Seriously, I’m reaching out, I need some help here. I have an Adidas problem. I don’t even know why but it runs deep. Right now I have 228 km on my long run/ race shoes and 424 km on my general/ trail runners so it’s probably time to start thinking about buying a pair or two. I like to start shopping long before I really need them so I can wait for a sale, especially on my racers. I also hate change so when I do get new general shoes I tend to favour the pair I already have and burn through them.
How I developed my problem
I’m sure I’m not the only one here that is far too dedicated to their brand but I sure am. I first started running in Adidas when I was 13 because that’s what my mom bought me at Costco for gym class. Ironically I would fake injury or cramps to get out of gym because that was cool and go for a run after school. Oh tween me, so much angst so little time… and I ran in those for years and probably about two thousand or more km before I found out that I was long overdue for new shoes, in grad school. Actually just my morning walks in third and fourth year were 2200 km so more like 4000 km.
in My mom took me to the fancy running room store for my birthday and I went through the fitting process. I was running a lot and when I came home and she saw my shoes and told me I needed new ones. After all that and over $240 I ended up with a pair of yellow and white sauconys. Very generous but I hated those shoes! At first I couldn’t put my finger on it… but then my two big toenails turned black and eventually fell off, then I knew. I was running less and taking out those well used Adidas when I did. I accidentally left those new kicks behind in Calgary when I visited my sister and she offered to mail them back. I told her I didn’t care what she did with them as long as I never saw them again! It’s still a mystery, and I’m fine with that!
Then I bought another pair of Adidas and another, and another…I think I’ve been through 8 pairs since then (I took a long break from running) three of those in the last year and a bit. When my sister bought be the iPod nano and the nike+ running chip system she also bought me a pair on Nikes with the special pocket and I returned them since they were so so narrow but I kept the pink iPod! And Adidas have never really let me down but…
My experience with Adidas running shoes.
Odds are there will be more Adidas in my future so I’m just putting that out there now. I use a neutral runner and that’s pretty much the checklist and the sales. Usually almost half the runners feel good on my feet and are in the running. Little quirks and design flaws emerge over the 500 to 800km I usually wear a shoe for. I typically wear a 7 which is not a size bigger than my street shoes but usually the toe box wears out in some way and I see sock. As for wear on the bottom I’m light and light on my feet even though well over half of my running is on asphalt my soles last a long time and they wear in the centre a bit more towards the outside and the front. I run on country roads with a generally pretty smooth shoulder when cars are coming, the groomed and hard packed trail and do road and trail races so really a road or light trail shoe is appropriate for me.
I returned to running about two years ago and since then I’ve been through four pairs of Adidas and about 2000 km. First was a pre-existing pair of adiwear kicks I ordered off eBay and I’m not totally sure they were the genuine article. That said they lasted 800 km and I’m still wearing them at work, they were great! Next was a pair of race shoes called supernova’s that were pretty great too, the toe box didn’t wear out nor did the tread but they felt dead in 600 km. They were fast and I liked them but the best part was the worst part too. They were really cool for summer training because they had vents in the bottom. But… They suctioned up water and held on to gravel but I’d re buy them if I had the chance. These are now my mountain biking shoes. Next my current regular shoes the kanadia tr 7’s a trail shoe I run in for ‘regular’ runs. These have come in handy as I’ve started doing more trail races lately. They have almost 500 km on them and seem to have a lot in them yet and no tread wear (they’re pretty aggressive). But.. After I bought them I found out they’re ‘not that serious’ a running shoe and it makes me wonder if they are keeping my knee bad. Also, perhaps unfairly, I got my first bad blisters ever in them last weekend on my 10k training run but it was the first longer run I wore them on after washing them after a tidal mud run. PS I cut those socks into tiny pieces before throwing them out, unnecessary but felt great! Lastly my new (200 km) Boston boost 5’s are my first boost shoes. I really like these and picked them out because they reminded me of the supernova’s plus I was dying to try the boost technology. I would definitely buy these again, I waited for a sale, and even though they have been super fast and I’ve had two serious PR’s in them this year (5k and 10k) they don’t ‘feel’ fast like other race shoes.
So over all impressions of Adidas lately is that it’s a bit hard to pick out a real running shoe. If I don’t have an honest and knowledgeable helper in the staff at the store I feel like I could leave with the really wrong thing. Adidas has a lot of shoes that are not that serious dressed to look like runners to the untrained eye and a whole other range that I joke are designed by rappers. More than a dozen times I’ve put on a shoe, the price is great, feels good and the store clerk tells me gently, “that’s not really a running shoe.” Also they tend to redesign the whole line each year so there is no “I’ll get another pair of these”!
Why branch out now?
Well more and easier options really. If I knew I liked a few more brands I could brach out and even do better on price. With Adidas right now style isn’t an option I put much stake in and I go with what works best and that would stay my priority but… some cute runners wouldn’t hurt either! Brooks in particular launched these cuties with lobsters I would love to have in play!
I’d also like to walk in knowing every shoe in a particular brand is actually serious enough to go running in.
I’m also toying with the idea of training for a race (the hypothermic half) this winter and I’ll need some new shoes if that’s the case. And since actually training for an olympic next spring a race that would play well into accomplishing that next may. Plus getting comfy in new shoes will take extra time if I’m going to venture outside my comfort zone.
What help do I need?
Thanks for asking? I’d particularly like to hear from people who also or used to wear Adidas. And I get that you love your brand but everyone is different. Like for me I love my Adidas I would tell someone they fit my narrowish, arched foot well and have a generous toe box generally. But I would have to add that in my case toe boxes generally have gone first and make sure your clerk knows what they are talking about when you go to buy. Otherwise you might leave with rapper shoes.
So here are some generalizations I am aware of by brand. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. These are the ones that are floating out there now. If you are aware of other’s let me know and I’ll add them to the list for discussion.
- Nikes are narrow
- Adidas run big/ wide
- New Balance are really narrow
- Newtons are fast
- Asics seems to have a great reputation
- Reebok is making a comeback
What is your brand of shoes known for and what are the drawbacks? If you’ve had some success with Adidas what other brands do you like?
Sweat Sweetly 