Asics Signs Bates and Kieffer

Interesting because pre NYC interviews with her Brad jumps in to tout the 4% shoes while all decked out in Nike.

Brads Hudon wrote:

Interesting because pre NYC interviews with her Brad jumps in to tout the 4% shoes while all decked out in Nike.

I listened to a podcast recently with brad (and maybe allie too, i cant remember) and he was saying how they work great for her, even better than the average person for some reason. I'm shocked she's moving away from the 4%s, unless asics lets her wear them with some duct tape on them

Sesamoiditis wrote:

Did Hall get dropped?

Ryan Hall popularized the hyperspeed. When Hall quit, the hyperspeed was discontinued and they put a bunch of triathlon shoes and 12mm drop classics.

Bring back the hyperspeed!

No one's taken 4% off yet wrote:

Funny how this thread just ended up being another Nike ad. For those of you convinced the shoe was responsible for Kipchoge'a WR, consider this:

The successful record attempt was not 4% faster than the slowest of his previous attempts.

lol at people who *still* think this is marketing hype and think the shoe magically makes everyone 4% faster

it simply reduces the *effort required* to go a certain pace by a certain percent because it can only affect running economy

if a super-elite is already extremely efficient, shoe will do less for them, but it will do something

the less efficient you are, the more they do for you, the slower you are (up to a point) the more of a time boost you will get percentage-wise

the problem is the carbon spring, if Nike just removed that, most people would have far less of a problem with the shoe, I'd actually have no problem if it was just a light pebax shoe because there are others

carbon springs have no place in running, it's mechanical doping, a foreign device other than foam or stability enhancements for those with form problems, even a spike plate can be justified but that's not what's in vaporflys or any other new nike models

and to get back to this thread, Allie could never, ever, run sub 2:30 without them

on the other hand Sara Hall has proven a few times she doesn't need them

I've done marathon in Asics Hyperspeeds, you are really hating life after mile 22 in them, it's almost a track flat, for Sara to do 2:26 in Asics is pure talent and drive

What's With Asics? wrote:

Ryan Hall popularized the hyperspeed. When Hall quit, the hyperspeed was discontinued and they put a bunch of triathlon shoes and 12mm drop classics.

Bring back the hyperspeed!

this was the hyperspeed replacement but it's stupid, heavier and draining holes don't go through

What a well written article and some great comments on yahoo. I think this is my favorite:

Don G11 hours ago

Thats the answer, more multimillion dollar endorsements to athletes so you can charge me $200 a pair for good running shoes that cost $10 to make. Way to go Asucks.

Dang, how much are Allie and Emma making?

(sarcasm aside, good for them and the sport!)

Oiselle? wrote:

So is Allie still with Oiselle and just signed a shoe deal/joint deal or she dropped them? She seemed pretty committed to Oiselle's message so I'm shocked to see her leave them. Wonder what kind of deal Asics gave her

Asics has a full clothing line, so no, she can't run for Oiselle and Asics. She may even be breaching her Oiselle contract if she signed for more than one year. Most likely, she signed for one year and it took her until now to finalize a deal with Asics. Good for her. She is clearly and elite American runner and deserves a livable wage, not to be free advertising for an over-priced women's clothing line that MIGHT pay her a monthly stipend and travel reimbursements (that's generous).

Sex sells, and if you can also run fast, all the better.

gubyenletsrun wrote:

Oiselle? wrote:

So is Allie still with Oiselle and just signed a shoe deal/joint deal or she dropped them? She seemed pretty committed to Oiselle's message so I'm shocked to see her leave them. Wonder what kind of deal Asics gave her

Asics has a full clothing line, so no, she can't run for Oiselle and Asics. She may even be breaching her Oiselle contract if she signed for more than one year. Most likely, she signed for one year and it took her until now to finalize a deal with Asics. Good for her. She is clearly and elite American runner and deserves a livable wage, not to be free advertising for an over-priced women's clothing line that MIGHT pay her a monthly stipend and travel reimbursements (that's generous).

Tori Franklin breached her Oiselle contract to sign with Nike. So, if Kieffer signed for more than one year, it wouldn’t be the first time that an athlete broke contract with Oiselle.

