We are finishing the year and as it is tradition to make lists and rankings, here is my contribution with what have been, for me, the 3 best shoes of 2013.
Just to clarify that the choice has been made considering only and exclusively the models that, in addition to belonging to the 2013 catalog of the brands, I have been able to thoroughly test and properly crush. This means that some models have been left out of the competition that would have been in the running and that could have even occupied honor positions but, well, I think it would not be fair to give them an award as "my best shoe" based only on first impressions or, even worse, based on information read or heard.
That said, the winners are....
Best Racing Shoe
Over the course of a year I test a lot of fast shoes and, as I compete in very different events (from an aquathlon to an ultra, to TRIs, DUs, 10K races, half or marathons), it's complicated, if not impossible to say which one is "the best" because it depends on what competition it's for.
However, in this 2013, I think the first prize goes to the Adidas Adizero Adios Boost because they are tremendously versatile flyers that allow you to go flying low at sub 3'/km paces in series of a thousand or go at cruising speeds of 3'45''/km for as many kilometers as your legs can take (has anyone thought of marathon when reading this? ;-D), that have a brutal forefoot strike while maintaining a good heel cushioning, that offer an impressive transition of the foot strike, making a tremendous catapult effect that launches the foot at breakneck speeds, to which they have updated the uppper and the last to be less narrow and more breathable but maintaining the great levels of fit and support that have always characterized them, that grip in any type of dry or wet surface as if it were the life in it, .... it's hard to find fault with them or suggest improvements beyond personal preferences.
Although this is about choosing "the best", in the case of the flyers I always like to separate those that are radical because, in general, the difference in focus is quite noticeable from those that are sub 200 grams so, I do not know if positioning it in second place or as "best radical flyer", I would choose the New Balance RC1600, one of the surprises that I have taken in the last3 months and that I have fallen in love because they are flyers type "ballerina", of those that fit like a "ballerina", and that are very comfortable.ballerina" type flyers, which are very close to the foot, narrow last, flat, very good fit, very light, a lot of punch and a beastly grip, one of the best I know... all this seasoned with a good plate in the midfoot so that the foot comes out at full speed forward but without reducing the flexibility.
Best Mixed Shoe
There are also many mixed shoes that I have been able to test in 2013 and there are several that have made me love them and with which I have done many kilometers because I often train with mixed shoes but if I had to stay with only one, I think that this year's award goes to the New Balance 890v3.
It seems that they have been with us for a lifetime but it is a 2013 model and the 890 series is barely 3 years old, although it has been enough to become little less than an icon and general hordes of fans that, while it is a great asset, it is also a risk because they do not pass you even one if you have some stumble when updating them (to see how about the 890v4 that comes because they have changed many things).
It's a "non-radical mixed", one of those that allow light people with decent technique and who ride at nice paces to practically train with them and that's precisely why I liked them, because they allow me to leave home with them and unleash my animal instincts knowing that if I die on the road, I can ride with them at more humble rhythms without crushing my legs.
The chassis and fit are very good and the combination of cushioning, response and transition is very balanced, plus having so much contact with the ground, they have a point of implicit stability that gives a lot of security when you run with them, without any restrictions or intrusions in your stride cycle.
In second place or as a contender, a classic in this segment and what for many years has been (and continues to be) one of the paradigms of what a mixed shoe should be, the Asics DS Trainer 18.
In this version they have introduced improvements in the support and upper which have made them even more versatile and pleasant for those who like to go light, without losing a hair of versatility in order to stretch them for longer runs or more modest rhythms.
For me, another one of those that I have used almost as a training shoe because of what I have just mentioned and because they are also capable of responding in practically any terrain or situation.
Best Training Shoe
Here things get complicated for me because what do I consider a training shoe if I do a large percentage of my miles in mixed running shoes?
However, I think that in 2013, the doubts are few and the award goes to what has been, in my opinion, one of the hits of the year: Adidas Energy Boost.
The three stripes had a big role to play after the great advertising campaign they were doing with the Boost and on top of that, they played the all or nothing game by presenting a shoe that entered a very complicated segment, with real sneakers and, in addition, they added more new things like the Techfit upper, which had the doomsayers and the enemies of the brand rubbing their hands waiting for the end of February to applaud the German flop.
But, no, not only did that not happen, but the shoe was a tremendous success and I would say that, almost more than for that great marketing campaign, for the fact that it really delivered what it promised: cushioning and response in abundance.
Right now, few materials, not to say none, are capable of offering the levels of cushioning and response that the Boost offers, but on top of that it is so resistant that it is impossible to even puncture or scratch it, it does not need to be tuned but works well from the first to the last kilometer of each outing we do and it maintains that behavior even if we have been wearing them for several hundred kilometers, ... that is, it is little less than the definitive polymer midsole.
If you add to that an upper that fits like a glove, a Torsion with a lot of strength, a curved last that launches the foot at breakneck speeds and that the shoe is able to let you run at speeds above 4'30''/km or hold you at speeds below 3'30''/km as if it were a mixed shoe, well, how not to give it the trophy of best training shoe.
However, although it seems that I'm giving it to them in a clear and unanimous way, don't think that I've had it so clear because in the last few months theUnder Armour Micro G Monza crossed my path and they have been about to steal the first place from the Energy Boost.
I'm a big fan of the Micro G, possibly the midsole compound that I like the most along with the Boost and the Monza have been able to combine in the same model almost all the features that I like most of the Under Armour models of the last two years, it's as if they had been made after reading a letter with requests to make me a shoe to my liking.
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