From the September/October situation of Canadian Working (on newsstands now), right here’s a number of the perfect plated trainers for coaching and racing, together with new fashions, updates and time-tested favourites for fall 2024.
MIZUNO Neo Vista
Editor’s Choose: Greatest Marathon Shoe
Class Impartial max cushioning/plated
Males’s 266 g (9.4 oz.)
Girls’s 218 g (7.7 oz.)
Offset/Drop 8 mm
Stack Top 44.5 mm/36.5 mm
$230
The Neo Vista represents one thing of a breakthrough for Mizuno and is certain to seize a major chunk of the max-cushion super-trainer market this summer season and fall. The primary elements are a super-high, supercritical EVA midsole with a glass-fibre-reinforced nylon plate and a knit higher. The shoe additionally has a sturdy and grippy rubber outsole. It’s very bouncy and enjoyable to run in, and the match is true to dimension. Our tester liked it.
With a knit higher that moulds to your foot after a little bit of carrying in, a sock-like collar and built-in tongue on prime of a super-thick midsole, the shoe is extraordinarily comfy and comfortable to your lengthy marathon-training miles (or to your half-marathon or marathon), and all that foam will make your restoration a breeze. It’s additionally barely lighter than many comparable max-stack trainers. It may not be the only option for runners with overpronation points, for the reason that knit higher and built-in tongue don’t present lots of construction, however for anybody else, it’s a pleasure to run in.
SALOMON S/Lab Spectur
Class Impartial cushioning/plated
Unisex 235 g (8.3 oz.)
Offset/Drop 8 mm
Stack Top 38 mm/30 mm
$280
Salomon’s plated racer for normal of us (the model calls it the “democratization of pace”) is precisely what it claims to be: a high-quality, high-cushion, quick shoe that’s extra accessible for leisure runners. With a barely extra substantial (however nonetheless very mild) mesh higher than is usually present in a professional shoe, a padded heel collar and tongue, a two-layer midsole (peba subsequent to your foot, EVA on the underside) and a carbon-fibre plate that’s cut up on the again for optimum stability, it’s each extra steady and extra comfy than many “racehorse”-type footwear, whereas nonetheless delivering nice efficiency in exercises and racing. Our tester wore it for a 21-km run contemporary out of the field, with no points, discovering it to be mild, responsive, nicely cushioned and cozy. A notice about match: the shoe could be very cosy via the midfoot (runners with wider toes could discover it too slim), however wider within the toe field with out being sloppy.
There have been some justifiable grumbles concerning the positioning of the shoe for “slower” marathoners (which it defines as three-hours-plus), however regardless of the model’s questionable grasp of runner psychology, it’s nonetheless an excellent shoe.
BROOKS Hyperion Max 2
Editor’s Choose: Greatest 5K/10K Racer
Class Impartial cushioning/plated
Males’s 258 g (9.1 oz.)
Girls’s 230 g (8.1 oz.)
Offset/Drop 6 mm
Stack Top 36.25 mm/30.25 mm
$240
The Hyperion Max, launched final yr, has acquired a significant replace; it’s nearly just like the model threw out the unique and began once more. Not solely is there a extra responsive foam within the midsole, however there’s much more of it: it’s a full 4 mm greater within the heel and 6 mm greater on the entrance. The offset/drop has been lowered from 8 mm to six mm, making it extra engaging to sooner runners—however concentrate on this when you’re updating from the unique model, since you might really feel the distinction in your calves.
The shoe additionally now has a full-length plate made from bio-based peba (a inflexible model of the superior cushioning materials, however not as inflexible as carbon-fibre), so as to add snap to your toe-offs. The extra cushioning and plate have made the shoe nicely over an oz. heavier than the earlier model (to not point out $20 costlier), but it surely’s nonetheless a comparatively mild shoe, and comparable in weight to different high-stack plated trainers. Our tester discovered it comfy and quick, and the match good. We significantly just like the flat, nubby laces and securely gussetted tongue. The shoe is steady and responsive, and can enchantment most to runners who like a agency journey.
