Hyper Speed 5

The Asics Hyper Speed 5 (HS5) is not a new shoe and is in fact, being replaced by the Asics Gel NoosaFast.  But quality transcends time and though we might be late to the party, the HS5 definitely deserves a look at.

He had forgotten to have breakfast

At 195g for a US8.5, this is a pretty light shoe.  It is going to fit in some where between the flat out racers (A5, RC1600) and the lightweight trainers (Kinvara 3, Adios 2).  The HS5 is similar to the very popular New Balance RC1400, both in terms of it’s weight and usage as a race-trainer.

Instructions to run faster

While it has a heel drop of about 6-7mm putting it on par with many of the racers currently on offer, the SpEVA midsole provides the HS5 with a substantial amount of cushioning and good energy return.  I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort of the fit as well as the responsiveness of the shoes while I took them for a quick spin on the treadmill.  The cushioning of the HS5 was more plush than I was expecting but took nothing away from the good sensations I was getting from this pair of shoes.

Fit-wise they are true to size and have a slightly wider toe box (for a racer/LT).  The breathable mesh upper is not as fancy as some of the newer shoes, utilising some traditional looking overlays and stitching, but is very comfortable.  The heel cup provides a nice amount of support and I didn’t experience any heel slip during my 2mins on the treadmill.

Water out also means water in

One of the features that has been a source of debate among users of the HS5 has been the vented Magic Sole.  Triathletes and runners with a high sweat rate rejoice!  Designed to improve breathability and let any water/sweat drain out of the shoe, step into a puddle and surprise surprise – water goes in too!

The HS5 is a neutral shoe and those grey coloured bits help to improve torsional rigidity (similar to the adidas Torsion system).  It has Asics High Abrasion Rubber (AHAR) in the heel area and Wet Grip outsole for improved traction on wet surface.

Some Euro fashion with the high socks

The last Asics shoe I used was the DS Trainer 9 back around 2005 and the HS5 is a nice departure from the usual Asics shoe in the market that are usually loaded with cushioning and support features, plus a fairly hefty price tag.  If you’re looking for shoes that can take you through to those longer races or a solid lightweight trainer for speed work, the HS5 will fit into your shoe line up very nicely.  The HS5 is not the most high tech shoe available but it is a simple shoe that works very well.  Pete Jacobs (2012 Ironman World Champ) and Ryan Hall (fastest American marathoner) have used the Hyper Speed 5, so it can’t be too bad!

It’s a bit of controlled aggression for when you need to go fast without beating your feet up.

The Asics Hyper Speed 5 retails for $159 and is available at The Runner’s Gait.

Until there is some sort of pocket revolution with today’s running shorts, the answer to carrying more on your run is the Roo Sport!

The Roo Sport is a clever little pocket that you can stash your phone, gels, keys, cards etc in when you’re heading out for a run or even a walk to the store.

Easy as 1-2-3

Here’s a little video to check out too, just click HERE.

The Roo Sport is available at The Runner’s Gait and retails for $29.

Celebrate the end of April, seems only right!

See you soon!

The Virrata is Saucony’s lightest and most flexible training shoe.  It is part of Saucony’s running Strong mantra and the Virrata has been stripped down to the essentials.  What is left is a shoe that provides an excellent amount of cushioning while allowing your feet to move as naturally as you would like.

185g for a US8

The Virrata weighs in at 185g for a men’s US8.  For a lot of runners that pull a pair of these on, this will likely be the lightest shoe they have in their cupboard save for their racing flats.

Zero Drop but generous cushioning

The real big deal about this shoe is not so much how light it is but the fact that the Virrata is a Zero Drop shoe.  Zero whaaaaaat?  This just means that your foot is flat when in the shoe as opposed to having your heel raised, as would be the case in most other shoes.  Provided you’re into this sorta thing, having a zero drop shoe is supposed to place your foot in a more “natural” position that will promote the use of better biomechanics when running.

Triangular lugs with XT-900 carbon rubber for improved durability

The Virrata is very flexible and your feet now have the ability to do all sorts of cool things that those traditionally structured shoes did not allow.  Even with zero drop, the Virrata have a substantial amount of cushioning.  However, having said that, this still is more of a training aid than a full on training shoe for most of us.  Having zero drop does put an additional strain on the body, especially if you’re trying to move over to these from a regular daily trainer.

The upper is constructed from a breathable mono mesh and features an internal bootie construction that gives the shoe a sock-like feel, not unlike the older Nike Free.  There is minimal stitching in the upper so going sockless in these shouldn’t be an issue.  The Virrata runs true to size,  provides a very close fit (a little like the Kinvara 3), so some runners with wider feet may have some issues.  The shoe is not overly narrow, but will fit snugly.

Overall, I think many will be happy with the Saucony Grid Virrata.  Saucony has produced a lightweight shoe that ticks all the boxes on flexibility, natural feel and cushioning.  While a select few may use the Virrata for the bulk of their training, I can definitely see many of us having a pair of them to use for drills, functional training and those easy runs.

The Saucony Grid Virrata is available at The Runner’s Gait and retails for $139.  The women’s model will be in store soon!

Compressport has launched a Trail Running Shirt and Trail Running Short (they are tights actually) that will enhance your performance and of course keep you looking sharp!

The Trail Running Shirt comes in 4 sizes (S-XL) and is available in black or white.  The Trail Running Shirt retails for $159.

Following on the success of the Pro Racing Triathlon Shorts, we now have a pair of shorts with out the tri-padding, just for running!

The Trail Running Shorts are available in 4 sizes (T1 – T4) and follow the sizing for the Compressport ForQuads.  The Trail Running Shorts retail for $205.

