Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Big Running Shoe Football Tournament 2026 | 32 Running Shoes. 1 Winner
1 Plays3 seconds ago
While football fans are enjoying the World Cup at the moment, the team is hosting their own tournament; The Big Running Shoe Football Tournament 2026 (name still under discussion). 32 shoes go head to head, with the winning brand possibly receiving a spray painted shoe, or something, we're not quite sure yet.
Hosted by a man who knows nothing about football post 1998, it's definitely not A Question of Sport.
Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Running Shoe Soccer Tournament
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey Tommy from The Run Testers and welcome back to The Run Testers podcast. In this episode we are having a bit of fun by doing our running shoe soccer tournament where we put various shoes head-to-head in a tournament to pick the winner at the end of it. It's just meant to be a bit of fun so if we haven't picked your shoe or your shoe isn't mentioned in this, sorry about that.
00:00:22
Speaker
Right, let's dive in and do the tournament.
00:00:30
Speaker
Good evening,
Kieran's Comrades Marathon Experience
00:00:31
Speaker
lads. How are we? Evening. Evening. evening hey Hello. Very well. How are you, Tom? top yeah um I'm all right, thank you. Kieran's tired. We should go straight to Comrades, I think. All right. Before he falls asleep. I'm tired for different reasons. Kieran, you Comrades at the weekend. What went wrong?
00:00:47
Speaker
thanks so yeah um Well, just about everything. It was, I don't know. Yeah, fourth time, second up run. Ran well until, did four and half hours and you get to the top of Inchanga, which is about like just over the marathon distance. And you've got about sort of 50 Ks to go or something, something like 40 Ks to go. And then it just got, I think it just got,
00:01:08
Speaker
belting hot i and I suffered. like I couldn't fuel, was feeling nauseous the whole way, felt sick. um And out here on this race, there's like big areas where you're just massively massively exposed to the heat. At one point, I thought I was going to actually get proper heat stroke. And also, I've caused myself a problem. I don't know how I've done this. i but've basically trained myself to only be able to refresh myself and hydrate with sparkling water what sparkling water is the only thing that fixes me so i was having to go off the course into the spa shops where there weren't very many spa shops along this course in i'm in the cold drinks aisle on my own everyone everyone's doing their sunday shopping he's lost his mind he's absolutely lost his mind you like you're just making life increasingly hard of yourself how many extra kilometers you do doing that do you reckon
00:01:52
Speaker
I mean, they weren't they're not far off the roads, but there just aren't enough of them. like It covers its aid stations every like three or four kilometres with regular baggies of water. Are you suggesting that races should have sparkling and still water at the stops? No, I'm just suggesting that I probably, you can do on this, you'll get something called Consports where they deliver drop bags and stuff that you want. And I haven't done this any year. In the past, actually, I've gotten away with regular water. This year, it didn't work. So I couldn't drink and that made it very difficult to eat gels and sticky food and fuel and stuff.
00:02:25
Speaker
So I was running on fumes and I think I walked about 15 miles of it. But um okay it was okay it was ah it was a battle. So so we're done for comrades then? You having a bit of a sky break? No, got to get fifth one next year, fifth in a row. i' I've quit running basically, so yeah this is the last. No, I mean, I i don't know. it's Right now it's taken a massive chunk of me and it was it's honestly the most brutal thing I think I've ever done and it's too soon to think about going back there again. You didn't get any Dolomites flashbacks?
00:02:54
Speaker
I mean, that's, that's my evening. I'm doing, supposed to be doing that in June next year. Next year. Okay. I was going to say not this year. And I'm, I'm already, I was thinking, you know, with five hours of the comrades to go, was thinking, i need to cancel that one. That's a bad idea. But, um, yeah, I don't know. I think this race, it kind of, If you get it wrong, there's nowhere to hide, you know. It really chews you up this, but a lot of lessons.
Hosts Discuss Upcoming Races
00:03:18
Speaker
and but it wasn't like um But it wasn't like you went sprinting out the gate. You ran like the same as last year, so it's just just just pretty hot, right? I felt like I was, yeah. i Actually, I thought I was a bit more, or as conservative, I felt really in control until a point. It wasn't like I over, yeah, I wasn't belting it faster than I should i should for my kind of marathon time and stuff. but So what's the plan now then?
00:03:37
Speaker
Focus on the Ealing Mile? Yeah. yeah I'm just going to do one mile races where it's less than 20 degrees. Yeah. Yeah. and there's that And there's easy access to sparkling water. Constant access. It's like carrying a soda stream during the races. Yeah. Yeah. But loads, actually loads of loads of people out there who follow us, watch our reviews, listen, have chosen shoes because of the channel and have come up and said thank you to all of us guys. And that, That was pretty special. That actually kept me going because they would sort of arrive up alongside me and say, thanks for the stuff that we do. You'd ask them for sparkling water, they'd move on. yeah but that's That's always nice. you know It's nice to know that we've helped some people on the way to get to their comrades finish, which means a lot. so good yeah what's next uh i've actually got 100k race in three weeks yeah why not why not 100k like that's my qualifier for the lavarado where is it it's in uh hampshire so it's it's fair it should be fairly flat it's not hilly probably cooler yeah it hopefully should be yeah there'll be a mad heat heat rave or something yeah
00:04:41
Speaker
oh well yeah that was me all right what's going on with you nick i'm just i'm doing loads of little club races at the moment which is great fun it's kind of midweek league where you pitch up somewhere slightly random you run 10k ish uh on mixed it's a road racing league it's mixed trains we're in harlow last night and we i thought i'll go look at the first you know couple of k of the course for a warm-up it was just all trails nice long stretch of trail by the m eleven um old neck of the woods. hall are yeah of course yeah and then um so i've done that i think so ryan quite all last night we basically trying to get promoted we got relegated last year my club we might get promoted i think i'm going to win division two individually which is nice and although i didn't win last night some very very fast guy who i very i remember from last year turned up when okay good so just don't go with him and you'll be all right um
00:05:25
Speaker
So yeah, no, it's been really fun actually. yeah did and I did the Essex Champs 10k at the weekend as well. So it's just all been quite short races and getting rid of speed and I'm in better shape than I usually am for this time of year. Normally after London, um I kind of really float around a bit. There's always from London, there's usually some kind of family holiday, which we had this year, but that was nice. And summer holidays are coming and that's usually quite tough for running. um But yeah, and then the Frankfurt build will start probably around then.
00:05:49
Speaker
The big one. When's Frankfurt? End of October. we've got a bit of time. and Yeah, Frankfurt's going to be great fun. Lots of people I know are going out. just spoke to someone actually at the Essex 10K. He might be able to take us through 25, 30K because he's very, very fast and can just do what he wants. And then he might relax. But yeah, Tom, your Frankfurt started now, isn't it? Your build? you I'm on it now. I'm on it now. Got my coach back.
00:06:10
Speaker
I'm going track every week. He's back. He's back. My diet. um um I mean, I did the last two track sessions I've done. Jeez, I've really noticed that I've not been going to track for two years. It's been two years since you' all your PDs. Yeah, and and i've i just I've still got the speed, so I'll do like the first couple of like or 600s and think, yeah, still got it. Gets the third one. I'm like, haven't got it. I'm definitely not got it. like Everyone starts overtaking me. I'm just wheezing. they oh look good for those first two. Yeah, so going well. I'm ah um um i'm focused. what it what's the target What's the target for Frankfurt? Frankfurt?
