Day 3,602: Being a Mizuno shoe tester

Testing 11 pairs of shoes by running .2 mile with each of them turns into quite a workout.

 Today was my day to visit the Atlanta Track Club and provide feedback to Mizuno Running on different shoes. I'd thought they would all be Mizuno shoes but this was not the case. They were all different (major) brands, including a pair that I already own.

You basically run in them outside on the road (I ran each for .2 miles) and then come in and fill out a form that compares them to shoes you already own.

I tended to like pretty much all of the Brooks shoes I tried, although their max cushioned Beast was a little much. The Ghost and the Adrenaline really fit like my now-discontinued Brooks Pure Connects that I race in.

I also liked the Nike Lunar Glide and the fact that I tried it right after the Nike Free RN Distance (which I currently own) made me think that the latter shoe is too light of a shoe for me. I even felt speedy in the Nike Structure, even though I've always felt my feet are neutral enough to not need any stability.

The Adidas Ultra Boost was the most different shoe I've worn. It has a bootie that you have to stick your foot into and once you do, it is very cushioned on the heel, almost like you are wearing high heels. I wondered if this is some kind of trainer for a midfoot strike.

The Saucony Ride felt fast but I also noticed that my right heel tended to hurt in it just like when I run in my Zealot ISO 2s. I wonder if that has something to do with the fit with their new EVERUN cushioning materials.

I felt like the Asics Gel Kayano was the cheapest shoe that I tested in terms of materials. It felt like a very basic trainer. The only Mizuno shoe I tried, the popular Wave Rider, also felt like it was about a generation behind what Brooks and Saucony are using in their shoes.

In the end, you get to select any Mizuno shoe and they will send it to you. They don't currently carry any low drop shoes (maybe that's why they had us test low-drop shoes on the market like the Nike Free RN Distance) so I picked a pair of Mizuno Hitogamis (9 mm drop).

I ran most of these shoes at a good clip and it was one of the first times that I've run at a faster pace since my shin injury.

Time: 10 a.m.
Temp: 55 degrees
Gear: Technical T-shirt, long (Eastside Beltline 10K), shorts.

Asics Gel Nimbus

Mizuno Wave Rider

Brooks Adrenaline

Saucony Ride

Nike Free RN Distance

Nike Structure

Brooks Ghost

Brooks Beast

Adidas Ultra Boost

Asics Gel Kayano

Nike Lunar Glide, the only shoe I'll likely buy after testing.