ASICS MetaRacer Review: The Real Deal (Finally!)

I don't know why LetsRun doesn't recognize my username as a "real" (i.e. tied to account) at all times, thus why it appears differently. Seems like it only works "normally" from one computer, and not from others and my iPhone. May need Rojo's help on that.

Regardless, we also put together some video content, if that's preferred. We didn't over-produce it (clearly!) but wanted to get our honest opinions out there without the flash of some other reviews. A work in progress, to be sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMkRTqbomMQ&t=317s

Very cool! Asics for the win!

Looks nice. Won't drag me away from the Floatride Run Fast Pro and Skechers Speed Elite for shorter races though. The RF Pro is like the ultimate traditional flat and the Speed Elite is like the modernized shorter distance racer.

AhWhatTheCheese wrote:

Looks nice. Won't drag me away from the Floatride Run Fast Pro and Skechers Speed Elite for shorter races though. The RF Pro is like the ultimate traditional flat and the Speed Elite is like the modernized shorter distance racer.

I think you've got the right idea. When I ran 67:43 in the half, I wore the Run Fast Pro. It looks like there's a second version and I'm hoping we can bring it in for review (or I'll pony up the cash!) before I wore through my first version. Speed Elite is also great - though I do think the MetaRacer can do a lot of what the Speed Elite can do, and then some. Of course - if you've already got the Skechers, well, a bird in the hand...

Thanks for the review here. I'm excited about all of the supershoes being on the market soon. Looks like Asics and Adidas might be two of the more normal ones as far as stack height to emerge.

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

Thanks for the review here. I'm excited about all of the supershoes being on the market soon. Looks like Asics and Adidas might be two of the more normal ones as far as stack height to emerge.

Agreed, plus the Speed Elite from Skechers. Saucony and Brooks taking the beefier approach (for better or worse).

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

Thanks for the review here. I'm excited about all of the supershoes being on the market soon. Looks like Asics and Adidas might be two of the more normal ones as far as stack height to emerge.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with Nike’s Zoom X based racer coming soon.

Questions about this shoe:

It's been available to elites for a while. Why isn't Yuki or many other Japanese pros wearing it in competition? Everyone is the next percent or AF. No one has changed back to ASICS. And Yuki continues to wear his Sortie Magic - and he is the ASICS flagship athlete.

The benefits of the VF and other high staked shoes is the scoop plate + super soft foam + stack height. This plate is not a scoop (it's flat and at the bottom of the shoe) and only supposed to keep the shoe rigid. So:

How do your legs really hold up in this shoe versus the other super foams in a marathon. We saw Sara Hall and other ASICS athletes really struggle on a hilly course at trials where they complained their legs were trashed.

What does the data say Vs the other super shoes in terms of efficiency. Without super springy foam, extended leg length from stack height or a scoop plate I would predict that it is far from comparable.

Honestly, if this is ASICS best option for the marathon no one is going to choose this shoe over he AF, next percent or endorphin pro. The game has changed - people want a cushioned racer over the marathon.

This shoe might be a great 10km shoe...but I'll take my next percent every time over the marathon thank you.

Alberto's Dog wrote:

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

Thanks for the review here. I'm excited about all of the supershoes being on the market soon. Looks like Asics and Adidas might be two of the more normal ones as far as stack height to emerge.

Agreed, plus the Speed Elite from Skechers. Saucony and Brooks taking the beefier approach (for better or worse).

Seems like the New Balances are kind in the middle for stack height as well.

I was able to run down the sidewalk in them (so definitely not a comprehensive test).

This shoe will be awesome for 5k to half marathon. It will not come close to competing with the VaporFly or Endorphin for most marathoners. I think it will just be a little too firm on city streets.

hco3/(h2o+co2) wrote:

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

Thanks for the review here. I'm excited about all of the supershoes being on the market soon. Looks like Asics and Adidas might be two of the more normal ones as far as stack height to emerge.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with Nike’s Zoom X based racer coming soon.

Yessss I really hope this is the real deal. Keeping seeing the leaks on Instagram.

If Hoka didn't exist, and this shoe without the plate existed five years ago, it would be among the highest stack height shoes around. Yet it can trash your legs.

It's amazing how we survived.

So for the first element - I don't know the answer. Indeed, Jeff's chart on the shoes worn at the Trials (linked at the bottom to keep it out of the way in formatting) says only 4 athletes - 3 women, 1 man - wore the MetaRacer. And of those, you can tell from the photos that there are a couple different stages of prototypes (though some were confirmed to be in the production version). So - could be personal preference, could be ASICS targeting this as a shorter-than-marathon racer, could be production issues in time for the Trials, or could be something else.