00:06:48
Speaker
To be honest, ah I mean, when I did Chicago, I was very focused on that sub three. Now I'd just be focused on being fit by then. If I if i did if i did if i didn't get the sub three, I wouldn't mind. I just want to be at the point where I thought, okay, I'm actually back to normal now. So next year next year, I've got a lot of races coming up. and So basically this year is prep for next year. I want to be fit for next year. So I'll be happy with, I'd like a sub three in Frankfurt, but it just depends. It's like, it's the summer. I don't particularly like training around here. So it's not, optimum conditions but um we'll see yeah fair enough us nice and then the only thing on my list to chat through now is uh well everyone will uh have known the news that the london marathon is over two days now yeah and i saw they are split they are splitting men and women across the two days in the first few categories so elite championship wave to my wave and maybe even good for age as well will be split which will be interesting because yeah Yeah, I like catching up with people I know, women I know in the championship way, but it seems like we'll be running on a different day. But it means I will get a chance to support the London Marathon, which is quite nice because i haven't done that for a very long time. And i think it's great that more people get to run it. I think it's really great a day in the city, so to have two nice days in the city will be good. I i feel like it's probably going to happen across quite a few of these because they're leaving money on the table, and if London can do it, I'm sure other big cities will think they can do it, right? So... Well, I think it's going to be interesting because I think there's going to, I think some things are going to happen that we can't really prepare for. I think the the crowds are going to be interesting because a lot of people go down for the the big day and it's like, you know, pack the streets. If you spread that over two days, I can't imagine, I think there's going big a chunk of people that are or only there one of those days. So how that's going to actually come out. Yeah. and
00:08:30
Speaker
And there's the other interesting thing is if you've got two people, so I was talking to some who've, it'll be their first marathon each, a couple. And if they get put on separate days, one of them was, you know, we're sort of just discussing like, which one would you rather be? You want to be, you want to basically, you want to run the Saturday and then go support the Sunday. Yeah. If you've got a support, if you're supporting the Saturday with your run still to do, and you're thinking, I've got to now trek around Central. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And also like weather. How the charity groups and all of that stuff, it's like, how's that going to... Yeah, yeah. And if you have, um ah Saturday is a storm and Sunday is really hot. Yeah. and And then it's not really fair to put all those times together and go, you know, in that year I did this this one Because you're going to have to always reference the fact that you were on day two and there's a slightly different conditions on that. Yeah, I guess, well, I suppose that probably matter more for elites, I guess. Yeah, yeah. And people may be on the bubble of trying to qualify for good rage or something. They might be a little bit annoyed. But, I mean, that's just that's just luck of the draw. I think no one will mind that too much. But I think maybe if you are, if you are like, you know, one of the female male elite's turning up trying to run a sub two in London and one day is perfect, like we had this year for the elites, yeah, you might be a bit annoyed. But, yeah, I think they're all minor issues, i think it will be just loads and loads people running and that will be good. And, yeah, it's...
00:09:40
Speaker
Should be quite fun. Yeah, well, it'll be interested interesting to see what how it all goes down. Right, shall we do a tournament? A tournament, a football-based tournament. Let's go.
00:10:00
Speaker
Okay then, gentlemen. it is the World Cup um and ah we decided as a bit of fun during the World Cup we're going to do our own tournament of running shoes. Now, I know very little about football. The last time I watched the World Cup was 98. 98.
00:10:17
Speaker
What was that? Great World Cup. 1898. I've watched every single match in 98. France 98. Was it France 98? Yeah. Well, it's all of them. I remember watching every single one with a pizza that my dad brought me.
00:10:29
Speaker
Very nice. right i didn't that That was like one of the best tournaments ever. That didn't instill a love of football. That was like my favourite tournament. That was yeah formative. Michael Owen, great goal. yeah Ronaldo, being sick. What a year. Stavrosuka. No, that was that was when I retired my my interest in football. Fair enough. um so So this ah tournament is is it's a bit of fun.
00:10:51
Speaker
It's been a bit of fun. It's a bit of fun. we've I've randomly picked the shoes um and we'll be running... it ah It's not going to be the perfect... copy of the world cup because there's lots of intricacies to the world cup which means that this will drag on for a very long time it's going to be fairly simplified uh and as i say the shoes have been picked at random there's no reason why so certain shoes are being picked against the other shoes so please don't complain uh it's meant to be there's no seeding there's no seeding there's no seeding we didn't we didn't do qualifiers over the past few years to rank the shoes within their uh within the pots No, no, no. We haven't done 48 either. we haven't We haven't gone for We don't agree with the 48-team World Cup. We've stuck to 32. It's too many. We need more Jeopardy. I didn't even know there was a different one.
00:11:32
Speaker
um how they Are there drinks breaks though, Tom? Yeah, we're having hydration breaks. Hydration breaks? yeah Yeah, you just let me know when there are hydration breaks because... Okay. And we're not going to stop the clock. We're just going to add on more time at the end of the podcast. Yeah, that'll do. So yeah, that's basically it. So I've got a spreadsheet in front of me.
00:11:50
Speaker
Football jokes that Tom has no idea. know, yeah. say as well I should say this as well. If you do not like football and you just like running shoes, I don't like football and I like running shoes. So you're in the same boat as me. Should be absolutely fine. Yeah. Should be absolutely fine. So I won't get any of the football references throughout this episode. In fact, we can't have loads of football references. We won't do football too many football references. Don't worry, Tom. I didn't know Valderrama.
00:12:14
Speaker
Valderrama. I can't watch Valderrama. He is the kind of player you would know, actually, yeah. yeah John Collins. I think they were both in the 98. John Collins? John Collins. He used to wink at the camera.
00:12:25
Speaker
Irish footballer. John Collins. He's Scottish. He wouldn't have been France, though. Was he Scottish? Played for Celtic, didn't he? I thought he was Irish, wasn't he? you can play for You can play for a Celtic without being Scottish, Tom. Yeah.
00:12:36
Speaker
Yeah. He played for Everton for a bit, I think. You're pushing my limits. I think he is Scottish. Maybe not. I don't know. What a ridiculously niche thing to be arguing about straight away. I barely said he was. 30 seconds or so, there won't be any football references. We've not only gone for football references, we've gone for John Collins. Hold on, I'm just... I've asked TPP. Yeah. Carry on and I'll interrupt later. Bring in the hydration break. Right, let me bring up the sheet tape. John Collins.
00:13:09
Speaker
John Collins is a former Scotland international midfielder, wider regarded as one of the country's best in the 90s. Played for Hibs, Celtic, Monaco, Everton, Fulham. Monaco, wow. The 1998 World Cup. Monaco to Everton, that's pretty... like go yeah I mean, I'd be pretty bad if I was wrong on that because he's the one of five footballers that I know. Name the man. Valderrama Collins. I can't wait to hit the other three. 30 years later.
00:13:33
Speaker
ah Okay, so ah it's a group system. So we've got 32 teams. um There are eight groups with four shoes or teams in each. um And we're going to simplify it. Shoes, not teams. ahead These shoes are going to go head to head and we're going to pick a winner out of them. And then those winners will go through to the next round. oh not No, no, no. In the groups, we're just putting two through, right?
00:13:53
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, not going head to head. It's like four of them. We're not they're not we're not doing actual individual matches. two matches in the initial groups. So the groups are also a knockout, essentially. Yeah, because then we go through round two. Why don't we look at all four shoes in the group and put two through? Well, we'll just we just do it like a tournament, like ah one against the other. because in the In the groups, Tom, you'd have to do each shoe playing each other shoe. We're not doing... Oh, yeah, we're not doing that, yeah. So I think we just look at all four and put through the two best. Oh, right. So we're going to do debate across... Yeah, discuss the four. Otherwise, yeah, there could be... Otherwise, it's just knockout football from a minute. what It's basically a round of 64. Okay.
00:14:28
Speaker
That's good, because that'll probably take less time. Yeah, yeah. so Okay. So now five minutes in, we've done three minutes on John Collins,
Running Shoe Tournament Group Discussions
00:14:34
Speaker
so... Yeah, not enough. We'll do some more at the end. Yeah, stay tuned. John Collins' favourite shoe is I'm pretty sure... Okay. We'll get John Collins on the pod, do you reckon? Yeah. John, if you're watching... Yeah. What a get.