Oiselle is on the verge of bankruptcy. They have ZERO runners at the marathon Trials and have now lost their #1 asset. Allie was never one of the flock anyway, she didn't believe in their brainwashing.

zoomzoomzoom wrote:

No one's taken 4% off yet wrote:

Funny how this thread just ended up being another Nike ad. For those of you convinced the shoe was responsible for Kipchoge'a WR, consider this:

The successful record attempt was not 4% faster than the slowest of his previous attempts.

lol at people who *still* think this is marketing hype and think the shoe magically makes everyone 4% faster

it simply reduces the *effort required* to go a certain pace by a certain percent because it can only affect running economy

if a super-elite is already extremely efficient, shoe will do less for them, but it will do something

the less efficient you are, the more they do for you, the slower you are (up to a point) the more of a time boost you will get

percentage-wise

Someone who gets it!!! "the less efficient you are, the more they do for you," They're the square grooves of running. I notice lots of stock on the 4%. People are milking them. They can't stomach paying the $250 over and over. But with these shoes, you have too. They just don't last long enough. My experience is you're better off going to the Adios than a VF with more than 75 miles on it. Expect times to slow down from people milking their VFs. Also, the VF doesn't work as well in the cold. TPU does. If the marathon is very cold, better to use the Adios.

Oiselle? wrote:

So is Allie still with Oiselle and just signed a shoe deal/joint deal or she dropped them? She seemed pretty committed to Oiselle's message so I'm shocked to see her leave them. Wonder what kind of deal Asics gave her

Oiselle doesn't make shoes. Kara is signed with Altra for shoes and Oiselle for apparel, for example. I imagine Allie is doing the same. You have to imagine Allie would love to sign with Nike (given that's all she's been wearing), but Asics must have ponied up enough cash.

jklk wrote:

Oiselle is on the verge of bankruptcy. They have ZERO runners at the marathon Trials and have now lost their #1 asset. Allie was never one of the flock anyway, she didn't believe in their brainwashing.

Allie flew the coop.

Asics signed a HS sprinterwho cant make USA’s, a long jumper just popped for drugs, and Gregorek. That is it.

So hands down Asics shoes are THE worst shoe I tried in the running store when I tried out every brand. Like literal worst. What is with that odd flat forefoot feeling? It was flat and mushy at the same time.

I am slightly worried for both Emma and Allie that they will not do so well in those shoes if asics does not step up their game significantly. And that goes beyond imitating the 4%. They need to make basic good shoes again. And maybe then they can stop making them so damn ugly. Like I usually do not care a lot which colour etc shoes are but Asics look like they are straight out of the 90ies. Just no.

Oh an as Oiselle only makes clothes she must have signed a shoe only deal with asics.

Oiselle is not a real company and does not have real contracts. Any real contract that comes along will blow them out of the water.

Nike steps in with Tori Franklin and poof Oiselle is gone.

Asics steps in with Allie and poof Oiselle is gone.

ALLIE WILL BE WEARING ASICS CLOTHING.

Asics has been nonexistent at US Championships for years now. All this talk about Emma and Allie probably amounts to $15k contract at the most. People who think there is a bidding war for anything other than the medalists are naive.

Lawson drug suspension, Candace still in high school, Furman Elite dropped, Gregorek leaving for NYNJ/Hoka, the roster is literally down to Sara, Ryan, Diego, Dr Vigil, and Deena. Who am I missing?

Allie got north of $120k.

It’s of course fine if you don’t like Oiselle, but they have several sponsored athletes who have already earned marathon OTQs:

https://www.oiselle.com/athletes/elites

. There is at least one other athlete who should be added to this list.

Also, although they are a private company, and thus do not report results publicly a la Nike or UA, the CEO does put out a year-end review. This year’s report indicated 2018 was the company’s best year financially:

https://www.oiselle.com/blog/high-fives-and-humble-pies

Notably, the report also acknowledges some “humble pies,” including around athlete sponsorship. It feels like they have scaled back a bit on sponsorships, but I don’t know.

I have no idea whether ASICS will require Allie to choose. (My sense is that Hoka did this recently, as Steph Bruce and a few others went the Hoka-only Route). But what makes no sense is the wanting Oiselle to fail sentiment on these boards. There is so little money in pro distance running. Why object to a company that is trying to support post-collegiate athletes?

Oiselle has two levels of sponsored athletes — a few pros (up to now including Allie), and then a roster of athletes trying to make the jump to national (and ideally international) class. These “haute volee” deals are short-term gear and small stipend contracts (meet entry, travel) for athletes who aren’t ready/competitive yet for a shoe deal. They are specifically designed to be a starting point/ launching pad to a more lucrative deal. Several athletes have leveraged these developmental deals to get better deals from shoe companies — Kate Grace, Kerri Gallagher a few years ago, Tori Franklin (breached her deal) and several others over the years — following good results. Several of these athletes do field events or other events - racewalk - that don’t always attract sponsors or money.

More sponsors are better for the sport. Small developmental contracts for folks who may need a few more years are not a bad thing. Totally cool if you don’t like the company, but it’s better to deal in facts vs make stuff up on an anon board.