NEW BALANCE SuperComp Coach v3
Class Impartial max cushioning/plated
Males’s 258 g (9.1 oz.)
Girls’s 207 g (7.3 oz.)
Offset/Drop 6 mm
Stack Top 40 mm/34 mm
$250
The SuperComp Coach is a completely carbon-plated, high-stack coach you should utilize for tempo runs, interval exercises and races of any distance. The curved plate (which is similar one used within the SC Elite v4) and peba-blend midsole hit the candy spot of lightness, responsiveness, cushioning and sturdiness that you simply’re on the lookout for in a coaching and racing shoe.
Although the shoe is now in its third iteration, the model continues to refine its primary specs; for one factor, it retains getting lighter. Each the boys’s and girls’s footwear are available in two widths, which is one thing you don’t usually see in a supershoe, particularly one with separate males’s and girls’s sizing.
Our tester discovered the brand new model to be barely much less stiff and extra cushioned than v2, and favored the seamless, breathable higher and safe heel collar. They described it as a much less aggressive and springy model of the carbon-plated SC Elite racer. It’s a bit unwieldy for quick monitor exercises, because of the broad base, but it surely’s nice for absolutely anything else, and the match is true to dimension.
ASICS Magic Velocity 4
Class Impartial max cushioning/plated
Males’s 242 g (8.5 oz.)
Girls’s 207 g (7.3 oz.)
Offset/Drop 8 mm
Stack Top 43.5 mm/35.5 mm (males’s), 42.5 mm/34.5 mm (girls’s)
$220
There are some main updates to the Magic Velocity, now in its fourth iteration, that make it extra versatile than beforehand, and extra interesting to much less skilled runners. Probably the most noticeable change is that the model has added a ton extra cushioning—it’s now totally 7.5 mm greater than earlier than (and positively not race-legal, by World Athletics requirements, however weekend warriors needn’t fear about that). It has the model’s very gentle FF Turbo (peba) foam within the forefoot midsole; the offset/drop can be a contact greater, making it higher than ever for heel strikers who wish to get after it often. (The Metaspeed footwear, in contrast, have a 5-mm drop, which feels considerably totally different and is most well-liked by extremely educated, sooner runners.) Regardless of being greater, the shoe has been made wider within the forefoot, giving it higher stability than the earlier model.
Second, the very skinny Movement Wrap higher from the earlier model (it’s used within the Metaspeed additionally) is gone; the shoe now has an everyday engineered mesh higher much like that of different Asics fashions.
These adjustments have made the shoe heavier, with extra overlap into each day coach territory, whereas nonetheless working nicely as a 5K/10K/half-marathon race shoe. (It is also a gateway shoe for individuals who’ve by no means run in a plated shoe.)
PUMA Deviate Nitro 3
Class Impartial max cushioning (plated)
Males’s 265 g
Girls’s 233 g
Offset/Drop 10 mm
Stack Top 39 mm/29 mm
$220
The Deviate Nitro, Puma’s propulsion-oriented coach (now in its third iteration for the reason that model’s nitrogen-infused trainers had been launched in early 2021), has acquired some attention-grabbing updates. It’s nonetheless the dependable, mild, quick coaching shoe many runners have come to like, and the carbon-infused, forked propulsion plate is unchanged, however there are a few notable variations within the newest model of the shoe.
The model has determined to go together with a knit higher, which feels fairly totally different than the mesh higher of the two; this can be a fashionable innovation this season and feels comfy, mild and breathable.
We’re much less eager on the 10-mm heel-to-toe offset (previously 8-mm), which appears to encourage heel hanging; runners with hamstring points would possibly favor a decrease shoe, to keep away from any tendency towards overstriding. Additionally, you’ll wish to use that furthest-aft lace eyelet to stop heel slippage.
Although it doesn’t really feel fairly as responsive as some firmer, lower-drop fashions, for a lot of runners, the Puma shall be a snug and dependable alternative for each day coaching, exercises and races.
