You are not alone. The fact that NB has some of the best women runners, especially, made me think maybe they take their gear for women seriously. Some places, seems like they just make the women’s stuff small and pink.
As inconvenient of a truth it may be to some in the sport, distance running (not necessarily mid-distance) is greatly served by living and training at altitude. The evidence is overwhelming, and continues to stack up, down into the high school level. The prime stakeholder seems to now admit it, capitulating with a new altitude training group in Flagstaff.
I absolutely agree. every pro group was in Flagstaff in the months before Olympic trials. I'm just saying you don't have to live there 365 days a year to get the benefit of altitude.
Again, I contend, you are not expert enough to make that call. Can short term stints help. Absolutely. Just like EPO can help in boosting red blood cells.
But according to an old British Milers Club publication, the thinning of the lung air-sac walls is another epogentic expression from living at altitude.
(1) How long at altitude does it take for that to occur?
(2) How long does it last after returning to sea level?
You don’t know the answer to those questions, but we do absolutely know the very best distance runners in the world both live and train at altitude.
I absolutely agree. every pro group was in Flagstaff in the months before Olympic trials. I'm just saying you don't have to live there 365 days a year to get the benefit of altitude.
Again, I contend, you are not expert enough to make that call. Can short term stints help. Absolutely. Just like EPO can help in boosting red blood cells.
But according to an old British Milers Club publication, the thinning of the lung air-sac walls is another epogentic expression from living at altitude.
(1) How long at altitude does it take for that to occur?
(2) How long does it last after returning to sea level?
You don’t know the answer to those questions, but we do absolutely know the very best distance runners in the world both live and train at altitude.
*epigenetic (stupid phone; it still changed it even after I corrected it.)
I am not disagreeing with what you've written, but hear me out... I ran for a Nike sponsored school in college, and have trained in Pegasus for nearly my entire life (I am 40). I have been so dissatisfied with the Pegs in recent years, and have tried the Vomero, the Infinity RN, and even some of the trail shoes just to try to find my new "go to" in the Nike lineup. I don't like any of them. They just aren't working for me, and I am about a loyal as a customer can be...
Recently, I have seen a lot of younger pro athletes go to NB, and decided to check out their shoes. I would not have done this if it weren't for Valby and Blanks (at the time, he was just NIL). I just figured they have to have some decent shoes if those two are running for NB. Turns out I really, really like the Rebel as a daily trainer. It doesn't last as long as I'd like, but the shoe itself is fantastic. Great for long runs but also allows me to speed it up if I am feeling decent.
So while everyone is different, I think they helped convert me over to NB, at least for now. Maybe there are more of me out there...?
Echoing this. Whenever I'm in the market for a new pair of trainers I will peruse the social media of pro's I follow and try to pick out what shoes are scattered about the track in the background of their workout photos. I've actually stuck with Nike because the last few Vomeros have been solid for me plus I have a few Nike outlets where I can get good deals. But I think once this pair runs out I'll only be racing in Nike. I checked out the Structures because of a SOVA video where Cooper and Cole talked about them but they didn't work and I'm seeing a lot of greener grass in other brand's lineups that the swoosh just can't match. I'm also now looking at the Rebel, small world!
I'd guess there are a lot of people who check out what trainers the pros like and then either see for themselves or use that as a justification to go with one brand/model over another. Then I think there is some trickle down where people see more connected runners wearing a certain brand/model and then a wider circle of more casual runners have that pop into their radar.