Like above says................Has anybody run in these? They are quite pricey and would like to know thoughts before dropping almost $175 on some shoes.
I have been told they are super comfortable and I would love them. So i am really considering them also but I am having issues with the size of the shoe and the look. If you are looking for a small discount (15%) go to TheTriShop.com... they always give 15% off code. So you can save some cash.
I just ordered my third pair and am a die-hard fan for life. Totally make running a different experience for me. They may not be for everyone but everyone should at least try them out. If they work for you, they'll blow your mind. I'm a heavy runner (not heavy footstrike, just.. Heavy) and coming back from a double knee injury. These let me go run and not feel destroyed afterward. Also, I've totally resolved my lifelong calf issues by gradually adjusting to a lower ramp (these are 4 mm). I wear the Brooks Pure Flows (also 4 mm) for everyday shoes and the Hokas for all runs. The Hokas are pricey but worth every cent in my opinion.
Personally, I don't think they are for me, but there is a growing number of people who seem to think these are something pretty special. I believe Coach Pat has a pair and his impression was quite favorable.
There's a thread on them in ST with very mixed reviews. A lot of folks there absolutely do NOT like them, but the ultra crowd and the older crowd are giving them very positive reviews. Since I fall into the latter group, I'm going to check them out at a race expo later this month.
Thanks for bringing this up. I use these as my "non-fast" Shoes....which are usually Newtons. I was looking for a real break from the "Front loaded" running style of the newtons, and the Hokas definitely provide that. They are comfortable (even with orthotics) and not as heavy as they look (I did run a 3:03 marathon in them in November). They do take some adjusting after minimalist footwear, but I consider them an investment in my long-term running future -- as in I want to be running long after I hit 50....
My only complaint about them is that the laces suck. Big time!
I've been using the Bondi B2's for three weeks now. I'm 43 now and have been dealing with all kinds of foot, achilles and calf issues for the last 18 months or so. I was barely able to do much run training last year, especially the second half of the year which made IMAZ training and racing an "experience." I spent plenty of time in the ortho doc's office.
I tried a zillion different kinds of shoes, PT, more stretching, foam rollers, massages, etc. Nothing helped the problem I was having with my foot/achilles/calf. Some shoes mitigated my issues more than others but there was no magical shoe to be found. I had pretty much scrapped the idea of training runs longer than 90 minutes because my legs could no longer take the pounding.
I read Dan Empfield's article on ST about the Hoka's and it really hit home for me. I had never even heard of the Hoka's prior to that. "Mad Calf Disease" was exactly what was doing me in and I'm entering my mid-40's and I want to be able to run 10 or 20 years from now.
I thought I would give them a try.
All I have to say is WOW! My issues have resolved themselves for the most part since running in the Hoka's. The only "pain" I feel when running is typical muscle and joint stuff. It has been one hell of a turnaround.
I just ordered a pair of the Bondi Speeds for race day as they're a bit lighter than the regular Bondi's. Count me as converted!
I've had mine for a whopping week now and 2nd Bob's comments. I never heard of them until I saw the thread on ST and read Dan's article. Since I fit the demographic of the group that seems to like them the most (i.e., old) I picked up a pair of Bondi B's and they are like - wow! I love these shoes. I need these shoes. I will be wearing this brand for many years. At the same time, I can assure you that in my heyday, I would have hated these shoes. I would have called them non-performing, marshmellow, squishy bottom jogging footwear ... in short, 'tanks'. So what's changed? Well, I no longer have the resiliency across all muscle groups to 'pop' off the road day in and day out. The Hoka's make running on the road feel like a forgiving, but packed dirt surface. You really have to try them for yourself. Also, I think it is key to continue all the functional strength exercises and not just assume the Hoka's are taking care of that for you.
I've had mine for a whopping week now and 2nd Bob's comments. I never heard of them until I saw the thread on ST and read Dan's article. Since I fit the demographic of the group that seems to like them the most (i.e., old) I picked up a pair of Bondi B's and they are like - wow! I love these shoes. I need these shoes. I will be wearing this brand for many years. At the same time, I can assure you that in my heyday, I would have hated these shoes. I would have called them non-performing, marshmellow, squishy bottom jogging footwear ... in short, 'tanks'. So what's changed? Well, I no longer have the resiliency across all muscle groups to 'pop' off the road day in and day out. The Hoka's make running on the road feel like a forgiving, but packed dirt surface. You really have to try them for yourself. Also, I think it is key to continue all the functional strength exercises and not just assume the Hoka's are taking care of that for you.