00:14:48
Speaker
Right, I'll have to leave a bit of space between these bits so I can stick a bit of a ah animation in. Oh, fantastic. What, like a football fly across the screen? Soccer animation. A football shoe? Yeah. yeah John Collins' face on it.
00:15:00
Speaker
Shoe going into the goal. Obviously, John Collins volleying a foot a shoe into a goal. Yeah. Yeah, all right, I'll do that. get where go Okay, let's do Group A. First round.
00:15:15
Speaker
Who's in Group A then, Tom? In Group a we have got the Adidas Evo SL, the Asics Metaspeed Sky slash Edge Paris. Put them both into this one. Paris or Tokyo?
00:15:25
Speaker
Tokyo. Why have i got Paris in there? So we need pick a group winner, do we, eat for the next round, as in terms of who they play the next round? yeah two winners in second ru Winner Winner and second. Okay. Yeah, yeah. i see So, Asics, Better Sweet Sky, Edge, Tokyo. Nike, Vomero Plus. well What group this is? Such a group of death, Tom. Already. and the On Cloud Monster 3.
00:15:45
Speaker
Well, that's not going through, obviously. not what as Well, let let's go. Let's that'sir play ball. Well, I think you've got three of the early tournament favourites in the same group. We should have done seeding. have monster the cloud Cloud Monster at the bottom right of that group. That's fine. Cloud Monster's gone, yeah yeah. You know, tried hard, but didn't quite, you know, basically just must have won point out of that lot. yeah Maybe got a draw with... you Get into the football chat now. Good. Carry Incredibly expensive squad, but underperformed. ah yeah um i I mean, this is really hard.
00:16:13
Speaker
I mean, the only problem here is two of us have tried the USL, three of us have tried the ASICs, one of us has tried the Nike. So I think on that basis, we should probably just leave the Nike in third place. Yeah, get rid of the Nike. I thought it would come down to these two. I'd put the Evo SL, I would have the Evo SL as group winner myself. Have you managed to run it, Kieran? Or do I have more abuse to rain down? Yeah, I have. I've done some miles in the Evo SL and yeah, Evo SL for me wins the group because it's more versatile shoe. Edge and Sky go second because they're great but you probably wouldn't use them as much. Okay, good.
00:16:46
Speaker
Okay, we done we've done that. Okay, that's great. So the Evo SL won. Romero Plus killed in the first minutes. no one sort of That's surprising, yeah. There go. Group B, the Asics Superblast 3, the Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure, o the Kipron Kipride Max, and the Hoka Rocket X3. Okay. i would might To start, i'd have the Hoka at the bottom, probably.
00:17:07
Speaker
ah The Hyperwarp Pure is a very special. I mean, that could be a giant killer in some situations. I love that shoe. But it is very niche compared to the others. Yeah. what was the first one? Superblast 3.
00:17:18
Speaker
I would put through the Kipride Max. Okay. I would put through the Kipride Max as well. o And then i think i would I think I'd go Super Blast 3. I think more people... I can see it on the feet of more people working for more people. The other two, think Super Blast 3's got a broader appeal.
00:17:35
Speaker
I do agree with that reasoning, but I would vote for The Pure because I think it's such a sensational shoe. Tom, you have the side of Tom. I'm going to go for The Pure. Oh! yeah Didn't expect that.
00:17:47
Speaker
yeah well i've just had a high i've just had a drinks break a hydration break on my own here sorry like is it sparkling water it is sparkling water if you are if you are a maker of sparkling water is open we'd love to be sponsored by actually i don't really not in sparkling water i first day a holiday many years ago i drank a whole two liter bottle of it and and then i was sick for unrelated reasons and now i don't like sparkling water anymore blimey what hydration break this is Hydration break brought to you by... Who's your favourite brand, Kieran? Well, this one's actually Marks & Spencer's Sparkling Water. Brought to you by Marks & Spencer's Sparkling Water.
00:18:21
Speaker
Okay, Group C. I haven't finished, Tom. Group C. Okay, so we've got the Kipron Kipstorm Tempo. haho Top's a group straight away. straight Well, Cuba Fastar Nitro Elite 3. Oh, Tom. Second. We keep saying that. that There's a lot of good shoes in this in the other groups as well. Oh, there better be. The New Balance 1080 V15. We've got most of the top 10 we had in ah that mad podcast did the other day already. Well, just carry on. the asic There we go. The Asics gel number's 28. Okay, fine. Bottom, yes.
00:18:50
Speaker
That's the the Haiti of the group. Okay, so that's gone. I can't believe you've done this to us. Fast R3 and Tempo all the way for me. I'd have 4 star 3 top, tempo second. Yeah. Which you go for top, Kieran? 4 star 3. I'd agree with that.
00:19:03
Speaker
Okay. Weapon of the shoe. Okay. Of the 10 we had in the 10 shoes worth buying, we've done eight at least in 12 teams. Look. Did you film yourself pulling these out of the bag? Yeah, where's the draw? Where's the accountability? You've built the draw. Where was the three-hour draw video? Look, there's plenty more good ones Don't If I have to put bad shoe through later, I'm going to be livid with you. Look, sometimes you get bad group. Okay, fair enough. Yeah, that's true. There's definitely going to be investigation into that. I remember from 1998, sometimes you get bad group.
00:19:32
Speaker
Getting betting activity like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tom's put a lot of money on some dodgy ah some dodgy shoe getting into the last 16. I'm a fishhunt.
00:19:44
Speaker
Right, Group D, the Huckamack 7, the Adios Pro Evo 3. The Salomon Aeroglide 4 Gravel. We've got a great history with that shoe. That's going through. I'll take that now. I had to put that one in. Just a classic, a Nike Alfly 3.
00:19:59
Speaker
Okay. i I would go with the Salomon and the Hoka myself. But Kieran's run a mouth in the Pro Evo 3, so I think we can defer to his opinion on that. Yeah. So the Pro Evo 3 is a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant shoe. It's really, really, really expensive. And I don't know whether my earlier logic kind of discounts it for that.
00:20:19
Speaker
It's not for everyone. I think it's a kind of, it's a shoe that will only appeal to a very small group of people. So maybe I'm talking myself out it. think if you're going for pure performance and capability, it definitely deserves to go through. If you're talking about what most people would be able to get out of it.
00:20:34
Speaker
I think we could put it through. It would be more entertaining to have that in the last 32 than the Hoka Max 7. It's the most advanced. It's the most interesting. 100 gram shoes. Okay, so that's number one.
00:20:47
Speaker
Yeah. That's the winner. And then you gave the gravel? I thought the gravel would eke out like a draw against the Alpha Fly, then win unexpectedly against the Hoka, and would be enough to get it through.
00:20:57
Speaker
Okay. Like it would it scrap out like a one nil or the Pro Evil would have already won two games and it would get a point of it in the last one, something like that. Yeah. And the Alphalys, like Croatia, form a great, ageing gracefully, but still not quite getting through. Okay. Okay, that sounds fine. As long as the yeah the gravel growth goes through, seems to sneak through in all of the lists. wild group. The Pro Evo 3 and the gravel going through. Yeah, no one saw that. The next one is probably another not great group. Group E. Well, there's a couple of good Sockity Endorphin Azura. Okay, well, that's a solid, very solid tune, yeah.
00:21:30
Speaker
The On Cloud Monster 3 Hyper LS, the Adidas Adios Pro 4, and the Mizuno Neo Vista 3. I think, Kieran, you did Comrades in Azura? Yeah. Where are your thoughts on it after that? Because I think I'd be putting that through.
00:21:43
Speaker
I would put it through. It worked brilliantly for everything right across that race. It was um yeah i did have basically looked after me when I really needed looking after. that was a good shoe. I'd put that top. I'd put the On 3 because I don't like other two that much. The Vista, I'm not a massive fan of the Vista. I think it's improved, but it's still way too soft. It's not winning a group, is it? The Wave Rider's quite nice, actually. Have you tried that yet, Kieran? No, not yet, no. The first run's all ready for when you are, but it's a bit soft. Other than that, I do like it, yeah. What's the other two, Tom? got the... Adios Pro 4. Yeah.
