Best Cushioned Running shoe for a Middle Ager?
About to turn 54 (How did that happen), am a pretty neutral runner, dishing out mileage in the mid 20s - mid 30s per week. Even with my forced rest from my bike accident and seasonal dropoffs, I've managed to run over 20 mpw average for the last two and a half years.
Have had a 5ish year love affair with the Hoka Bondi. That was until I ran in the Nike ZoomFly Flyknit trainers. The current version of the Bondi (5 or 6?) doesn't feel as cushioned as they used to be, and I've just felt like I am clomping around in them. I now have about 200 miles on the Nike and am Thinking of what to add to the closet.
Another pair of ZoomFly Flyknits? the zoom pegasus? another brand? try the bondi's again thinking maybe I got a bad pair?
the Nike didn't even make this article - https://www.runnersworld.com/gear/a20865760/best-cushioned-running-shoes/ but the Bondi did!
Comments
I still like the bondi but I think it has tended to less marshmallow feel than a couple iterations prior. If I want lighter with some give, I have been using the NB Beacon. I don’t know on the Nike’s, they have too much drop for me as it causes some knee pain. Just my 0.02.
@scott dinhofer you're no longer a Middle Ager, your more on the back slope... Just sayin' 🤣
I agree that the Hoka's have gotten "Less Hoka-like" over the past couple of yrs. Almost to the point that I run almost exclusively in my Nike's now. Seems weird since I was such a Hoka Fanboy for so long. I still run in my Cliftons, and also still have the Bondi's, but the ZoomFly Flyknits jsut feel a lot better for me (and the VaporFly's have even more of the magic squish). I think some of the free speed in the Nike's for me is from the bigger drop, which I've desperately needed with my physiologic lack of dorsi-flexion.
Keep up posted if you find something better, but for me, I'll be buying a few discounted pairs of the ZoomFly's now that the new colors are out.
@John Withrow - what's your view on the pegasus 35? trying to figure out if that is more of a"trainer" than the very minimalist flyknit.. thinking i will also punch a few discounts
Scott, I rotate between the Saucony ISO Triumph, the Adidas Boost (their fly knit version) and when I want to hold myself back for slow recovery runs, the ASICS gel nimbus. The nimbus are super heavy so I never race in those. The Adidas I like very much as they are a good balance of cushion and comfort and they feel fast to me.
Wow, @scott dinhofer, I tried to make fun of you for being old and you casually ignored it!
I have the Nike Air Pegasus Turbo. For me they are just "Meh". I think I wrote more detail about them in the Vaporfly thread a while back. I still occasionally run in the Peggy Turbos, but they feel "less soft" and "less fast" compared to the ZoomFly Flyknit. I still use them and actually use them, but can't figure out why they cost more than the ZoomFly's...
If I were grading them for my own personal comfort/speed it would be Vaporfly A++, ZoomFly Flyknit A, Peggy Turbo B. But I think they are all speedwork shoes, not "trainers", even though I now use my ZoomFly's as "trainers" assuming it's dry out (they literally have zero tread).
But much harder to define something as a "trainer". If it's a true "trainer" you're looking for, I can say the Peggy Turbo is NOT it. I'd rather put the Clifton's in that category and maybe buy some of the Clifton 1's that they just re-released around Kona time because even though they are thinner and lighter, I think they are "squishier" than the Bondi 5s. My go-to if I need "recovery" and tons of "squish" are the 6 yr old pair of Bondi Speed S2's that I refuse to throw away even though they are pink/orange clown shoes... I don't like the trend to "more mainstream" that Hoka has traveled down over the past 6 yrs, but who am I to judge since they're likely selling 50x more shoes in 2019 than they were in 2013.
I was a Hoka Clifton fan from version 1 to 3, I didn't like the 4s and started looking for a replacement with similar features. I haven't tried the Clifton 5.
I've tried Alta Escalante, zero drop, very room for box, great for speed workouts and 3 to 6 mile runs. I stopped wearing them at 300.
I tried On Cloudflow. I liked them...light and chusioned but they started bothering me around 300 miles.
Next up was Nike Pegasus (not the turbo). They're narrow but comfortable. It took me a few runs to get used to going from 5 mm or less drop to 10 mm drop. I'm around 100 miles and still like them but haven't done a 10+ mile run on them yet. So for now they're great for shorter runs and speed work.
I picked up 3 pairs of the original Cliftons, my goto for longer runs.
In the hopper are Sketchers GoRun Ride 7. Don't laugh, check out the reviews. They're light and have good cushioning.
Hope this helps.
The Skechers are legit @Derrek Sanks but a bit too squishy for me. I felt like I was working hard to get back out of the squish. Just my opinion.
btw, reading reviews says the flyknits are good for tempo runs, they DO make me feel like i am running faster, but love the cushioning.
I know nothing about Drop and how it affects your running. Now wondering if a recent hip issue could have been caused by the drop of the FKs?
@John Withrow - not gonna get uptight about your age comment (or anything from you) we have too much fun and you know I can take it! but what goes around... btw, with my recent pursuits in backcountry skiing I am hanging with much younger folk and giving them a hurting
@John Withrow and @scott dinhofer , I don't think that there is ENOUGH shit talking in these threads. Amongst, friends and teammates, is that the fun of it?
Other than that, I've got nothing really to add :)
But I don't particularly like squishy shoes. My softest are the Liberty ISO from Saucony, which someone else mentioned and they are the perfect balance of soft for me. I also recently started running in Altra trail shoes. Some of those are super plush and I actually like them.
I think that "drop" is something that will be debated long after we have passed. My 2 cents... I think that the human body is the most amazing piece of engineering and there will never, ever, ever, be anything that compares to it. Like fucking never!! This is an instance where I think technology hurts us a bit. All this shoe technology puts our feet (and as a result our ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, neck, etc) in a position/posture that is different from how we are naked. The more we get away from that posture, the more we get away from how our bodies (and it's parts) were intended to run in concert. With that said I would say the lowest or zero drop is the best "technology" for our run gates.
@Patrick Large - i DO love that you can talk smack with us, and we had that bonding moment over the fact that your cousin (negative name call out redacted) used to work for me, but you are at a severe disadvantage. @John Withrow and I 1st met at IMKY in 2011, his 1st & my 2nd. I was a real fatty back then, as he will attest. We have been to a few events together, had gotten together in NYC when i was between meetings and he was "supervising" his team and of course numerous Al camps!
At camp, I am affectionately, (or not as he will chime in) "John's bitch." But bring it!