Article by Ryan Eiler, Adam Glueck, and Sam Winebaum
Fast RTR Testers Race Results and Podiums! Ryan runs sub 1:10 Half in adidas Adios Pro, Adam delighted with ASICS Metaspeed Sky, Sam races Vaporfly Next % 2.
RTR Testers have done a lot of fast racing recently!
Ryan Eiler wins Seacoast Half Marathon 1:09:30 by 11 minutes (Adizero Adios Pro 1)
Michael Ellenberger 1:08:39 at the Monumental Half (New Balance RC Elite 2)
Sally Reiley all time marathon PR at NYC of 3:26:54, 2nd in AG! (Vaporfly Next % 2)
Jamie Hershfang Monumental Marathon in 2:56 (Vaporfly Next % 2)
Shannon Payne wins Race to the Top (Mt Baldy, CA) 1:15 (ASICS Fuji Lite 2)
Renee Krusemark wins Vet’s 32K trail race(ASICS Fuji Lite 2)
Nils Scharff gets a half PR 1:19:35 (ASICS Metaspeed Sky)
Beto Hughes 2X: 3:42 marathon in Mexico, NYC next week in 3:38 ( Vaporfly Next % 2)
(Next % 2 review soon!)
Race Reports to follow!
Ryan (Boston):
My weathered but forgiving sidekick, the Adidas Adios Pro 1 (RTR Review), supported me for 13.1 last weekend and once again gave me not a single reason to complain. The upper continues to provide an unflinchingly secure lockdown, and the Lightstrike Pro midsole seems as lively as ever. I’d only warn that the treadless outsoles aren’t to be trusted on wet road paint — but hey, neither are most outsoles. Signs of fatigue after roughly 220 miles include some missing outsole rubber near the toes, as well as a touch of midsole compression under the ‘energy rods’ in the forefoot. Despite the wear, I reckon I’ll be using these as ‘long run’ training shoes for another 100+ miles. With zero soreness after a 9/10 effort half marathon, I can see why many of the world’s most talented runners have been using these for both racing and training.
This also happened to be my first hard effort in the Tracksmith Reggie Half Tights (Lined!), and they now firmly hold the title of my favorite running bottoms. The materials, the fit, and the finish are nearly perfect. The one and only thing I might ask for are small internal pockets for easier gel storage during a long race, in addition to the one, slightly less accessible pocket at the rear.
The Seacoast Half Marathon in Portsmouth, NH was light on attendance and competition this year, but it still managed to make my half marathon debut an enjoyable one. The course is known for its beautiful, wide-open exposure to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Piscataqua River. That very exposure, paired with several preceding days of a nor’easter and heavy rains, resulted in some interesting breezes and bits of flooded roadway. Luckily, the course was still navigable, especially with the assistance of a few enthusiastic course marshals who kindly yelled out advance warning of water hazards.
I held my targeted 5:10/mi pace until the headwinds at mile 10 and the exposed Route 1B causeway beat me down and battered my average pace. I decided to yield instead of fight and risk injury, holding a firm effort but keeping my HR slightly under 170bpm. I ran the entirety of the race alone, foolishly overshooting the final turn home, but managing a 1:09:30 finish.
Adam Glueck (New Hampshire)
What a week for exciting shoes! I received a few more samples this week which I’ve quickly integrated into my rotation.
Asics sent me a Metaspeed Sky (RTR Multi Tester Review) for the upcoming World Ekiden Relay where RoadTrailRun will be fielding two teams It is November 10-22. Sign up with 5 friends for legs between 5K and 10K adding up to a marathon). I was incredibly impressed with the light weight and responsiveness of the shoe and took it out for some test runs.
The first was a 17:58 5km below my aerobic threshold for heart rate, and the second was a track workout (4x400m+800m with 400 rests with the intensity portions between 5:05 and 5:20/mile).
Unlike many carbon plated shoes I’ve tested, the Metaspeed Sky has less heel to toe drop (5mm), and incredibly responsive forefoot cushion. Asics split their super shoe lineup in two, with the Metaspeed Sky designed for stride runners (who go faster by increasing their stride length), and the Edge with 8mm drop and a lower stack for cadence runners (who go faster by increasing their turnover).
