have to necessarily be very good at flat-out speed, so that probably would mean I wouldn't necessarily go for some of the EVO SL, which is a shoe that might be in my rotation if it was just a generalist rotation, because i think it's so good at very short reps.
00:20:18
Speaker
So if I'm looking for a speed shoe that can handle bigger miles, basically, and be a bit more comfortable, bit more supportive while still being really fast, and I think probably I've come down to a couple here that i'm going to have to pick between.
00:20:29
Speaker
So, Hoka Mac X3 I really think is a very good shoe and another shoe that's kind of gone a little bit quiet. on ah Everyone loves the Hoka Mac The 3s are slightly heavier because it's got more comfortable upper, but I think it's still really, really fast and I think it still know now suits the bill a bit better as a very comfortable shoe that can still go quick. Probably, i would edge out though for the Attics Mega Blast, which is unbelievably expensive, but it is such a good shoe for marathon training because it just feels so good when you are going through the gears on a run so it can handle all the easy to steady paces really well, can even finish really fast. I've done a park run in it all out and I i trust it to be able to go and do 10 times 1K at the track at a decent pace. I know it's going to fast enough for that. and so i don't really have any doubts about it. That's probably why I'm picking it. and What i really like about it is I always do something like a 15-mile steady run during towards the end of marathon training, which isn't at marathon pace but similar to like the first 15 miles of marathon in terms of intensity you know when you're on tired legs in training. and I did that in that shoot was the best i've ever felt on that run. so
00:21:23
Speaker
I do think it's a phenomenal marathon training shoe. Again, really durable so i can handle loads and loads of miles because like I do a lot of that kind of running and for a shoe to get through an entire marathon block it needs to be able to do several hundred kilometers and I think Megalast having done over 100 miles and it are very confident in that durability. So although it is silly expensive, probably the Megalast would be the shoe I'd pick for that in my rotation. The Hokemack X3 is a good cheap alternative. The Evo SL has done that role for me in the past. It is a fantastic shoe but I think if I'm looking at marathon training in particular, I might like a shoe that's got probably just a bit more stack on it for um long runs with lots of easy stuff in it. Well, I have inevitably got the same shoe as you, so but slightly different reasons. So because my easy shoe is what I would, I would only really use the Radio FFO for easy stuff on it. even though it is versatile it's not shoe that I'd pick if I was going out to do a faster session or interval session or anything like that because it could probably do it but it's just a bit of a bulky shoe it's a bit of a big shoe Mega Blast is just it just ticks all the the runs like the majority of the runs that are there are Not like your training where you're doing lots of short, fast, faster stuff. I tend to, the bulk of mine tends to be maybe longer tempo type stuff and then a little bit of interval sessions in it. And I think for the interval sessions, from what I've done in my previous marathon training where I've really been going for a time, I probably use my ratio for those because there's not many of them. But the mega blast would be the bulk of it eating up. the majority of the runs that are either, you know, longer interval sessions run just out for like an hour and 40 minutes, just, just doing those, loads of reps. Mega Blast amazing for that. Cause you've got the comfort level of it, but the tempo runs is great as well for the long, so for the long runs where I may be doing 15, 20 K at marathon pace. Mega Blast is amazing for that. Cause it can shift that gear nicely where you, you're actually maintaining that almost marathon pace, but then you could just go straight down and just feels comfy the whole way. I did Loch Ness Marathon in it and it was such a comfortable shoe. yeah And there's not many training, faster training shoes that I would would imagine being as comfortable as that. Even like the Evo SL, I don't think I'd want to run a marathon in the SL in comparison the Megabass because just don't think it be as comfortable.
00:23:26
Speaker
Yeah, that super comfortable. is super pricey. There are lots of brands that are looking toward the cut. We've heard some amazing reports about some of these Chinese running shoes that are better than Mega Blast for less. You love that Kipron tempo, don't you? I've got that the down here. So I've actually thrown that in here because I've only done one run in it, so I may be getting overexcited. But when I went out in it yesterday, the the only thing I could think was, this is quite like the Mega Blast. That's 120 quid, isn't it? So... 120 quid. and It it just just feels so comfortable. It's a nice bit of bounce It's quite a big shoe, but it's so its it's as light as the Mega Blast. And that's really, I think, that's the sweet spot because there's a lot of these shoes out there that are doing similar things to the Mega Blast or sort of say they're doing similar things. I was sort of said that the Kiprin...
