That shoe was so good. Cant believe I forgot it. Inexpensive. Durable. Light. Could do it all from long run to quicker stuff. I bought up all the ones in my size I could find for years. They changed the foam the next year and it wasn't the same. That shoe was great.
Imagine if a running shoe company made a great shoe and just kept making it? Yeah, you could change some color schemes, but just make the same dang shoe.
The old Novablasts, up to and including the 3 were the best all-rounder shoe I've ever used. Reasonably priced, stable, poppy and just cushioned enough. They felt great for everything from easy jogging, to steady running, to marathon/half-marathon effort tempos. Some brilliant colourways too.
They latest models are just another expensive, ridiculously overly cushioned, unstable pile of sh*te. They've lost everything which made them so good.
I'll tell what shoe wasn't the best of all-time--the first ones I ever owned.
The TG-22 imported by Blue Ribbon Sports. All white leather uppers, no markings/trademarks at all. No arch support either. Bought them from Nike Exec-to-be, Jeff Johnson who was selling them out of the back of his van.
From AI:
TG-22 (High Jump Shoe): In 1965, BRS mistakenly sold the Onitsuka Tiger TG-22 —originally designed as a high-jump shoe—as a distance running shoe. This specific model led to a stress fracture for University of Oregon runner Kenny Moore, prompting Bill Bowerman to tear the shoe apart and begin designing improvements.
Not the Asics Epirus, which only lasted 400 miles, but Tiger Eprius, which lasted 600. when the running store I worked in got a new shipment of Epirus, we would all go thorugh the boxes to see where the shoes were manufactured. Any of the Japanese ones were hoarded away as they were far better quality.
I liked the look of the Nike Eagle and American Eagle, but think that the Spiridon Gold may have actually been a better racing shoe. Also the Nike Air Edge.
Not the Asics Epirus, which only lasted 400 miles, but Tiger Eprius, which lasted 600. when the running store I worked in got a new shipment of Epirus, we would all go thorugh the boxes to see where the shoes were manufactured. Any of the Japanese ones were hoarded away as they were far better quality.
I liked the look of the Nike Eagle and American Eagle, but think that the Spiridon Gold may have actually been a better racing shoe. Also the Nike Air Edge.
Seems to me that any list of “great” shoes has to include the Nike Eagle. Always thought of it as essentially the first modern racing shoe. No suede, ridiculously light, looked the part. It was THE racing shoe at the height of the running boom (or at least the second half; I’m sure that many would give that title to the Nike Elite in the late 70s).
Mariah, released at the same time (very late 1979 or early 1980), not far behind. In fact, interesting that they represented a thin/short race and thicker/long race relationship that continues to this day.
Air Edge, released 4 years later, not a ground breaker like above, but also a great shoe. Might have liked running in it the most.
Not the Asics Epirus, which only lasted 400 miles, but Tiger Eprius, which lasted 600. when the running store I worked in got a new shipment of Epirus, we would all go thorugh the boxes to see where the shoes were manufactured. Any of the Japanese ones were hoarded away as they were far better quality.
I liked the look of the Nike Eagle and American Eagle, but think that the Spiridon Gold may have actually been a better racing shoe. Also the Nike Air Edge.
Seems to me that any list of “great” shoes has to include the Nike Eagle. Always thought of it as essentially the first modern racing shoe. No suede, ridiculously light, looked the part. It was THE racing shoe at the height of the running boom (or at least the second half; I’m sure that many would give that title to the Nike Elite in the late 70s).
Mariah, released at the same time (very late 1979 or early 1980), not far behind. In fact, interesting that they represented a thin/short race and thicker/long race relationship that continues to this day.
Air Edge, released 4 years later, not a ground breaker like above, but also a great shoe. Might have liked running in it the most.
Won my first marathon in a pair of Eagles in '81. Great shoe. The Mariah was an Eagle with the air sole layer sandwiched in; never liked them not flexible enough too clumpy.