00:22:14
Speaker
yeah think you've done the other two. Cloudblown's the 3 Hyper. No, the 3 Hyper. I can't get that my feet, so... What's the problem of that? i could Yeah, I've just yeah I've never got on that well with a pro I've never felt that fast in it but I mean it is a very popular and successful racing shoe and the cloud is obviously the on is really expensive but I think that's one of the best shoes I've tried this year full stop because it does go on my feet um and if we're putting the pro evo 3 I won't worry about the price so I would god vote for the on but Kieran you can vote for the adidas Tom you get for the adidas Kieran
00:22:49
Speaker
I find it hard to... I can't put the Cloud Monster Hyper LS through because it's... I don't think the up is 50% of the people, so... I've not tried the on and I'm not overly bothered about the adios. You vote for the Neo Vista if you want. We have three-way time. I'm not voting for the Neo Vista. That's out.
00:23:04
Speaker
All the good teams we've put out, all the good shoes, and now here we are putting through one of these. have to go to a penalty shootout, Tom, and talk about laces. in the group stage. It's at the top the penalty shootout decided list and one of them doesn't have it. Don't you choose that at this point, do you? You can't do it now, I'm no, no. No. Okay, good.
00:23:22
Speaker
Well, listen, all right, I'm going to... LS Hyper is doing something very different and unique and interesting, so yeah, it's a... It's a more innovative shoe. oh Okay, so you're having the on and then the addy. I'll do that.
00:23:34
Speaker
No, we put through the Azura top, didn't we? is that Is that the second one? Azura first one? Azura's top. Okay, good. That's what I wanted. anyny like past It's only locked shoe in that group, Tom. Of course it's going. No, let's not bring in the locked.
00:23:47
Speaker
I'm not using that animation again. You've already got it file. Right. Good. Okay. So we've got the Azura and then the Arnclam 1-2-3 Hyper LS. Right. Group F. We've got the Asics Megablast.
00:24:00
Speaker
Oh. The Puma Deviant Nitro Elite 4. Oh. A lot of racing in that lately. you've enjoyed it. The Rad UFO and the Sockany Endorphin Speed 5. Is it rad did they say R-A-D? I've been too afraid to say rad, but maybe I should just go for it. just Just go for it, mate. Just go for it. i might go for it next time. What was last one, Tom? Sorry, got distracted by the whole rad Sock of the endorphins speed five. Threw that in, especially for Kieran.
00:24:20
Speaker
Ugh. It's like a Ronaldo, isn't it now? It's like... The best comment I think had from Ronaldo was um a team, a 10-man team of Portugal without Ronaldo would beat Portugal's 11-man team every single time. um I think the Mega Blast is number one.
00:24:36
Speaker
ah John Collins? ah the is John Yeah, John Collins is the number one, I guess. I'd have Mega Blast top of that group. That's a good group, though. Yeah. who we've got so else five Speed 5, Mega Blast.
00:24:50
Speaker
UFO, Deviant Nitro Elite 4. I like the Nitro Elite 4. I'd probably put that in I'd probably, yeah, maybe put that through. i mean the Speed 5 I love, but I've really enjoyed my recent races in the Deviant Nitro Elite 4, I would vote for that.
00:25:02
Speaker
Yeah, Nitro Elite Four then and Mega Blast. The Rad is a lot of fun. The Rad is the kind of team that really makes an impression at a World Cup and all their players get like signed into the like the top European leagues after this. Fun one to watch, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. That's Valderama. Right, okay, so we'll have Megalobast 1, because I'd say that as well, and then the Puma Deviant Nitro Elite 4. Okay, Group G. We have got the Adidas Hyperboost Edge, the Puma Velocity Nitro 4, the Hocker Cielo X1 3.0, and the New Balance Ellipse.
00:25:35
Speaker
Oh, the Ellipse. The Ellipse made the tournament. That's like, what, the Cook Islands or something? Yeah, Kuroko. Oh. Ellipse is going bottom for me. Yeah. And... so ah What was it again, Tom?
00:25:49
Speaker
Hyperboost Edge, Glossy Nitro 4, CLO X1 3.0, Ellipse. I don't love the Hyperboost Edge. I'll have the other two through in any order. Okay. I'd go Blossy Nitro 4 and Hocker CLO X1 3.0.
00:26:03
Speaker
I'd probably put those two through as well. I can get on board with that. I'd probably put the CLO top. but Yeah, I don't mind. He goes top. Okay, well, we've got debate next round anyway. And then finally, a Group H, ah we have the Asics Nova Blast 6, Fuma DV8 Pure Nitro, the Sockany Endorphin Elite 3, and the Hocker Skyward X2.
00:26:22
Speaker
I love the Nova Blast 6. I'm just going to say it, guys. I'm going to say it. I think it's a great shoe, and I would put it top of the group. Okay, I would agree. Although i do actually really like the Puberty Viet Pure Nitro as well.
00:26:33
Speaker
And I like the Socketed Dwarf Elite 3. Mine lands tomorrow on the Pure. I'm going to use it all weekend and maybe I'll have an opinion then. But for now, I'll leave you guys to decide on that one. I prefer the Pure to the Nova Blast, but I think the Nova Blast is a good shoe as well. So if those two won this group or won and came second, I'd be happy that... Elite 3, I still feel is a little soft, but... Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the Elite 3. Yeah, I think I'm going to be the only guy that fights for that one all the time. What was the fourth one? Nova Blast 6. Oh, it's Skyward X2. Yeah, I wouldn't put that through. Okay, so we've got the Nova Blast 6 and then second we've got the Deviant Pure Nitro. So we've got our groups. Done.
00:27:13
Speaker
Second round.
00:27:17
Speaker
So, Group A, you've got the Evo SL versus the Metspeed Sky Edge Tokyo. No, no, group winners got to play a different group. Yeah. Has it? Yeah, so it works. you can't play You can't play them again. Oh, right. Oh, ICFs. AVB, so on. Right, okay, yeah. There is a format in the doc.
00:27:32
Speaker
Yeah, I've just found it. The format was clearly labelled in the doc, Tom. I've just found it. Right, so we've got... This be a good time for a drinks break, a hydration break. Thanks, Frank. This break is... And John, some of John Collins facts. faster John Collins Buxton. Yeah, yeah. What's John... John Collins, how many appearances for Scotland? I'm going to guess... 85. He He... I haven't got that stat, but he... For many fans, he's remembered for his technically gifted left foot.
00:27:59
Speaker
Nice. His professionalism and his fitness standards, which were ahead of their time. On the animation, Tom, make sure he volleys his left foot. Yeah. No worries. No worries. Easy. Easy. um I didn't think um when I was 16 that I'd still be talking about John Collins. I have never talked about him in my life until this moment. i mean know I would have been aware of John Collins and his technically gifted left foot, but I've never discussed him. I might have had a sticker of him during the Everton year. What years were those, Kieran? Easily. um Again, i don't I don't have those stats to to my Motsu stats. We have the Wikipedia page up. I've got something more important, which is that he, ah for this next time you talk about John Collins, Tom, he managed Belgian side Charleroi.
00:28:42
Speaker
Oh. Okay. There you go. Charleroi. King Charles. John Collins' biggest fan. This one is actually impressive. He was Celtic's first £1 million player in 1990. What, signing wage? Signing, must be. signing yeah yeah wow just shows you where football's gone you wouldn't get anything for a million now would you would you get nothing like me I reckon and I'm really bad at football right then let's get on to these next round next round more jocklin snacks to come yeah okay so this is round one which is group A versus runner-up so we've got no no winner versus runner-up oh group A winner group A versus runner-up yeah the benefit of winning your group is you play an easier second round that's right So that's the Adidas Evo SL. Okay. Versus the Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure.