Without a doubt! I'm definitely still stretching more, doing yoga, massages, and foam roller. It's now for functional/maintenance reasons more than trying to cure an injury.
My one and only issue with the Hoka's is the sizing but it's an n=1 problem. I'm really a size 11.5 when it comes to foot length but I have super wide Fred Flintstone feet so I always have to size up to a 12 in any running shoe since nobody makes running shoes in E widths. The size 12 in the Hoka's seems a bit longer than size 12's from other companies. I ordered an 11.5 and 12 in the Bondi Speeds to try the 11.5 and will return the one that fits the worst. I'm not expecting the 11.5 to fit bit I thought I'd try and see.
I had heard of Hoka's last year, but was running in NB Minimus at the time and scoffed at the idea of such a ridiculous looking "marshmallow shoe (as Paul so eloquently put it!)."
Enter a broken sesamoid bone....
I tried EVERY shoe out there. Brooks Glycerin, On Running Cloudsters (technically not their running shoe - I found them super unstable and ended up with a hammie strain - JW wears the Cloud Runners and LOVES them), Asics Gel Nimbus (way too narrow for MY Fred Flinstone feet), Altra Intuition (zero drop, which I'm a fan of, and supposedly "fully cushioned." NOT enough cushion for me.), and I finally settled on a pair of Newton Terra Momentus. I had been running in Newtons before the NB Minimus, and figured they were my best bet since the midfoot lugs provide a little extra cushion between the ball of the foot, my now avascular sesamoid bone, and the ground. They were o.k.
When Coach P showed up in those crazy Hoka's for the NJ AG Seminar and I saw how, well.... squishy they are... I pulled the trigger and ordered a pair.
I now have two pair.
I have the Bondi B's and the Stinson Evo Tarmac - both road shoes.
The Stinson Evo Tarmac feel slightly more narrow (this could be b/c of the laces Coach P mentioned - I don't like them either). My only complaint is that I get a lot of heel slippage in them (also potentially b/c of the laces - I plan to change them out and see how it goes). They are... squishier than the Bondi B's, but not so much that you feel unstable in them. If I can resolve the heel slippage issue with a new pair of laces, I think I'll LOVE them. I've only done shorter 4-5 mile treadmill runs in them.
The Bondi B's have a firmer feeling sole in comparison to the Stinson Evo Tarmacs, but if I hadn't run in the Tarmacs I wouldn't know that. They are super comfortable, not heavy at ALL, and I can finally run without feeling pain in my foot. They also come with normal laces. I ran very (VERY) little between May of last year and IMNYC, and didn't run at all between IMNYC and December. I started back VERY slowly before the JOS, but my foot was still giving me issues, and there was a high probability that I'd have to have the bone taken out now that it's necrotic. and conservative treatments weren't helping. If I hadn't started running in Hoka's, I definitely think that's the path I'd be headed down right now. When I got done with 8 miles in the Bondi B's yesterday, everything - legs, feet - felt great.
Oddly, I'm not a huge fan of just walking around in them. I wore them to a multisport expo yesterday (so I could be scoffed at), and I just didn't love walking in them. Can't quite describe why. Not as bad as trying to walk in Newtons, but still just a little "off."
I will also second Bob's comment - I generally order a half size larger than I need in other running shoes (an n=Fred Flinstone feet issue, maybe?), but that wasn't necessary with Hoka's. I had to return the first pair I ordered b/c they were too big.
Alright. I bit. Hoka One One Bondi S2's are on their way as of this AM. This thread and the article from Dan Empfield really got me thinking about this. I even dug way deep in my closet and found a pair of Newton's still in the box from last July (written on receipt still in said box) that I bought and never wore because I lost my nerve even though I really enjoyed a 5k demo run when I bought them.
Kori, Teri, Stephanie and I all bought Hokas at TriSports when we were at the EN camp (yes, in that order I believe, we're all followers! haha). Can't wait to try them!
I have about 50 miles on mine and enjoy running on them, but they have cost me a step or two. I find that my cadence has come down from 90-91 to about 87-88 at the same pace.
I did my first 30 min in them this morning. Not convinced quite yet. But, I admittedly put them on 90 minutes into a 120 min long run. So......I'll give them a more fair trial.
