I'm 5'11 and was 250+ pounds. I recently dropped about 20 pounds and decided to get "back" into jogging. At my "peak," I was jogging maybe 4 miles at 8:00/mi pace but I was also like 165 pounds. I just want to lose weight. Not going for any gold medals here.
So yeah, one day I was jogging in some old shoes and decided to go to Dick's. I wanted to see what the hype was about. I asked for a VF, size 12, in green. Guy didn't have any. I almost left the store, but then I asked him if he had them in pink. Yeah, he had them in pink.
I tried them on and they felt pretty awesome.
I left the store without the shoes. But in the car, I thought about it, and I went online on my phone and ordered it. I walked back into the store and picked it up from the front counter.
So yeah, here I am, ~230 pounds and running in VF's. The first few days I had them, I was literally waking up at 3am just to go running in them. I didn't want to go running in them during the day because a) they're neon pink and b) I have no business within 100 miles of a marathon racing shoe at 230 pounds. I jogged so much that I sawed two holes in my cankles--the foam collar in the back rubbed the **** out of my heels but I didn't care. I ended up learning how to tie a heel lock and had to shelve the VF's for 2 weeks as I limped around wearing hydrocolloid bandages, waiting for the two holes in my achilles to heal.
I can barely make it around the block but for the few hundred feet I am able to run, Jesus, they feel fast. Most of the time I run in some OG Lunaracers that are so old they are covered in mold, but the sole is still fine. The few times I pull out the VF makes me feel like I'm flying.
I hope one day to get my weight back down to 160-180 pounds, but until then, I'll be forever known as that 230 pound guy jogging half a block in VF's.
Whatever happens to them, ban or not, I just hope Nike keeps them around for people like me who need that extra "push" into making running exciting.