00:29:26
Speaker
i Evo SL for me. Yeah, Evo SL for me. No need for penalties. And we do have a penalty form coming. so Yeah. It's ready to go. Right. Okay. That was nice. ah Round two. So that's winner of group C versus room of group D. So that is the Puma Fastal Nitro Elite 3 versus the Salomon Aeroglide 4 gravel.
00:29:50
Speaker
I can't believe we're going to kill gravel. Yeah. Puma Fast R3 is no upset for me. Puma Fast R3. Oh, it breaks my heart. so It's got to be the Fast R3, yeah. That's a shame.
00:30:00
Speaker
Okay, round three. We've got winner of group E versus winner of group F. So that is... Well done. Make sure I got that right. E and F. Yes, thank you. So that is Sockeningdorphin Azura versus the Puma Deviant Nitro Elite 4. It's oh a plucky underdog. I think think I'd still reward the all-round capability of the Azura.
00:30:25
Speaker
I'd go for Azura.
00:30:28
Speaker
Yeah, Azura. That would have been a late winner, I reckon. Okay. Put a bit of time. So put late winner down in the show sheet. I'm not putting late winner down. but yeah Round four, winner of group G versus runner of group H. So that is Puma Velocity Nitro 4 versus Puma Deviate Pure Nitro. Oh, and this might be a first upset, i would guess. Okay, Puma Deviate Pure Nitro, Kieran.
00:30:52
Speaker
Deviate Pure Nitro for me. Haven't tested it, so that sounds good to me. Okay, um now we go on to the winner of Group B versus the runoff for Group A. So that is... So this is going a big one.
00:31:05
Speaker
Kipron Kipride Max. Oh. Versus the Asics Metaspeed Sky Edge Tokyo. I would... Asics. I like fast shoes, so I'm going to go for the Asics. Asics Metaspeed Edge, yeah.
00:31:17
Speaker
Okay. Used that last night, at the Edge, on what I thought was going to be a mostly road race, and and was running across a rutted field. That was unpleasant. Nice. good good um Winner of Group D versus runner-up for Group C. So that is... i have to say this to make sure I get it right. That's the Adios Pro Evo 3 versus the OnCloud Monster 3 Hyper LS. Oh, wow. The battle of the most expensive shoes in the market. Yeah. tech Oh, these one of these two is so lucky to be getting through.
00:31:45
Speaker
Pro Evo 3. Only because i can't get it on my feet. It's broken the world record. It's true. It's run a sub two marathon. i but Pure ride. I think the Cloud Monster is up there with like the mega blast for me. So i I'm going to give it to that.
00:31:57
Speaker
And Tom's not tested either. So like are we heading for a shootout? We've got it a shooter placos hang for a shootout competit to shootout. it out. Okay. So the way that we play this is it's just a quick fire.
00:32:08
Speaker
um And it is the latest. it license they're One of them latest. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So basically each one of these sections is a shot. And do you have to say who, who wins out the two, basically who wins out the two shoes? It's like a, if they, if, if they, so the first one is outsole who wins out the outsole, the winner gets a goal. I think the, Obviously, that's going to be interesting because i some of will weighted towards daily training, I guess. I mean, I think the On has a pretty good outsole and the Cloud Depro Evo basically doesn't have an outsole.
00:32:37
Speaker
Yeah. So I'll give it to the On. I'm joking John Collins took penalties. He scored a penalty in the World Cup against Brazil, famously. There you go, famously. Oh, man. amazing well Oh, 98 when they plucky underdogs and they still lost just, yeah.
00:32:51
Speaker
Okay. ah Laces. I mean, the Pro Evo, yeah. Lights 3 doesn't have them, so... Mid-Sol. Mid-Sol. Okay, Pro Evo must have the more exciting Mid-Sol, right, yeah. Lights 3. Penalty Shootout, is it first to five? Yeah. why No, it's Oh, sort of.
00:33:11
Speaker
It is, yeah. They they that they don't normally... not ah Both teams can score in a real shootout, so this is this is not like a Penalty Shootout. Lux. Lux. Which one looks the nicest?
00:33:21
Speaker
Oh, and neither look nice. Quickfire. neither gets his point they both miss blaze over the bar yeah ridiculous comfort the on probably this is going to get tough Kieran Karpin at on that's not comfortable is it if we get if if by the end of this penalty shoot it's out it's a draw we have to toss a coin ah durability that'll be the on yeah yeah the on oh on's in the lead now with three have you got a speed have you got a speed section though sure versatility oh the on yeah mean this this doesn't seem weighted towards racing shoot Yeah.
00:33:55
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Well, that's 4-2. Street... What have got here? Street vibes. Which one can you actually walk around What is this? What are street vibes? Right. You've lost credibility. This whole tournament's lost credibility. This is... With this one, I was thinking, which one can you walk around in?
00:34:16
Speaker
Have you got a speed category? Because if you haven't and you've street vibes, I'm be very angry. performance or anything like just answer is it street vibes street vibes neither got street vibes I know on probably does doesn't it the light spray probably has the more street vibes yeah it does yeah okay I'm not doing street vibes in the next shootout I'm telling you that talk the on going 5-2 up based on street vibes is a travesty you can have speed this is the pro you vote okay right so now we're at 4-3 to the on I thought the on was 4-2 up before street vibes well I thought we got rid of street vibes yeah okay didn't get rid you happy with that yeah yeah Okay, so speed is Evo, so it's now 4-3.
00:34:56
Speaker
weaved that long yeah We can add a section in all of our reviews, which is now Street Vibes. 10 minutes on Street Vibes. Breathability. Breathability. And the Pro Evo. Yeah, you're yeah getting ah getting a penalty for breathability these days.
00:35:11
Speaker
Value. I mean, that's laughable. Neither. Over the bar. Over the bar, yeah. yeah okay right So at the end of this shootout, we've got ah both are on four. So we're going to toss a coin. Or we it to the on on street vibes.
00:35:26
Speaker
Well, I think street vibes the perfect to haven't got coin. I haven't got a coin on me either. Shall I toss my comrades medal look that got? Yeah, that'll do, yeah. Yeah, right, so... don't know what Heads is on your comrades' mail. Heads is the one with the guy. Okay, the head. And there's the like as a tails without anything on. So, right, I'm going's going... I'm going to let that... Wait, wait, wait, wait, who's what? Who's what? Oh, yeah. ah The on is Heads.
00:35:49
Speaker
All right, well, then was that. It was tails, so... Provo's gone through. Provo's through. Fantastic news. Oh, God. Right, okay. I'm actually hot and sweaty after that street fight. Can we not have many more penalty shootouts? It's going to be all shootouts in the last five. It's always tense on the shootouts, Tom. That's how football is. Yeah, that's how it is, Tom. We'll all be all the shoes there, wrapping each other around each other, watching each other. Can we maybe just call John Collins and...
00:36:14
Speaker
John Collins is not involved after that Street Vibes thing. He's out. Okay, right. Round seven. The winner of Group F versus the run-up of Group E. So the winner of Group F is Mega Blast.
00:36:26
Speaker
And Group is... That's wrong. The winner of Group... Do you need a hydration break? No, I'm just checking to make sure. maybe left is from group p More John Collins facts? Yeah, yeah, yeah. um John Collins has become a regular football pundit and commentator. That's every ex-footballer. Do you reckon he does play with legend? Maybe we could do play a legend with John Collins.
00:36:53
Speaker
ah Hold on, he won 58 caps. Oh, let's see. Swole 12 goals for Scotland. And he played at Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup. Do you know at the 1998 World Cup, at the time of the 1998 World Cup, Scotland is qualified, i think, for his as' met the equal most World Cup tournaments. They were level of Brazil and they'd never made out the group stage. And now this is the first World Cup they've qualified for since. And they're going to make it out, I'm pretty sure. i feel that they're going to make it out this time. it Looks like. If they can draw Morocco.