@Scott - I am running in them 100% of the time, but only b/c I need the cushioning. I believe Coach P has said his Hokas are his "go long" shoe and his Newtons are his "go fast" shoe.
I am eating my words. When I first tried my Hoka's last December I wasn't super impressed. I think it's because I tried them out after a big snow and ice storm (dumb, I know). Since then I'd been running in my Asics. Well after a 2 hour run a couple of weeks ago my plantar fasciitis came back I'd taken over a year off running and built back super slowly to avoid that awful injury from coming back. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I pulled out the Hoka's that I'd only done a couple of 30 min runs in.
LOVE THEM. Simply love them. It's so crazy because I had heel pain the day before, then the next day went for a run in the Hokas and the pain was gone. Totally gone. No pain during the run, no pain after. I have no idea what's up with these magic shoes, but I'm sold! I've since then worn them for 60 min runs and a 90 min run today. Still no PF pain AT ALL.
I'll be racing Knoxville 70.3 in them as my first real race - we'll see how they do!
They are such an amazing shoe that I'm not sure why EVERYONE isn't using them. I have recommended them to four people already and each one of them has been amazed.
So...I bit on the Hoka Bondi B bandwagon yesterday and this morning I ran 6 miles as an Easy Run. Now I have been running for 4 years now and I'm not fast but middle of the road (Vdot 50), and running for me has always been uncomfortable. The fatigue of my muscles and the pain of impact has always accompanied my runs. This morning's run had the expected fatigue (did 10 mile tempo run yesterday) but there was NO IMPACT pain! It was very weird to be missing half of the feedback that normally accompanies my runs. Obviously I will need to put many more runs on these shoes before I crown them my MAGIC shoes, but the initial response is very encouraging.
It's super great shoe, but it just feels slower then my others. I am able to hold my paces, but my cadence has come down by 2 or 3 steps per minute. Based on my foot pod, I used to average 90-91. Now I average 87-88. Weird.
Finally did my first run in my Hokas, a six miler around Towne Lake in Austin, yest morning. These things are GREATNESS! No muscle soreness whatsoever after keeping a pretty good pace up the whole time. I'm convinced, I'm a believer!
Received my pair of Bondi B's. Put about 20 miles on them so far. So far so good, a little more sore after the runs than I can remember in my usual shoes (zoots) but they are comfortable. Thinking it is the fact the heel toe lift is a little less and legs aren't used to it. I have been able to hit all my intervals which is good and cadence is still the same (88-90). It did take a little while at first to get used to the "squishyness" of them but I like them and think I am a convert which isn't good for my bank account.
Mine were backordered from roadrunners sports for 2 weeks so if you want them make sure you order them in plenty of time.
Such great shoes! My cadence came back and while wearing my Bondi B2's I set a new PR for 1 mile intervals.
I finally retired the Bondi's at 200 miles last week and moved into some Stinson Evo Lows that I bought at expo from Hoka at Wildflower. They are great. More squishy. The rep claimed they have more foam volume then the Bondi's while having the same heel to toe drop. They are also just as fast. I set a new 1 mile PR in them this week.
Comments
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Running_Footwear_by_brand/Hoka_One_One/What_Hoka_Means_3376.html
Personally, I don't think they are for me, but there is a growing number of people who seem to think these are something pretty special. I believe Coach Pat has a pair and his impression was quite favorable.
My only complaint about them is that the laces suck. Big time!
Hope that helps!
P
I tried a zillion different kinds of shoes, PT, more stretching, foam rollers, massages, etc. Nothing helped the problem I was having with my foot/achilles/calf. Some shoes mitigated my issues more than others but there was no magical shoe to be found. I had pretty much scrapped the idea of training runs longer than 90 minutes because my legs could no longer take the pounding.
I read Dan Empfield's article on ST about the Hoka's and it really hit home for me. I had never even heard of the Hoka's prior to that. "Mad Calf Disease" was exactly what was doing me in and I'm entering my mid-40's and I want to be able to run 10 or 20 years from now.
I thought I would give them a try.
All I have to say is WOW! My issues have resolved themselves for the most part since running in the Hoka's. The only "pain" I feel when running is typical muscle and joint stuff. It has been one hell of a turnaround.
I just ordered a pair of the Bondi Speeds for race day as they're a bit lighter than the regular Bondi's. Count me as converted!
