Over the last few months I’ve experimented with a few different brands and types of kicks. Below is my review / point of view on daily trainers. Next I’ll provide thoughts on full-weight shoes and then minimalist kicks:
Historically, Nike has run narrow in the toe box … leaving normal sized human beings (170lbs+) out in the cold or suffer from cramped feet. While weight is not necessarily a perfect correlation with shoe width, I’m using it anyway. My Nike history is mixed. I loved the Lunar Racer 1 for track up to half marathon distances. Rumor has it that Nike is re-introducing LR1s soon as the LR2 have fallen short of expectations. This past Spring I tried the Lunar Fly as a daily trainer. Meh. I found them a bit too soft to withstand daily pounding. Also, the Nike history of narrow toe box bit me here. I developed a blister almost instantly. Nice shoe, but not for me. I wear them as a lifestyle shoe.
Somewhat frustrated, I turned to CPTC’s shoe expert, @mpatent, for advice. He suggested these:
Nike Zoom Elite 4
The Zooms are a lightweight trainer that ride even better than they look. Initially though, they were stiff. It took 30mi or so to break them in. However, even in the more rigid state I found them worlds better than any other daily trainers I’ve tried. They are surprising responsive at 11oz. I find the Zooms to be nearly the perfect weight for easy runs and even the occasional tempo. In fact, I wore the Zooms for my first 20+ mile run.
For those of you forefoot strikers (like me), the Zooms are supportive, although the heel is a bit thick in that respect. I’ll cover minimalist shoes in a separate post. Still, for a daily trainer, the Zooms certainly do not inhibit proper biomechanics. I have a high arch and wear neutral shoes. The Zooms were comfortable and stable without feeling restricting. I tend to run on dirt/gravel/trails in Central Park, but I don’t wear a trail specific shoe. With waffle rubber lugs, the Zooms do very well on non-paved surfaces as they grip the terrain nicely. I would not recommend racing in them, unless you are 200lbs and cannot wear flats or a more minimalist shoe. As you know, I put a beating on my shoes … gotta extract that value. I expect 500mi from the Zooms. At nearly 300mi, they are well-built enough to withstand that kind of pounding.
Now the bad news … the Zoom Elite 4′s are discontinued. You can find them randomly and usually at a great price. I stocked up and will hoard pairs as I find them.