00:24:09
Speaker
the tempo looked a bit like the Brooks Hyperion Max 3 but the difference in weight is so big it really makes such a big difference so yeah I definitely hopefully I'm really hoping that the Kip Storm tempo is actually going to be a really big contender for the Megalast because it's quite exciting when you find a shoe that's I mean, how much does it make last now? $200 and... $200 then $220 or the other way around. It's up there, anyway. It's not cheap. $80 more for a shoe. It's mad if you can get one that may be as good as it. But I'll hold my comments. I'm hopefully getting as well, so maybe we'll find out. Thomas, this is terrible. But no, I imagine it'll good. He's got the foam that I like. I'm a very lazy man. If a shoe isn't fun and enjoyable, I'll tell you. It's got to be pretty good for me to actually enjoy Cool. Okay.
00:24:58
Speaker
okay
00:25:10
Speaker
Right.
Race Day Shoe Choices
00:25:11
Speaker
The big one. The race day shoe. There's the dullest category in the end, actually, and in our video because we all pick the same thing. I think it might be bit different this time. Ooh. Yeah. Kieran, go on. What have you Well... i'm I'm bit torn between two shoes because i've the last two marathons I've done, I've PB'd in both of them and I've PB'd in both these shoes. I did the um Dublin in the Puma Fast R3. I did Chester in the Asics Metaspeed Edge Tokyo. I like them both. They're actually quite different rides. And and I have to say, I'm not 100% sure which of those...
00:25:49
Speaker
and Unless something else comes along in the interim, which of those I'll actually pick to go and run? And this is a bit of a dilemma. I i think I quite like the the slightly more cushioned energy of the ah Edge Tokyo.
00:26:01
Speaker
I feel like it might be a little bit more protective. The Fast R3, I feel like probably gives me a little bit more efficiency. um But it's a shoe that I have to sort of think about how i'm running a little bit more in it.
00:26:11
Speaker
And over the lot over the whole marathon distance probably doesn't quite have that overall comfort right into the last sort of four or five miles that I think I get from the Edge Tokyo, which is a bit more protective. So i think they're both fast. They can clearly both get me and in the form and in the shape and, you know, give me that that energy that I need to to be running and holding. i do think maybe the the ASIC shoe basically just edges it slightly on the overall comfort. It's a bit more, don't know if natural is really the right word, but the fast just requires a little bit more focus on how you're utilizing it to get the best out of it. And actually, that' one of the one of the things I was going to say. It sort triggered when you said earlier, Tom, about sometimes you'll use your race shoe to training. think there's a real sort of positive thing to be done if you're looking for kind of specificity just to get some of your training miles into your race shoe. So, yeah, when I go back to doing some of the fastest stuff, I will definitely put some miles down in one of these two shoes before I go and race.
00:27:05
Speaker
And I don't know. Do I have to come off the fence? that's right. think we're all going be pricks on the fence, yeah. Yeah. And I'm just, I'm basically, in a way, I'm kind of hoping that another shoe comes along in the interim that's going to be so good that could do something different. But yeah, if I was going to choose right now, it'd be a toss-up between those two. Okay. Yeah, I'm very similar, but I'm Sky Tokyo over Edge Tokyo. I prefer the feel of the Sky Tokyo. I find it a bit poppier off the forefoot, but, you know, I'm not saying it's better than the Edge Tokyo. I think it's very much a choice, you know, runners choose whichever one they prefer. Yeah.
