Currently running in Asics Cumulus and Brooks Ravenna for all my runs (for trails I use Asics Mazama).
Looking to add a third pair of road shoes for tempo (6-8+ miles)/interval (800m-2 miles) sessions - any suggestions ? I'm keen to stick with Asics or Brooks as they've served me well in the past.
I'm 180lbs, 6'1"; 10k PR 40:50, 5k PR 18:47 - and looking to get under 40 and towards 18:30.
Asics stopped making decent shoes a few years ago. I was an Asics guy for 30 years and have recently switched to Saucony and am loving their shoes. If you want a tempo shoe, you should try the Breakthru or the Kinvarna. They have different heel-toe drops, but are both excellent lightweight trainers.
Interesting what you say about Asics... why do you think they have been left behind ?
The Breakthru look like a good hybrid, and for a very reasonable price - I'll take a closer look. Do they fit as you would expect with regards to sizing ?
gingerneil wrote:
Currently running in Asics Cumulus and Brooks Ravenna for all my runs (for trails I use Asics Mazama).
Looking to add a third pair of road shoes for tempo (6-8+ miles)/interval (800m-2 miles) sessions - any suggestions ? I'm keen to stick with Asics or Brooks as they've served me well in the past.
I'm 180lbs, 6'1"; 10k PR 40:50, 5k PR 18:47 - and looking to get under 40 and towards 18:30.
Try the Brooks Launch. They're more of a lightweight trainer than a racing shoe. But at your size and pace, you probably want more shoe than the Kinvara. The Launch has a 10mm drop, so you would be used to that after running in the Ravenna. I use them for daily training and the occasional tempo run, and have run two marathons in them.
I really like the Brooks Pureflow. Light, comfy, snappy and plenty of room across the forefoot. Good for tempos but I like them for everything really.
The Ghost has good grip for light trails, and lots of rubber for durability.
And the Brooks Revel is like a lighter Ghost with a bit less cushioning, but waaay cheaper right now. It's an extremely popular shoe.
The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19 is a stability shoe with the Guiderails instead of posting. It has slightly more cushioning than the Ghost but a bit less traction for trails.
I have the Ghost 11 and the Adrenaline GTS 19, and I love them both. I'm 200 pounds.
There's a happy medium between your Ravenna and the Glycerin, but the Launch isn't it.
Peruse this page here:
https://runrepeat.com/ranking/rankings-of-brooks-running-shoes?order_by=score
The answer is the Brooks Ravenna. Same weight as the Launch, but with slight stability features. If you don't need stability (and the Cumulus is a neutral shoe), then the Launch (which I use for tempo runs and like quite a bit for them).
The Roadhawk FF gets mentioned as the equivalent from Asics, but I haven't tried them.
If you like the cumulus, then why not the dynaflyte. A little lighter and more responsive than the cumulus, it will feel faster without being too minimal.
DS Trainer or Noosa FF.
The Dynaflyte is completely different than the cumulus. The Dynaflyte bottoms out, and it's not a serious cushioned shoe. The toe height is only 12mm, and the flyte foam is so soft that the shoe bottoms out and doesn't absorb shock.
I own two pairs of the Dynaflyte 1. Now I'm a Brooks guy, mostly.
But yeah the Dynaflyte would probably be a decent fast day shoe, but running in it every day will lead to a lot more leg muscle soreness for most people.
gingerneil wrote:
Currently running in Asics Cumulus and Brooks Ravenna for all my runs (for trails I use Asics Mazama).
Looking to add a third pair of road shoes for tempo (6-8+ miles)/interval (800m-2 miles) sessions - any suggestions ? I'm keen to stick with Asics or Brooks as they've served me well in the past.
I'm 180lbs, 6'1"; 10k PR 40:50, 5k PR 18:47 - and looking to get under 40 and towards 18:30.
I'm guessing you meant the Brooks Mazama, not Asics Mazama.
so it seems like you don't need much cushioning, so I'd suggest the Asics DS Trainer for a faster shoe, and maybe the Dynaflyte for tempos. The Brooks launch isn't much different than the Ravenna, especially for this year's model. the Brooks hyperion would be the tempo/speed shoe.
saucony makes better tempo/speed shoes than asics and brooks, and most people who can wear asics and brooks could also wear saucony. just keep in mind the heel-toe drop because some sauconys have a 4mm drop and some have 8mm. you probably want to stick with 8mm because most asics/brooks are 10-12mm
Asics use to fit my feet . I ran in them for many years , now i cant. if you have a long narrow foot shape , they will work . Even normal
D width people will find shoes like the ds trainer narrow. Even narrower than Nikes.
Lots of great recommendations - thanks.
gingerneil wrote:
Interesting what you say about Asics... why do you think they have been left behind ?
The Breakthru look like a good hybrid, and for a very reasonable price - I'll take a closer look. Do they fit as you would expect with regards to sizing ?
Saucony fit me like the old Asics used to: wider toe and narrow heal. At this point, unless you have a super narrow foot the entire length, you are going to hate Asics. I have worn 11.5 Asics for 30 years. Suddenly, in 2018 I needed a size 13 and even then it was too narrow in the toe. Terrible.
Saucony is very similar to the way Asics used to be. And they are reasonably priced. I have always been a "buy last years closeout model" to save money, but even Asics closeouts are like 90 bucks now. I can regularly get Saucony closeouts under 50 bucks.
dfghdfghfgh wrote:
The Ghost has good grip for light trails, and lots of rubber for durability.
And the Brooks Revel is like a lighter Ghost with a bit less cushioning, but waaay cheaper right now. It's an extremely popular shoe.
The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19 is a stability shoe with the Guiderails instead of posting. It has slightly more cushioning than the Ghost but a bit less traction for trails.
I have the Ghost 11 and the Adrenaline GTS 19, and I love them both. I'm 200 pounds.
There's a happy medium between your Ravenna and the Glycerin, but the Launch isn't it.
Peruse this page here:
https://runrepeat.com/ranking/rankings-of-brooks-running-shoes?order_by=score
I was actually going to recommend the Launch!
After checking out Brooks website though, there are a handful of shoes they offer that I am unfamiliar with. Lots not traditionally stocked in a normal run specialty store.
I'm on my second pair of Brooks Ricochet, and love them. More comfortable than the launch. Good balance between cushion and stiffness for tempos.
lmao be a real runner and get a pair of nikes. Zoom streak 7s or zoom fly flyknits.
dbsquirtNXC21 wrote:
lmao be a real runner and get a pair of nikes. Zoom streak 7s or zoom fly flyknits.
It's telling that in spite of the billions spent in marketing and the army if paid shills, the one Nike recommendation comes without any reason.
I switched from cumulus to dynaflyte 3. I liked it better. Much lighter and it disappears from my conciousness. At least for me, still reasonably cushioned, even for half-marathon plus distance on asphalt.
Nick Symmonds just said if he could only wear one shoe the rest of his life it would be the Brooks Launch.
At 34:00 -ish