super shoes for midfoot striker - recommendations?

I'm a fan of the adios pro 2 and that is what I've been using for most of my workouts. It is bouncy but probably not as bouncy as the vaporfly. To be honest though, you can't go wrong with the next%. If you have no idea then the next% is safe but if you want to try something new, I'm a huge fan of the adios pro 2.

Liiottoo wrote:

I'm a fan of the adios pro 2 and that is what I've been using for most of my workouts. It is bouncy but probably not as bouncy as the vaporfly. To be honest though, you can't go wrong with the next%. If you have no idea then the next% is safe but if you want to try something new, I'm a huge fan of the adios pro 2.

Good to hear. I'd been considering adidas too, their shoes seem to suit my feet. For whatever reason Nike shoes/spikes seem to cause me problems, but I've never tried the Next% on. Might be worth testing it out at the local store to see if I hate it or not. Maybe they'll surprise me.

selling out wrote:

I know that in general most super shoes are geared towards heel strikers.

This is not true at all.

Just because many of them work well for heel strikers does not mean that they were designed specifically for heal strikers. The majority of these shoes share a similar design with: high stack mid-sole foam, rockered bottom, and aggressive toe-taper. This design works great for pretty much Any foot landing preference with long distance running.

Where You can dial in a shoe to your biomechanics(specifically foot touch-down position) is in the Heel-to-Toe Drop spec. If you re comfortable training in 8-10mm drop shoes like the Adios with a mid-foot technique then you likely naturally prefer landing in that position of ankle extension. In contrast if you were using a 0-drop shoe then i would say you prefer landing with the ankle in a position with more flexion. Some people don't really know what is optimal for them because they just stick with a particular shoe and adapt to it. A very common example for this is those who are addicted to the AsicsKayno line, or someone who drinks the 0-drop koolaid and thinks that is all they are to use no matter what. To be successful at selecting the optimal shoe for your biomechanics it is helpfull to regularly run in a variety of shoes so that you can notice the nuances in how they effect your biomecanics & performance, then use that knowledge to help select specific shoes for specific situations (race, easy, tempo, long run, ect...)

If 8-10 drop is truly ideal for you then simply stay away from the lower drop variants like:

- Hoka CarbonX

- Hoka CarbonRocket

- AnythingSketchers

- Asics SKY

Pretty much all the others are 8mm incuding:

NB RC Elite, Vaporfly, Asics EDGE, Puma, SauconyEndorphin, Ect...

selling out wrote:

I'm a sub-elite with narrow feet, and a midfoot striker at all training paces. Local shoe store doesn't carry a great selection of super shoes (just Saucony and Nike), so I can't test out whether I like the shoes myself. So, looking for some input from other midfoot strikers.

I know that in general most super shoes are geared towards heel strikers. I typically do all of my mileage (even easy) in racing flat type shoes (adidas adios usually) because I find that bulky shoes interfere with my natural biomechanics, hence my concern. I'm leaning towards the Puma one since it's the only women's specific one (am woman, have very narrow feet), but would be interested to get some input from others.

Have run in next%, alphafly, adidas pro 2, saucony super shoe, and Brooks super shoe. Only the first three will I race in. Next% probably the bounciest/fastest—it's pretty much the ideal shoe. Alphafly also bouncy but the ride feels weird to me midfoot striking. The Adidas is also really good, closer to the next% but not as bouncy. I find the Nikes too narrow for my feet but if that's not an issue for you I'd start with the next%---hard to beat.

I think you can try Adidas. I think their shoes are pretty good, maybe there will be surprises