Really enjoyed Run The Planets latest video. He’s training in Japan currently on his latest sub 3 marathon goal.
Latest video is him having a crack at a half marathon PB in the Tokyo half marathon. Looked good conditions a pretty flat. Captures a clip of RanToJapn running the other way with the leaders at one point.
RunThePlanet a bit disappointed he couldn’t get a PB on the day finishing in 1:35 but he seems upbeat in his latest marathon attempt at sub 3 in March. I wish him well.
I don't like his chances of sub 3 if he is running a 1:35 hm in good conditions.
Based on that you’d think a miracle is needed.
The Brooms often give him advice in his comments to focus on getting down to a 3:15 marathon first before tackling sub 3.. but alas, he still sets off at sub 3 pace every marathon.
Anyone notice how often youtubers run a race in shoes they've never tested in the heat of battle, and then get excited by an unexpected PB (looking at you Fenton - saying before your 5k you don't feel good in the warm up, then running fastest 5k of your life in a brand new release you were given by the event sponsor that day) or a bit downbeat with a marginally slower than expected result (FOD yesterday, Linda Franks 5 miler)
I'm not saying shoes explain everything, but I think it can play a big part of all of these minor triumphs and disasters. You might have done a couple of runs in a new pair of shoes and say they feel amazeballs, but that's no substitute for actually testing them in a proper race.
Maybe FOD ran fractionally slower yesterday simply because those shoes are fractionally slower (for him) than what he raced in last year, or what he's been racing in more recently?
Looks like FOD is back to PB busting ways in the Fast-R 3 - look forward to the video explaining all the huge changes he made between the week just gone and the one before it
It is "amazing" the difference in feeling between being a few seconds over expectation to a few seconds under. It is like my recent parkruns, do a 20:00 and I feel "old", do 19:59 and I think err that's not too bad :)
But if my latest vid resonates generally, the Fast-R 3 are faster than what AliExpress offers even if the latter are way cheaper.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Unsure why Kofuzi is getting his panties in a twist on threads about not getting enough views on his recent Chinese shoe review. He also then says he feels uncomfortable with people using the term "Chinese Shoes" because he grew up Asian American or whatever.
I've only watched a few of this dudes videos because I find him pretty bland and without any sort personality but these threads posts have given me a genuine dislike for the bloke.
Jogoncrago's Chinese shoe videos are easily his most popular. Maybe it's because Crago actually puts some enthusiasm into his reviews and knows a thing or two about running shoes and biomechanics.
Kofuzi is a total moron.
Don't forget this odds the same guy who defended and befriended Matt Choi.
It's not general Asian hate, Mikey, Choi is a f*cking douchebag!
It is "amazing" the difference in feeling between being a few seconds over expectation to a few seconds under. It is like my recent parkruns, do a 20:00 and I feel "old", do 19:59 and I think err that's not too bad :)
But if my latest vid resonates generally, the Fast-R 3 are faster than what AliExpress offers even if the latter are way cheaper.
I'm also in the Fast-R 3 camp, it genuinely does perform about 2-3% faster than any other super shoe in my arsenal. Sirpoc swears by the Do-Win PB Pro, and I think that can work for people who respond well to TPEE midsole hypershoes (e.g. pro evo 1/2, adios pro 4) but for me I don't get enough response out of them weighing in at only 50kg, whereas the ATPU in the Puma is like ZoomX on steroids.
Madness, what’s the end goal, he’s not gonna make enough long term for life on YouTube or running, unless they can bankroll him for life or he manages to marry rich all he’s gonna have is a big gap in the cv
He's building up his coaching business, I suspect that pays far more than Youtube for him. Seems like the going rate now is around £100/month, and it's a growing industry. How many runners can you coach at once? No idea, I'm sure the quality drops off if you try to do too many but if you're time efficient then I'd guess 25 sounds doable.
He posts sometimes about watching his coached runners at events, think he flew out to watch some at Valencia marathon? I think he's doing just fine, who cares if he hasn't mapped out the next 30 years grinding away at some meaningless desk job.
He charges 150 per month coaching so if he's coaching 20 then 3k living at home in Glasgow isn't a bad life, throw in the tiny YouTube revenue on top of that. Longer term I'm sure hot Holly's medical career would be enough to support both of them
I don't buy things from Chinese companies because 1. I don't want to support a regime that is brutally repressive to dissidents and minorities (look up the Uguyrs and what happens to them sometimes Ko). 2. I don't want to support a regime that altered the TikTok algorithm to put their finger on the scale of the last Presidential election (remember how in 2024, all you could see on TikTok were videos of the Gaza bloodshed; remember how that made people so angry? Is it really any better today? Hardly if at all, but fewer people care because the TikTok alogrithim suddenly stopped pushing that. Funny how that worked. 3. I don't want to support one of the worst polluters in the world. China is burning a crap ton of coal to power their AI data centers. Their air quality is like LA and Pittsburgh from the 60s and 70s.
So do a shoe review on a shoe that is made by a company that is really owned by the Chinese Communist Party, and let's face it China has the appearances of capitalism but the government really controls everything, if you want. But don't called yourself woke or a progressive if you do. And don't be mad at people when they don't watch a video in a shoe they will never buy because of their own personal beliefs. If you want to sell out your beliefs and values for a free trip to the Shenghai Marathon, go right ahead.