00:37:19
Speaker
Yeah. But this is the rubbish thing about this World Cup is that basically, unless you're really rubbish, you make it out. Oh, yeah, because every every third place team goes through, right? Yeah. 12 teams get knocked out of 48. So it's the whole extra knockout round. That means you've got to play five you know good games to win because anything can go wrong in a knockout round. We just saw what happened with the Pro Evo 3 and the on Cloud Master 3. Yeah, exactly.
00:37:44
Speaker
but just Just to change the subject a minute, I've decided that we could, you know, now that we're filling in for John Coynes, I've pulled up Carlos Valderrama. Oh, yeah yeah. So his full nickname, or his nickname is El Peebe. El Peebe, am I pronouncing that right? is The kid. Okay.
00:37:59
Speaker
Yeah, youthful. 111 caps for Colombia. Wow. Played in three World Cups, 1994 and 1998. And he's known for incredible vision, passing ability, and of course... His technically gifted left foot and his hair. His hair. His hair. His iconic blonde afro hairstyle.
00:38:17
Speaker
Yeah. Good. That's why Tom likes him so much. I'm just trying to work out these because I've done it wrong. Tom had a blonde afro in 98 as well, I think. think that's why he likes him. I had hair then. After watching the World Cup, he's like, this is how her should be. I've messed up one of the groups. So the winner of Group F and the runner of Group E, we haven't had the Kipstown Tempo yet, have we? No, thought that won its group. So was a bit, yeah.
00:38:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we'll we'll put it into this one. um So that'll be the Megablast versus the Kipstown Tempo. They both won their group, didn't they? No, second. Puba Fassar Nitro Edit 3 when the... oh Oh, wow. That's ah that's a... poorw This is just a pure value shot, isn't it? Yeah, but that's because messed it up.
00:39:00
Speaker
i would I would go, i like the Kipstorn Tempo more, I think, and the value and everything, the package. um I mean, I'd buy the Kipstorn Tempo, but in a World Cup situation, I'd i'd like to make a blast progress. yeah So, yeah, I guess, I don't know if what we we should go with what we'd buy or who do I want to see, you know, face What's the best shoe? Oh, okay.
00:39:24
Speaker
buts thought what the shootout was about. It was about a street vibes, Tom. Yeah, well, well that i will be bringing street vibes back into this. Okay, I'm going to have a bigger blast then, yeah. Okay, and finally, we've got the winner group H and the winner of group G. So that is Nova Blast 6 versus Hockey Cielo X1 3.0. Oh, this is quite a weak tie at the end of the round.
00:39:44
Speaker
I would vote for Nova Blast. Okay. Yeah, go on. Nova Blast 6. Nice. Okay, right. now okay we You don't have to worry about runners-up now. straight bracket now. Right then. Lot typing going on. Got to make sure I've got it all Quarter or final.
00:40:05
Speaker
Right, now we're in the quarter finals. Accelerate from I think won't there'll be penalty shootouts now, won't they? Oh, come on. Can't have too many them. We'll have to do a very quick fire. Okay. Quarter finals. So we've got the winner of one.
00:40:19
Speaker
ah This is just the winners now, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. So we've got the Evo SL. Adidas Evo SL versus the Buma Fastar Nitro Elite 3. Oh, my days.
00:40:31
Speaker
Oh, my days. Hmm. Okay, got my... oh Puma. I'm going Puma, Fast R3. You know what? I think I might go Puma as well. i think i can I think I can find a shoe that does the Evo Cells job yeah good logic more easily than another Fast R3, which I think is is my you know he's is like one of my top two racers, if not my top one. So, yeah.
00:40:55
Speaker
Okay, okay. I would have gone for Evo Selber, it doesn't matter. um Right, so the next one is Soccody Endorphin Azura versus the Puma Deviate Pure Nitro. That's a video we'll be doing at some point.
00:41:10
Speaker
i will I'll sit this one out. I'll be on the stands. Come on, I mean, I've done a lot of running in the Azura and I really love it. man.
00:41:21
Speaker
It's just got me around a really, really hard race. so I've got a little bit of a bias towards it. Would you have taken the Pure to Comrades ever? But do you know what? I took the Pure out with me and it was in my suitcase and i and i nearly I nearly changed my mind to running it. Wow.
00:41:34
Speaker
I'm going for Pure. you want a shootout? Come on, let's go as you're and have a shootout quick. Street vibes. Street vibes. Okay, right. Here we go. Peddor Shooter, outsole.
00:41:49
Speaker
ah The Puma. Yeah, agree. The grip. First of nine penalties, as we recall. Getting the shoes out. Laces. mean, there' not there's not much to choose, I'd say. How is laces giving equal value as speed? I could put Street Vibes earlier, if you want.
00:42:05
Speaker
mean why Why is laces even in there? Right, laces. It was only relevant in that one fixture with the arm. Laces, they both score. They both score. Yeah, got this good that's a lot of luck here, I think. Yeah. yeah Okay. Midsole.
00:42:18
Speaker
Imagine the midsole having equal weight as the laces. I'm going for pure with the midsole. Okay, pure for the midsole. Okay. three one to the pure so far.
00:42:29
Speaker
No, it's Sorry? Outsole was the... Outsole was pure. Yeah. And then they both scored a 1. Yeah, yeah, And they both scored. You're right. 3-1. Looks. Looks. We've got looks and street fight.
00:42:43
Speaker
Looks, I'm going as you're up. Am I? Yeah, it's a white. Yeah, looks like. like Oh, I dont know. I do think the pure looks nice. The white one's nice, isn't You'll have to sell this a three star. I'll the pure. go on the pure. The pure doesn't look. Oh, okay. They sent me a weird neon one with a. Comfort.
00:42:59
Speaker
Azure. Really? Yeah. Okay. the way they feel and fit on the phone. They're both scored. I'm arguing that one. like ah All right. Well, Pure's won it then, I think. There's not enough cash. Yeah, Pure's won it. Fantastic. Brilliant. that's more yeah have I would like to do Street Vibes, though, just for a consolation. Street Vibes. Street Vibes, Pure, all the way. yeah No, Sockany. Puma shoes are not they're not streety. They're not Sockany as you're... You get shooed out of Shoreditch wearing the Pure.
00:43:25
Speaker
I really, i really question the value of this penalty shootout where laces are given so prominence. And we have two for looks. I look forward to the comments. ah Right, okay. So we out we're down to um the last two. We've got the Asics Metaspeed Sky Edge Tokyo versus the Pro Evo 3. Ah, Asics.
00:43:44
Speaker
and but I suppose it's probably not as good a race. Nah, the Provo is a better shoe. Yeah. But the Attics is the shoe that people will actually use. Yeah. All right. Which are you going for?
00:43:57
Speaker
This is impossible. It feels like was rating them on two different categories, I guess. I haven't run a marathon in the Provo, though. So, yeah, Kieran can choose. Provo 3, then. I would... If you think it's a better racing shoe, that's the best way to judge this, I think. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's a better... If you to pay money out take the money out of the equation, all-out performance, if you're in good shape, the Pro Evo 3 is a better... Oh, but what about street vibes, Kieran? Have you thought about that? It's not a better shootout, I'm always thinking about street vibes, all I'm thinking about. Okay, and the final one... Is there, like, a logo? Is there going to be, like, some kind of animation for street vibes? Yes. John Collins-based.
00:44:31
Speaker
Stamped. Street vibes. Street vibes. Street vibes. like to know what Tom's interpretation of street vibes is yeah yeah right and the final one of the quarterfinals is Asics Megablast versus the Asics Novablast 6 oh did we not already have the Megablast no that went up against the Kipstom tempo didn't it that was last round wasn't it last round yeah I think if we're going on just best shoe it's got to be Megablast because the Asics is basically a Megablast light for less and that's really good value but we're not doing the value so much are we Okay, so we've got our semi-finalists.