I’ve always run with a low cadence and a lot of power (my two runs with the Metaspeed Sky were 154 and 157 spm average), so I was interested to see if the stride length benefiting design of the Metaspeed Sky would benefit me. The Metaspeed Sky felt absolutely fantastic, propulsive, and wasincredibly fun. It’s definitely a little firmer than the NB RC Elite 2 and also more so than the Endorphin Pro, but the directed energy return is addicting, and if I can deal with the slightly greater harshness than those other shoes, I have no doubt I’ll be running some PRs in the Metaspeed Sky.
Puma Voyage Nitro GTX: I’m always excited to try a trail shoe with an innovative foam, and the supercritical Nitro foam in this shoe as a center core is low density and rebounds well.
When I opened the box, I was excited to see an outsole with excellent traction, a bootie style upper (love these on trail shoes), and a beautiful colorway, but was disappointed that the shoe was 364 grams in my US11. This is really heavy for a trail shoe, and unlike competitors like the Saucony Endorphin Trail and Xodus 11, didn’t seem to have as much cushion to show for it. Although I haven’t tested it extensively yet, I went out for a light trail run and stability, grip, and protection are all excellent, and although heavy, the shoe runs a lot lighter than its weight. Stay tuned for my full review once I get it up into the mountains.
Sam:
This week I started testing the New Balance Fresh Foam X 860v12 stability shoe and compared it in a video to the similar, if lighter, ASICS GT-2000 10. I am already finding while not as soft at the forefoot that the 860v12 is both more stable and more protective up front and not as thin feeling as the GT there.
Both “make light” of their stability elements and while clearly stability shoes can be run by neutral runners such as me. Full multi tester review of the 860v12 soon. Multi tester review of the GT-2000 10 here.
I ran the inaugural Newburyport Fall Half Marathon Sunday on a beautiful cool day. The course started by the Merrimack River and followed a river walk (with frosted slippery boards in places for a half mile, then a rail trail uphill away from the river, went through an industrial park (flattest part of the course) before going through a spectacular 3 mile hilly loop around a reservoir and through farms.
I had a solid race but did not get my goal of sub 1:40 ending up 1:42:17 and first in my 60-69 age group.
I ran the Nike Zoom Next % 2 for the first time. The Zoom X foam is clearly somewhat softer than the Next % 1 which I confirmed by pressing and also running. In particular, the softer forefoot foam makes the shoe feel less flat than v1 with the roll easier to engage. They served me well on the relatively hilly course with over 400 feet of climbing. The upper is a dream and the extra weight from it overlays and new open mesh (190g vs 179g v1 in my US8.5 are all worth it. Perfect true to size with light race socks for me. The Next % with its combination of light weight.
The Tracksmith Running Off-Roads Short Sleeve with is soft and stretchy blend of Merino and Tencel and relaxed fit was perfect for a race where the temperature was just under 40 F / 5C at the start. Amazingly it was completely dry less than an hour later. The Off-Roads Shorts with their compression liner also were ideal in such conditions as were my trusty CEP Ultralight Compression Sleeves un noticed and effective.
Next up for testing the Altra Provision 6.
The Provision is Altra’s moderate pronation control shoe and loses a significant amount of weight to come in at about 258g / 9.1 oz US9 (based on my US8.5 sample at 250g / 8.8 oz). It has a 27 mm zero drop stack height so it is light for the amount of stack height.
The medial pronation support is provided by internal and external medial panels tied into two blue lace straps and the soft foam GuideRails (top above) and the geometry, so no posts.
The outsole gets a new design with deep decoupling and Inner Flex grooves.
Neutral runners such as me can for sure enjoy it. My last Provision was the 4 (RTR Review) and I really liked it for its moderate hardly felt stability elements which adapts to runners differing needs and I expect the same here.
The fit is true to size, secure, and comfortable with of course Altra foot shaped toe box well secured by the engineered mesh and toe bumper. Now let’s see how they run!
They should release mid to late November. $130
Tested samples were provided at no charge for review purposes others others were personal purchases. RoadTrail Run has affiliate partnerships and may earn commission on products purchased through affiliate links in this article. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content
EUROPE Men's & Women's SHOP HERE
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