Branding

Nike

Asics

Saucony

Adidas

New Balance

Reebok

Mizuno

Brooks

and something called Zoot.

There are a mind numbing array of running shoe brands out there, and each brand has an equally dizzying array of models to choose from.  The first running shoe brand I’m sure I wore was Asics.  In high school I always wore what has become the 2160 model but at the time was probably the 2014 model or something.  I’m not sure how much has changed with that shoe besides the #, but it remains one of the most successful lines of running shoes ever.  I wore them because that was the brand my dad wore, and I think the first serious running shoe he wore was something called an Onitsuka Tiger which is now owned by Asics.

As I got more serious about my running I transitioned to Asics DS trainers, but year after year they started getting stiffer and stiffer so a few years ago I started running in the Saucony Grid Tangent 3’s.  I was inspired to try out the Tangents because of a mention of the Saucony brand in the book “Running with the Buffaloes”.  I was very happy with  that shoe and it’s replacement the Tangent 4.  Both were right at 10 oz with a touch of pronation control a 12mm heel drop and a good amount of flexibility.  To my horror, they dropped the Tangent line this winter in favor of a similar shoe with a 4mm heel drop.  My experience with low heel drops in a daily trainer is  sore calves and tight achilies tendons, unless I’m racing in road flats in which case I can get away with and prefer a low heel.

If you have been living under a rock, there is a minimalist running shoe fad, trend, revolution (you pick which word works for you) going on right now.  Many shoe makers are putting out shoes with less heel drop and lighter weight, and less support which is great if you want that kind of thing, but to my great annoyance they aren’t just adding these new Minimal shoes (and just how, why and if these shoes are minimal I’ll save for a different post) they are dropping their old shoes in favor of these new ones.  The odd effect of this is I have found my self running in two shoe brands I never thought I would wear.

My new daily trainer is a Mizuno Wave Precision, which is a touch stiffer but the same weight and heel drop as the Saucony Tangents I liked so much.  My new distance road racer is the Adidas adiZERO Adios Ekide Haile Gebrselassie Special Edition.  Aside from being the most comfortable don’t even know they are on your feet shoe I’ve ever run in, they have the longest name.  Hopefully they don’t ruin these shoes the next time they update them.

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  1. The first serious running shoe I ever wore, and I wore them for many years, was Adidas Oregons. I used to get over 1000 miles out of a pair of those shoes. Wore them right through the first layer of bottom and into the black. They were a great light weight trainer. Adidas revived them for a few years after they had been off the market for awhile. I’ve discovered as I’ve gotten older and don’t run nearly as smoothly as thirty years ago I need some extra cushioning.

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