00:45:02
Speaker
Well, we should have a hydration break then, really. Yeah, have us hydration break. John Collins. Any other facts about... i'm trying to think of any other football players that I know from that era, but that's it, I think. Come on, just name any football player then.
00:45:15
Speaker
Yeah, you said you knew five. You must know Colin Hendry. That feels like the kind of guy you'd know. there was a When I was at school, I was obviously very, very bad at football and I got laughed at every time I played it.
00:45:25
Speaker
um But there was a a football player who came to our school and he challenged us. In Lincoln? This is in Lincolnshire, yeah. And he challenged us to hit the crossbar from halfway point. And I was the only one who did it. So I won his hat. You've got know his name then.
00:45:44
Speaker
ah ah what Yes, I think I do. okay I've just asked ChatGP2 who it was Tom. When I was at school I was bad at football where there football player who challenged us to hit the crossbar. He played for Middlesbrough in was it the 90s and his name was... Janinio.
00:46:00
Speaker
I can't remember. a car He came down to Lincolnshire. must have a tie to Lincolnshire Lincolnshire based footballers took Kieran. His brother was a teacher at our school. I'm sorry but you're all wrong because ChatGPT says the most likely answer is actually David Beckham.
00:46:13
Speaker
that That was it. That was it. Lincolnshire footballers. All of the guys at school were very, very jealous because the worst football player and I won the hat. Footballers from Lincolnshire who played for Middlesbrough.
00:46:26
Speaker
Right, here we go. we go. not Middlesbrough. This is taking too long. several mark Mark Wilson. No. Arthur Sam Doggy Brown. I think I've got what you're trying to remember. This sounds like one of the Sky Sports Soccer AM Crossbar Challenge. Visiting schools or doing promotional events. The middle of a clue is key. It's Jonathan Woodgate. It's not. It's Jonathan Woodgate. I'm going to have to put it in the caption because I'm not going to remember. ask my mates because they'll know who it was. Stuart Downing.
00:46:56
Speaker
or No. Not in schools, I hope. Mido? Was it Egyptian? Mido was two thousand s though. Tom would have been out of school. All right, we'll leave it. Ravanelli played for Middlesbrough for a bit, didn't he? If you're a football fan and you were are our age, then they put your ah answers in the captions and I will put it... to i'll post you If one of you gets this right, we will give you one of the Runtester Vests so we've still got it.
00:47:17
Speaker
Or if you're in fact the footballer, if you are the footballer, who saw yeah absolutely vividly remembers Tom banging the crossbar. He's like, it's Tom Wheatley, it's Tom Wheatley. I don't believe Tom could kick a ball far enough. I'll never forget that day. I don't think i don't think our football pitch was full length.
00:47:35
Speaker
Okay, I was going to say, i can't imagine you kicking the ball with a full half length and hitting the crossbar. I was like 13. And and i totally I hit it with my toe as well. So everyone laughed at me. Okay. Right, okay, we roll to the semi-finals.
00:47:47
Speaker
Good. Semi-finals.
00:47:52
Speaker
Right, so, this should be, ah oh, this is this is a bit mad. This is the Puma Fastar Nitro Elite 3 versus the Puma Deviate Pure Nitro. Oh, well, again, I don't have the Pure.
00:48:03
Speaker
It's actually quite annoying because we haven't all got a couple of these shoes. I'm getting the Pure tomorrow morning and the delivery has been delayed because significantly, so in that sense, I don't like it. I would say the Fastar Nitro Elite 3. Yeah, it's a more technically gifted shoe. Just a great shoe, isn't it? It's like John Collins' left foot, that shoe. Yeah. Yeah.
00:48:22
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And then the other one is the Pro Evo 3 versus the Asics Megablast. Oh, I mean, again, we're in a tricky situation again here. I mean, having used the Pro Evo briefly, I would go for the Megablast. It's got to go. It's got to be Megablast.
00:48:38
Speaker
but Yeah, I mean, I think, yeah. Megablast Fast Sire was the final that everyone was expecting to see, except maybe the Evo so, actually, to fair. Final match.
00:48:49
Speaker
ah Okay, right. That's where we're at the final on now. It's got to go to a shooter, hasn't it? ah Yeah, because actually, these both got quite good street vibes. You're walking around the fast R3. Okay, the final of the Super...
00:49:06
Speaker
tournament of running Q's 2026. When it comes to looks, lads.
Final Decision of the Shoe Tournament
00:49:11
Speaker
Which ah is the Puma Fastal 983 versus the Asics Megablast. What a match.
00:49:18
Speaker
What a match. What a match. It's like Collins versus Valderrama. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pacey, the one Pacey, Pacey kind of laser. Pacey. Gifted technical shoe. Has to come off at 70 minutes. one Big kind of bruising. Does everything. Does everything. Elliot Anderson of the football game. Yeah.
00:49:37
Speaker
Well, I'm going to go Mega Blast because i prefer the Mega Blast. But easy. well Yeah, that is easy, yeah. and oh I'm going to go... If you could only have one shoe. If someone was sending me to an island for the rest of my and said, you can take one shoe with you... Wouldn't be the first of our three. That's not the criteria we judge any match up to this point. Has he got tarmac on this island? I'm just... Has he got tarmac on the island or are you on sand and grass?
00:50:02
Speaker
ah Well, I mean, either way, I still think the Mega Blast are going to, yeah, over. Yeah. i mean All right. Well, if you've got two versus Mega Blast, I would have called that as a draw. Wow. A draw? I think you've got a pinnacle racing shoe versus a pinnacle ah all-round trainer.
00:50:20
Speaker
think they both do their jobs to the best possible way, really. So you just want another pair of shoes out, don't you? I really want Street Vibes to be registered once more as it's happening. We've now blown past our 8 o'clock deadline. Okay, we'll do it just for the sake of it.
00:50:35
Speaker
Okay, let's see this penalty shootout. I'll do little... I mean, the Mega Blast did did seem to have that game won, though, because both of you voted for it. Well, yeah, but you just wanted a penalty shootout. I thought like my vote was irrelevant, but... The penalty shootout is too much fun. I just like saying street vibes. so grass Street vibes and looks. Laces are going to be tough on this one, isn't it, guys? Okay, outsold.
00:50:59
Speaker
Mega Blast. Mega Blast. The big one. Laces. Score draw. Oh, actually, the Fast R3 just got came with two sets of laces. So is that giving it the edge, do we think? No, because you can only take one pair laces with you.
00:51:11
Speaker
Mega Blast. It's got better laces. Yeah. But the Puma has the sawtooth laces, which I think are the best laces for racing. You can't bring in a substitute. but it had them in the box. Yeah, they're the same type of lace, aren't they? They're not different types of laces. No, yeah, they are. No, I'm going Mega Blast. Wow. Yeah, the VARs are just overruled. Midsole. After review. Midsole. Does the midsole include the plate, Tom? Yeah. Then I'm going to give it to the Fast Fast R3. Okay.
00:51:42
Speaker
okay Looks. I mean, I love that mismatched Pugh color, a so I think that's to my favorite looking shoe. So yeah, Fast Star 2. Okay, I would agree. Comfort, megalast Megablast. Megablast. Megablast.
00:51:54
Speaker
Durability, megalagali Megablast. Megablast. Versatility. Wear street vibes. Versatility, Megablast, yeah. Well, Megablast is one. These are different categories. Where's breathability gone? Yeah. Where's where's looks and street vibes? We've not got to there yet. was There's speed, breathability, value, and street vibes left. Speed Puma, then. Yeah, but we've we've got Legobus already won. That's because you steamrolled me on laces. I'm not happy about this at all. We we gave the Puma the midsole vote, didn't we? Yeah. So what's the score? Well, it's now 5-4. 5-3. There's like three categories left, isn't there? two Three categories left, yeah.