Without a doubt! I'm definitely still stretching more, doing yoga, massages, and foam roller. It's now for functional/maintenance reasons more than trying to cure an injury.
My one and only issue with the Hoka's is the sizing but it's an n=1 problem. I'm really a size 11.5 when it comes to foot length but I have super wide Fred Flintstone feet so I always have to size up to a 12 in any running shoe since nobody makes running shoes in E widths. The size 12 in the Hoka's seems a bit longer than size 12's from other companies. I ordered an 11.5 and 12 in the Bondi Speeds to try the 11.5 and will return the one that fits the worst. I'm not expecting the 11.5 to fit bit I thought I'd try and see.
Enter a broken sesamoid bone....
I tried EVERY shoe out there. Brooks Glycerin, On Running Cloudsters (technically not their running shoe - I found them super unstable and ended up with a hammie strain - JW wears the Cloud Runners and LOVES them), Asics Gel Nimbus (way too narrow for MY Fred Flinstone feet), Altra Intuition (zero drop, which I'm a fan of, and supposedly "fully cushioned." NOT enough cushion for me.), and I finally settled on a pair of Newton Terra Momentus. I had been running in Newtons before the NB Minimus, and figured they were my best bet since the midfoot lugs provide a little extra cushion between the ball of the foot, my now avascular sesamoid bone, and the ground. They were o.k.
When Coach P showed up in those crazy Hoka's for the NJ AG Seminar and I saw how, well.... squishy they are... I pulled the trigger and ordered a pair.
I now have two pair.
I have the Bondi B's and the Stinson Evo Tarmac - both road shoes.
The Stinson Evo Tarmac feel slightly more narrow (this could be b/c of the laces Coach P mentioned - I don't like them either). My only complaint is that I get a lot of heel slippage in them (also potentially b/c of the laces - I plan to change them out and see how it goes). They are... squishier than the Bondi B's, but not so much that you feel unstable in them. If I can resolve the heel slippage issue with a new pair of laces, I think I'll LOVE them. I've only done shorter 4-5 mile treadmill runs in them.
The Bondi B's have a firmer feeling sole in comparison to the Stinson Evo Tarmacs, but if I hadn't run in the Tarmacs I wouldn't know that. They are super comfortable, not heavy at ALL, and I can finally run without feeling pain in my foot. They also come with normal laces. I ran very (VERY) little between May of last year and IMNYC, and didn't run at all between IMNYC and December. I started back VERY slowly before the JOS, but my foot was still giving me issues, and there was a high probability that I'd have to have the bone taken out now that it's necrotic. and conservative treatments weren't helping. If I hadn't started running in Hoka's, I definitely think that's the path I'd be headed down right now. When I got done with 8 miles in the Bondi B's yesterday, everything - legs, feet - felt great.
Oddly, I'm not a huge fan of just walking around in them. I wore them to a multisport expo yesterday (so I could be scoffed at), and I just didn't love walking in them. Can't quite describe why. Not as bad as trying to walk in Newtons, but still just a little "off."
I will also second Bob's comment - I generally order a half size larger than I need in other running shoes (an n=Fred Flinstone feet issue, maybe?), but that wasn't necessary with Hoka's. I had to return the first pair I ordered b/c they were too big.
We will see if low ramp height works for me....
Thanks, Gang!
Anyone else?
LOVE THEM. Simply love them. It's so crazy because I had heel pain the day before, then the next day went for a run in the Hokas and the pain was gone. Totally gone. No pain during the run, no pain after. I have no idea what's up with these magic shoes, but I'm sold! I've since then worn them for 60 min runs and a 90 min run today. Still no PF pain AT ALL.
I'll be racing Knoxville 70.3 in them as my first real race - we'll see how they do!
They are such an amazing shoe that I'm not sure why EVERYONE isn't using them. I have recommended them to four people already and each one of them has been amazed.
Anybody else?
Their sales must have skyrocketed this year. Good for them. Awesome, awesome shoes!
Mine were backordered from roadrunners sports for 2 weeks so if you want them make sure you order them in plenty of time.
I finally retired the Bondi's at 200 miles last week and moved into some Stinson Evo Lows that I bought at expo from Hoka at Wildflower. They are great. More squishy. The rep claimed they have more foam volume then the Bondi's while having the same heel to toe drop. They are also just as fast. I set a new 1 mile PR in them this week.