Regarding the plate - it has a scoop, it's not planar. We had a call with some of the ASICS designers and they showed us the production model, but we weren't allowed to use the photos in the review, but I can confirm there is some 3D depth to it. That said - the scoop is not particularly pronounced. This might be just owing to fitting it into the limited stack height, due to optimization, or due to IP compliance or concern with what Nike has produced. I didn't ask, and I suspect they couldn't tell me. All I can relay here is that the place is curved, to some degree.

Finally, regarding the midsole - I think ultimately you're right in that a higher stack, ultra-cushioned shoe (like the AlphaFly) is more the direction the marathon market seems to be heading. That said, we've seen strong performances from Adidas runners in their non-stacked shoe (Houston leaked prototypes notwithstanding), and I don't think it's crazy to say that a lighter, less-stacked shoe can't compete with a heavier, well-stacked shoe. There has to be some middle ground.

I do hope to get out there and get a 20 miler in this shoe in the near future, in which case I'll (at the very least) update this thread. I did 18 in the Brooks Hyperion Elite (a high-stack, but very firm) racer, and came away impressed. Lower fatigue than expected. Compared to do 18 on asphalt in something like the Nike Streak LT, there's no comparison. The cushion helps. But like I said, I assume there will be a middle ground of the weight vs. stack equation. ASICS may have found it, they may not have.

Here's the RW chart:

This is Jim Kiler wrote:

If Hoka didn't exist, and this shoe without the plate existed five years ago, it would be among the highest stack height shoes around. Yet it can trash your legs.

It's amazing how we survived.

Right? Look at the shoes on the feet of the runners at the 2008 Olympic Trials - ASICS Hyperspeed, Nike Streak XC, Brooks T6 racer... and they're still running faster than I can ;)

yet another high drop flat...

Cool to know that it’s you Michael! Thanks for the great review, as usual.

rhinetalrunner wrote:

Cool to know that it’s you Michael! Thanks for the great review, as usual.

Contrary to popular belief, I am not a dog.

I feel like there is enough variation between runners in mechanics and preference to warrant some variety in racers. If they tested with their elite runners and this amount of stack was found to be the best, I don't know why they would lie about that. There is no reason they couldn't have put more stack in if they found it to be beneficial. Certainly other higher stack options have been out there a while to copy. Or maybe they just targeted shorter races as well. Either way, the variation is good for runners to have options.

The Berlin record before in the Adios was only 1 min 18 sec slower than what has now been run in the next% at Berlin. That has a stack height of 13/23 and no true plate. I think it is plenty possible to see times run faster/as fast in other shoe configurations of midsole, stack, plate, stiffness, etc.

What the next% definitely has that some of these others don't is an approachability for slower runners to bop along at 9min pace though because of the stack, softness, etc. But who knows with the most elite runners what the sweet spot is. There must be an upper limit to where stack height, weight, vertical bounce, etc start becoming detrimental. Biomechanics seem too complicated for a real single answer.

Different tools in the toolbox. Variety is good. I just took out the Skechers Speed 6s for 800 repeats on the grass and they killed it. I think you'd probably snap your ankles in any vaporflies doing that.

AhWhatTheCheese wrote:

What the next% definitely has that some of these others don't is an approachability for slower runners to bop along at 9min pace though because of the stack, softness, etc. But who knows with the most elite runners what the sweet spot is. There must be an upper limit to where stack height, weight, vertical bounce, etc start becoming detrimental. Biomechanics seem too complicated for a real single answer.

Different tools in the toolbox. Variety is good. I just took out the Skechers Speed 6s for 800 repeats on the grass and they killed it. I think you'd probably snap your ankles in any vaporflies doing that.

Again, look at the Japanese running market. Japan is FIERCELY loyal to their own brands. Asics has dominated the market there for years.

The Metaracer has been available for a long time to elites - and every Ekiden team in Japan wore the Vaporfly or variants this year. The ASICS stock price tumbled as a result.

The ASICS flagship athlete Yuki Kawauchi doesn't wear the shoe. He has NEVER worn it in competition. Kipchoge didn't keep wearing Streaks after the Vaporfly came out.

This shoe will make no dent in the marathon space and ASICS need to continue to innovate like they did for the Novablast and Evoride which are amazing shoes.