Speaking of that, Fueledbylolz had a great newsletter calling out the hypocrisy of the big influencers!
It is "amazing" the difference in feeling between being a few seconds over expectation to a few seconds under. It is like my recent parkruns, do a 20:00 and I feel "old", do 19:59 and I think err that's not too bad :)
But if my latest vid resonates generally, the Fast-R 3 are faster than what AliExpress offers even if the latter are way cheaper.
I'm also in the Fast-R 3 camp, it genuinely does perform about 2-3% faster than any other super shoe in my arsenal. Sirpoc swears by the Do-Win PB Pro, and I think that can work for people who respond well to TPEE midsole hypershoes (e.g. pro evo 1/2, adios pro 4) but for me I don't get enough response out of them weighing in at only 50kg, whereas the ATPU in the Puma is like ZoomX on steroids.
On my feet the Fast-R 3 seem more like 1% faster than the rest (approx 30 secs over a 10 mile race coincidentally enough...) and they are looking like lasting 100 miles of racing at best so I'm probably not buying another pair at £260 - hopefully the next iteration has something a bit more solid underneath.
Allie O did give some credit to the Fast-R 3 in a video last week summarising how she had taken a minute or so off her HM time in Houston recently. When you do the maths, it kinda looks like the shoes might well cover that minute, maybe a bit more. But we don't know for sure how much they are worth on any individual, it's all speculation. She did do a treadmill test in them and noted HR was fair bit lower than comparable workout in Alphafly, but what really counts is what happens in a race.
Anyone wanting running shoes not made in South East Asia, good luck with that. I can't find any serious brands not currently outsourcing their production there.
But the criticism before was specifically about not buying from Chinese companies. If you buy a shoe from Nike etc you're supporting a US company to pay product designers/marketing people etc. If you buy a shoe from Li-Ning you're supporting a Chinese company to do those roles. Either way, your shoe will be made by someone on a very low wage.
Neither option is that great when you dig into it, but we're not prepared to pay 4x the price for someone to make the shoes in Europe/USA so it is what it is.
Anyone notice how often youtubers run a race in shoes they've never tested in the heat of battle, and then get excited by an unexpected PB (looking at you Fenton - saying before your 5k you don't feel good in the warm up, then running fastest 5k of your life in a brand new release you were given by the event sponsor that day) or a bit downbeat with a marginally slower than expected result (FOD yesterday, Linda Franks 5 miler)
I'm not saying shoes explain everything, but I think it can play a big part of all of these minor triumphs and disasters. You might have done a couple of runs in a new pair of shoes and say they feel amazeballs, but that's no substitute for actually testing them in a proper race.
Maybe FOD ran fractionally slower yesterday simply because those shoes are fractionally slower (for him) than what he raced in last year, or what he's been racing in more recently?
Looks like FOD is back to PB busting ways in the Fast-R 3 - look forward to the video explaining all the huge changes he made between the week just gone and the one before it
FOD posted a video prior to the race stating his HR was higher than usual and sleep wasn't great. He did this pre race. It's all documented, bud.
I don't buy things from Chinese companies because 1. I don't want to support a regime that is brutally repressive to dissidents and minorities (look up the Uguyrs and what happens to them sometimes Ko). 2. I don't want to support a regime that altered the TikTok algorithm to put their finger on the scale of the last Presidential election (remember how in 2024, all you could see on TikTok were videos of the Gaza bloodshed; remember how that made people so angry? Is it really any better today? Hardly if at all, but fewer people care because the TikTok alogrithim suddenly stopped pushing that. Funny how that worked. 3. I don't want to support one of the worst polluters in the world. China is burning a crap ton of coal to power their AI data centers. Their air quality is like LA and Pittsburgh from the 60s and 70s.
So do a shoe review on a shoe that is made by a company that is really owned by the Chinese Communist Party, and let's face it China has the appearances of capitalism but the government really controls everything, if you want. But don't called yourself woke or a progressive if you do. And don't be mad at people when they don't watch a video in a shoe they will never buy because of their own personal beliefs. If you want to sell out your beliefs and values for a free trip to the Shenghai Marathon, go right ahead.
Speaking of that, Fueledbylolz had a great newsletter calling out the hypocrisy of the big influencers!
Just out of curiosity, which brands do you buy from that don’t manufacture in China? Your post sounds naive.
Most brands I buy are made in Vietnam, Indonesia or Taiwan (Republican of China). Vietnam. Vietnam is not a democracy but it's somewhat less repressive than China, Indonesia is somewhat of a democracy with an authoritarian strain, and Taiwan is a democracy.
Anyone wanting running shoes not made in South East Asia, good luck with that. I can't find any serious brands not currently outsourcing their production there.
But the criticism before was specifically about not buying from Chinese companies. If you buy a shoe from Nike etc you're supporting a US company to pay product designers/marketing people etc. If you buy a shoe from Li-Ning you're supporting a Chinese company to do those roles. Either way, your shoe will be made by someone on a very low wage.
Neither option is that great when you dig into it, but we're not prepared to pay 4x the price for someone to make the shoes in Europe/USA so it is what it is.
Some New Balance Shoes, mostly the 990 that hasn't changed since 1990, are still made in the USA. Not all southeast Asia countries are the same too.