00:52:32
Speaker
Well, last time we didn't go all the way to the end. we yeah Yeah, because we we right we deal that we had an unassailable lead. The lead is assailable, Tom. Well, it's now five three With three to play. Breathability. Kind of irrelevant, both of them.
00:52:46
Speaker
That's star three, I think. Yeah, okay, yeah. value okay either of them is cheap that's a that's a miss for both probably yeah yeah street vibes well it comes out of street vibes street vibes is the deciding street vibes so we can have a draw or we give the megablast more street no no no megablast has got five fast r3's got four Yeah, so but if we give it to the Puma as a draw, the World Cup final is a draw. Well, Puma's not getting street vibes, is What you mean? You can't walk around in the Puma. Well, that depends on street. It's got an extended plate.
00:53:16
Speaker
if it's If the street is a track that you're walking around on. You haven't specified the street. Right, go on then. You're going have toss a to the... i I think it's about to judge street vibes. I think it's a issue i mean, Meg Blast I took as my only show on holiday, but I'm not a cool guy, so I wouldn't say i was necessarily boosting its street vibes. I don't think it's got particularly good street vibes, but um maybe it's a miss for both of them.
00:53:37
Speaker
Wow. Or a double miss to settle the World Cup. Not the World Cup. We can't say World Cup. To settle the football tournament. So so the Megablast wins. 5-4. Winner. mince.
00:53:48
Speaker
minch So let's play this out. Mega Blast steps up, blasts over. The Puma's got the chance to equalize. Rolls it gently into the post and based on street vibes. Based on street vibes, yeah. I didn't see this coming.
00:54:00
Speaker
the guy that like never really I never thought of such an important yeah tournament would be settled by like such a... Yeah, I mean, this is... It's very fitting. This this is this is exactly how I feel about the actual and international football tournament that's going on right now. I think ours has more credibility. Yeah. Apart from when Tom cheated a couple of times, I think yeah yeah ours is... um I'm probably going to, when we get the comments through on this video podcast, I i've probably missed out some shoes from earlier on. You've probably eliminated shoes by accident. We've definitely left out a lot of shoes that probably could have made the final 32 ahead of the On Cloud Monster 3, for example.
00:54:33
Speaker
But um that's fine. so Some countries don't take part, do they? That's World Cup football. Well, they all take part. just don't get in. So there was obviously some great shoes that didn't make it like Italy. They're the Italy of this World Cup. There you go. yeah but And it was based entirely on random decisions that I wasn't privy to. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So go on, Gary. I just think that the happiest part of all of this is that we now have a new section of the reviews. And that's, I can't wait to start. I'm just a bit annoyed that every review is now going to be 30 minutes long because of 15-minute debate about Street Vibes. Street Vibes could probably remove some of the existing um parts of the reviews and we've just focused quite heavily on that. Should we drop the verdict? Yeah.
00:55:09
Speaker
Just call it vibes. Yeah, vibes. um Cool. All right, well, there we go. That's our winner for the the Super Shoe, not Super Shoe, but a Super Shoe Tournament, 2026. 50 minutes, that was. Yeah, 5-0. You know that the World Cup has a lovely gold trophy, Tom. Can we get a little animation of someone from Asics holding up a gold shoe? Do you remember the animations that I did for the... They were very popular. i thought they were very good, actually.
Nostalgia and Legal Concerns with Animations
00:55:37
Speaker
i wouldn't even know where to start making those. time i was very impressed. Oh, good. Okay. Well, but yeah, that's the level. but I don't want to get sued by John Collins necessarily. i don't know if he i don't don't how litigious he is if we start using John Collins-based animations. I mean, he he was about 30 in his mid-30s when I was 14. So, yeah. i mean
00:55:53
Speaker
I mean, I might even have the team wrong. I mean, I was 14. I didn't know anything about football. Middlesbrough might be wrong. It just seems so unlikely a footballer from Middlesbrough would come down to Lincolnshire. Oh, I knew it was. oh Holland. His name was Holland. matt Steve Holland? Matt Holland?
00:56:06
Speaker
John Holland? John? hol John Holland? Paul Holland. No, that was the name that was the name of his brother. With surname Holland.
00:56:17
Speaker
Matt Holland. He played midfielder, played for Charlton, did not ever play for Middlesbrough. He was Irish, although he was born in Bury. Okay, okay. and that Steve Holland is a coach now, but don't think if he... Oh, he did play. Steve Holland sounds... But he played in the very early 90s for Northwich Victoria 18 times. It's not him.
00:56:37
Speaker
I think it must be Matt Holland. I remember him at Ipswich. i'll ask the ah I'll ask the boys that liked football at the time. And just to confirm. I don't have that hat anymore, which I'm annoyed about. Absolutely stunk a hair gel. LAUGHTER That's all I remember about it. Matt Holland ah crossbar challenge. It's like, I assume he came to do this thing at the school and he hadn't actually brought anything with him to give to the kids. they're like, you need to give the winning kid something. Oh, I have my hat. He scored in the World Cup. Who? For Ireland. For Ireland, yeah. Against Cameroon.
00:57:06
Speaker
Yeah. Okay, brilliant. And John Collins is 58 right now, by the way. Oh, is he? He's young. He could do a job. Is he into running? I know. you into running, John Collins? know who is into running? Andre Schurler, now a Garmin ambassador. Wow.
00:57:21
Speaker
Okay, I think that'll do us. Mark's ah that an annual, for no, not an annual. it' ah Well, we do we can do a European mag your uss as well. That'll be every two years, yeah. We've got the Olympics, you know, as well. I think if you made it through this podcast in its entirety and the previous one, and you can somehow prove that, you if you get if you get through one more of these podcasts, you get some kind of reward.
00:57:42
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah well i Signed a John Collins shirt. Yeah, well, there we go.
Tournament Winners and Humorous Ideas
00:57:47
Speaker
ah Congratulations for listening to this whole ah podcast if you've got this far. And please, if you disagree with the tournament winners, but of put a message in the um the comments. I'm sure you will.
00:58:00
Speaker
i don't know we need to disagree with the stuff any the idea it was it wasn't that serious but I mean the winner was it came down to street vibes so let's let's keep it calm in the comments is all I'm saying well I will be stricken with street vibes from now on can you somebody let Mike know that's ah Mike's already got street vibes yeah that's what he does everything on we should have actually called him for the final judgement on that last one he'd have known alright then yeah well let's ah call it call it a at an end of the tournament there alright we're going to go watch Switzerland versus someone I don't remember right. Catch you later. All right, no. Go on. Go on. No, it's all right. I'm done. Can we end like that? i don't know if we're going to like that. I'm done. I'm just putting all of this in. What yeah what was what was your football comment you had to end with? I was just going to see if we could send Asics a gold shoe for winning it. For winning it. long they want to have street vibes to them. So you you are you going to buy this spray gold and take one of your shoes and create this for them? What do they do in the ah three lines video? That's a great idea, isn't it?
00:59:03
Speaker
Yeah. That is a great idea. I might actually just get a can of spray, a gold spray. Has it got to be the Megablast or could it just be any shoe? It'll have to be the Megablast. I'll spray the Megablast and I'll send it to them in an envelope saying congratulations from the runters. That's essentially a chemical attack on someone.
00:59:18
Speaker
You can get it mounted on a piece of wood. Yeah, you've got you've got a little mount behind you, Kieran. You can put it on there. Yeah, and I think and then next time we go to the ASICS HQ in Japan, we will expect it to be in the foyer of the HQ, right? I think there won't be a next time if for do that. That was a nice little bonus bit of information for the listeners there who were expecting to leave. Right. Catch you guys li side later. See you later.
Episode Credits
00:59:42
Speaker
Bye.
00:59:45
Speaker
This episode was presented by Tom Wheatley, Nick Harris-Fry and Kieran Algar. It was produced by Tom Wheatley. The music was by Fear of Tigers.