00:27:33
Speaker
i say I've run my last two marathons in the Fast R3 where I ran good time at London, my best London time. And then in the Metaspeed Sky Tokyo, I ran Loch Ness, which I ran my fastest marathon. It's not necessarily a PB, it's a downhill marathon. So my PB is probably actually still the Metaspeed Sky Paris. but um Yeah, I do think the Sky Tokyo is a bit bouncy, a bit softer, a ride that I really trust for a marathon. The Fast Off 3, I have run a fast marathon, so I should trust it, but I'm still a bit more wary of it ah just because it is a bit more demanding, a bit more mechanical almost. And I think actually bearing in mind the fact that I also use my shoe for several key sessions in training,
00:28:08
Speaker
If I'm going to go on the road around me in particular, especially if i'm winter marathon training, I'll probably feel a bit happier doing that in the Asics, actually, because I think it's going to be a slightly more durable shoe. Neither of them are going to be fantastic for durability. But, yeah, I do think the Mets B Scott Tokyo is a slightly easier shoe to use see on twisting, turning, just town streets when you're doing a session or something like that. um Overall, i think I think I slightly prefer the feel of it, but...
00:28:30
Speaker
you know I wouldn't necessarily say definitely say it's better than the Puma. I think the Puma is fantastic shoe and one I'd be very happy to go in a marathon as well and might choose for a marathon in the future. and The one other one I would throw into the mix with those two is the Asics Metaspeed Ray, which I do think is a phenomenal shoe. and Every time I run in it, I remind again, this this is amazing. he's just run in this more. like actually but then I stopped using it for a while and I got a bit fearful of it because it hasn't got the full plate and I'm worried about how that will affect me as a heel strike in the later stages of a marathon. But I've run my 10k PB in it. I've done lots of quite long marathon training runs in the Met Speed Ray. thing that probably hold me back from putting it my ultimate marathon shoe rotation is, again, I want to be able to use my race shoes several times in training for the long run in sessions. And that shoe that I think will probably break down a bit faster than the Met Speed Sky Tokyo and is a bit more unstable. So, yeah, overall, I'd probably give it to the Sky Tokyo. But those are the three that I think are...
00:29:18
Speaker
above the rest of the amazing carpentries out there for me for the marathon. not You're not checking in the ah the new Mizuno? Pure? Yeah. so i So I've done enough in it, yeah. i mean Every run I've done in it, I have loved. So I do think the Mizuno Pure is another one that has has wowed me from the start.
00:29:33
Speaker
I still need to do a longer run in it for our review, but it certainly isn't far off. ah And yeah, it could easily end up in that kind of tier as well. um But those the three I have at the moment, I'd say. um so I'm going to it's a bit of a tricky so if I was going to run a marathon now and I i was peak condition and I would have been training ah for it I definitely wouldn't choose the fast R for me it is just too aggressive it's just I know that by the end of the marathon i'm just not going to feel that that shoe is very comfortable um I think definitely the Metspeed Sky Tokyo sits far above that for me because of the midsole the way it feels I'm quite warming to the Puma Deviant Nitro Elite 4 at the moment it's an amazing shoe Yeah, and it definitely just feels, it's definitely for me, ah it's a much more accessible and enjoyable shoe for me than the Fast R3 at the sort of paces that I would be looking at running at. I don't think I'd, you know, you know but my fastest marathon dies are in the Sockenendorffin Pro 3. Yeah. um Accessible, comfortable, a bit more natural. I think I'm getting that from the Puber TV8 Nitro Elite 4. So I'm going to go for that because I've not run a marathon in any of those, the the Fast the Metasome Sky Tokyo. But if I was to choose one,
00:30:44
Speaker
for a marathon that i was running now and I'd train for it, I would go for the Pima Deviant that I'd train for. I won't really proud. I do think it's a shoe that instinctively kind of slightly underrated because it's not positioned as the fastest shoe in the range, but i don't really think it loses out much. and maybe yeah The fast R3, I think, has got that more efficient ride. If i was saying over the course of marathon, Am I going to be better in that last 10K having used the DV8 Nitro Elite 4 for a bit more support for throughout the rest of the race?
00:31:06
Speaker
If I am starting to break down than I am in the Fast R3, I think it is a bit of a time. I think for a lot of runners, that would be an equation to think about. i actually felt like the Fast R3 helped me finish surprisingly strong in London, even as I was feeling quite tired. So I do think it does work for me quite well. But i do think the DV8 Nitro Elite 4 is another one I'd have very close to that tier I've mentioned already of my favorite races. Yeah.
