how good of a racer is this shoe?

I ordered this shoe this weekend, I will have a review tomorrow. I'm in the same boat as you, I hope it suits longer distance racing.

I ordered this shoe about a month ago, and have used it for a 4 mile so far. I really like it- it is really light, flexible, and feels pretty fast. There seems to be a decent amount of cushioning as well. I usually wear a size 9 Nike training shoes, and I found that the size 8.5 Ekiden fits me well. The size 9 was too roomy in the front.

I've had similar experience with the Ekiden. Good light, flexible racer. I've raced 4 times at 5k - 10k in mine. Wish I'd ordered a 9 instead of a 9.5 - they are a little roomy in the forefoot compared to other nikes but I can live with it. Very similar to the Streak Spectrums - exact same sole.

I like it a lot. I'd like it better without the big, stiff plastic arch piece. I use it mostly for faster training, and use Air Streak Vapors for racing, but at $20 each, its not a bad deal for a pair or three of training shoes.

I always praise these shoes on this board.

I've been training in them for several weeks now. For me, they're almost perfect. I even like the roominess up front, since I have a relatively broad forefoot. Very light and flexible, but very well cushioned.

The only change I'd make would be to introduce an air-sole component in the forefoot, but that would probably make it less flexible.

good reviews, i'm gona get them if you can answer a couple more questions.

1. What heel height compares to these? cubatos? magic racers? are they pretty low? what are they comparable to?

2. How long do you think they will last in training?

FLG RUN wrote:

good reviews, i'm gona get them if you can answer a couple more questions.

1. What heel height compares to these? cubatos? magic racers? are they pretty low? what are they comparable to?

I haven't had either of those other shoes so I can't say how the heel heights compare. But the midsole thickness is around 15/16" in the heel and around 7/16" under the ball of the foot, for a net heel lift of around 1/2". That's more than I'd like, but it doesn't feel at all awkward to me. Maybe someone can provide similar figures for those other shoes you mentioned.

2. How long do you think they will last in training?

I've probably put around 150 miles on mine, and they're holding up well. I'd say I'll probably get at least 400 miles out of them. Every few days, I apply a coat of shoe goo to the portions of the outsole that get the most wear, because the outsole doesn't seem very durable.