00:31:25
Speaker
Okay. Do you want hear my actual rotation the moment? No, we should really go to a commercial break to maximize the listeners. Go on, here's where the user goes. So on Sunday, I've got Seville. I can't say the actual shoe I'm be running Seville in because I'm going to test it on Sunday at the weekend. But the shoes I've been doing pretty much all of my marathon training in apart from the other shoes I've testing, is the Glycerin 23 and the New Balance 1080 V15, which has been clocking up the miles in both of those. And they've been absolutely, basically, I'm not even aiming for anything. I'll probably do 330, 335, something like that. So all of my runs I'm going out and just going, I just want the most comfortable shoe, and I want the one that's going to tick off the miles and stuff. And this is like a very low-level rotation, but the Glycerin 23, it may not have the best midsole in it, but it's so comfortable, upper. I'd never mind putting it on. And even if I'm doing a 32K, you know when you run a 32K and, well, when you're running for like three hours, the shoe has a massive... Well, you've never done have you, Nick? No, no reason to run for that long time. What am running? 50K? Well, you might be doing a stand-down afterwards.
00:32:32
Speaker
um But, you know, like for that for that sort of time, if you're wearing a shoe that's just slightly not very comfortable, it's just a really horrible experience. Glistrin 23 so comfortable that I'm just picking it because it's comfortable and I don't need anything else at the moment. But the 1080 I'm really enjoying because I'm not really pushing it hard at the moment. But that... That's basically my versatile training shoe because it's as versatile as I need to go at the moment, just a little bit faster um and a little bit bounce. But i'm not because I'm not really doing any major training, I actually find it counterproductive. I go out wearing a training shoe that is designed for speed and I'm running not that fast. I just sort of don't really enjoy it.
00:33:09
Speaker
but The 1080 is a great shoe. The changes they've made to that, I think, have really lifted what it its versatility and how good it feels. out the issues I kind of didn't mind running into one that has I look forward to running in. I think it's a yeah it's decent. it was it was so It's a close one in mind for that being the one that I just go out and plod around in to clock miles. but I didn't love that shoe as much as all you guys, but maybe I'll revisit it. I just found it i found it just lost a bit of lost a bit bottomed out by the end of long run to me.
00:33:38
Speaker
Yeah, maybe a long run, you might. It's a little bit of a, the midsole's a bit softer, but I do find that it compresses nicer than the previous one. the The other one just sort of, but the Fresh Vomex, it was in the previous one. Just didn't really, it was fine, just didn't really do a lot for me. But ah maybe because I'm using it for, I'm not using it for loads of long runs, maybe I'm getting that compression nicely and you're just sort bottoming it out by the end of it.
00:34:01
Speaker
But it's just nice, I just go, I was very surprised when I first started taking that shoe out thinking, is this ten really is a 1080. Who was in the original review for that with me? Was you, Kieran? Yeah, I think so, yeah. Okay, good. So we did get one. I'm worried that the review is just like me and mike or me or whoever it was complaining about it. And actually, if two us really love it, we should review it again and get Tom and you doing it if you were in it, Kieran, that's all right.
00:34:21
Speaker
think so. Yeah. Well, we've got we've got quite a few verses coming out. That's true. Yeah. Okay, so that is it. That is our current marathon rotations if we were going for you know serious marathon time at the moment.
00:34:34
Speaker
um and if i got if you want to If you want to find out more about our rotations, there will be there's more videos up on the channel, or there are rotations, but general rotations that you might want to look for if you're maybe looking for a certain type of shoe or you're aiming for a certain Yeah, we have our marathon shoe video which has but best for beginners, best value, best for comfort, best carbon racers and then best all-rounder for training and racing. Yeah.
00:34:57
Speaker
And then we're going to have another rotations video which is basically just going to be about, because yeah people aren't necessarily training for a marathon, we'll have yeah yeah shoes that might be useful outside. Mine's going to be quite similar to my marathon rotation, unfortunately. But it'll be there'll be differences. It's definitely worth watching both videos is ultimately what we're saying here Good. Well, I'll do. Catch you guys there.
00:35:20
Speaker
This episode of the podcast was presented by Tom Wheatley, Nick Harris-Fry and Kieran Algar. It was produced by Tom Wheatley. The music was by Fear of Tigers.