Not strictly part of the Trail Running Range, but a cool update to our Pro Racing Armsleeves.  The new Pro Racing Armsleeve WATCH SPACE has a slightly different design and now includes a watch space that allows you to wear the armsleeve over your watch!  No more rolling back the sleeve to check your heart rate or timing.

The Pro Racing Armsleeve Watch Space is available in black or white, comes in 4 sizes (T1 – T4) and retails for $89.  

We’ve got 2 shoes from adidas to kick off Spring 2013.

The first is the adidas adizero Adios 2.  This shoe needs no introduction.  Worn by numerous champions, this is the shoe that set the marathon world record.  It receives a colour update for this season.

Marathon? No problem! These shoe eat marathons for breakfast.

The 2nd shoe we have is something we’re very excited about.  The adidas adizero Takumi Ren is the brother of adidas’ premier racer, the Takumi Sen.

The Takumi Ren is supposed to be the slightly heavier, more cushioned trainer, but at 205g for a men’s US 9.5, it seems pretty light to us!  We’ve heard that these are gonna be on a pretty limited run here in Singapore so we’re trying to get hold of as many of them as possible.  Lightweight, extremely breathable racing upper, high traction outsole and high-performance cushioning make this is very cool shoe to have as the season gets going.

People actually get out of the way when they see you running in these

The Adios 2 retails for $189 and the Takumi Ren retails for $199.  Available now at

The first new shoes to hit our shelves for 2013 are from New Balance.

New Balance has been pushing the envelope the last few years.  No longer are they known as the “army shoes” here in Singapore.  New Balance regularly produces technologically advanced and good looking shoes.

Two traditional favourites, the RC1300 and RT1100, are back but with a couple of upgrades.

Both models are now built on New Balance’s Revlite cushioning platform which is 30% lighter than traditional compounds but results in no loss of cushioning.

sizes: US7.0 – US12.0

Another welcomed improvement is in the upper.  There has been a big reduction in the amount of stitching.  New Balance has instead gone for more breathable mesh paneling and seamless overlays (especially in the mid/forefoot region) that are likely to have been borrowed from the FantomFit upper that we saw on the RC1600 racer.

sizes: US 4.0 – US 12.0

Technical mambo jumbo aside, what this translates to is a significantly lighter shoe with a more comfortable and secure upper.  The RC1300 is the Japanese inspired racer while the RT1100 is the versatile, lightweight race-trainer.

The RC1300 (RRP: $185) and the RT1100 (RRP: $175) are available now at The Runner’s Gait.

The Runner’s Gait would like to wish all our friends a very Merry Christmas!

Please take note that we will be closed for a short break over Christmas.

It will be business as usual from Thursday, 27 Dec 2012. However, if you are looking for something, please feel free to leave us a message on FB or email us at info@wemakerunningcool.com and we’ll respond asap.

Once again, Merry Christmas! We hope you have a great time with your loved ones and get lots of awesome presents!

See you on Thursday!

It’s our last store run for the year and it’ll be a good way to erase the guilt of overeating and get some exercise in to justify the excessive partying on New Year’s Eve.

• What:  The Runner’s Gait Store Run
• When:  Sunday, 30th Dec 2012, 730am
• Start/End Point:  The Runner’s Gait (99B Soo Chow Walk)
• Distance:  6km or 11km

There will also be a lucky draw where the winner will walk away with a Compressport Pro Racing Triathlon Shirt (RRP: $149), compliments of COMPRESSPORT Singapore!  Everyone that comes for the run will be entitled to one entry to the lucky draw and you’ll get an extra entry for every COMPRESSPORT product you show up in!

For more updates, just head on over to the event listing on our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/187547531369872/

See you there!

As the year winds down, I thought I’d put this list together.  And just in case those Mayans got it right, I’m putting this online sooner rather than later.

So before I get down to it, here is the criteria that I’ve used to pick these shoes:

1. These shoes must have been sold at The Runner’s Gait
2. How much I enjoyed running in them

There will be no scientific data to back up any of the following, just plain ol’ fashioned “I said so, therefore it must be the case”.  Now that that’s all out of the way, let’s get down to it!

1.  Nike Lunarspider LT+ 2

This is my easy number 1.  I really love the Lunarspider LT+ 2.  It is a super responsive shoe and my favourite shoes built on the “lunar” platform since the original Lunarspider R.  Flywire kept the midfoot securely locked down and I never experienced any heel slippage thanks to a good fitting heel counter.  Regardless of which colourway you picked up, the Lunarspider LT+ 2s were the business and the moment you laced them up, it was Go Time!  It did not hurt one bit that these shoes were also very sexy.

2. Saucony ProGrid Kinvara 3

What a beauty!

Very few shoes can keep so many runners happy, but the Kinvara 3 definitely does.  It is possibly the single reason that Saucony is back on everyone’s list when it comes to running.  Saucony has managed to improve the Kinvara with ever iteration and the Kinvara 3 was a real fan favourite.  Jumping on the minimalist movement, the Kinvara 3 (as with the rest of Saucony’s racing range) has a 4mm heel-to-toe differential and it’s appeal to the ever-increasing number of midfoot striking converts was undeniable.  But Saucony covered their bases and shored up the durability of the rubber on the high wear areas near the heel so the occasional heel strike was forgiven and forgotten.  From long runs to races, this was a shoe that came to the party ready to rock out.

3.  New Balance RC1600

Slick looking kicks

It was not too long ago that people laughed at you when you wanted to buy a pair of New Balance shoes.  For all the guys in Singapore, you got a pair when you were in the army and that seemed enough.  Naturally, those poor army boys didn’t get THESE particular New Balance shoes.  Released in the lead up to the Olympics, the RC1600 was launched as a all purpose racer that would eat up the roads all the way up to the marathon distance.  It’s bigger brother, the RC5000, was a featherweight racer that took on the Mizuno Wave Universe for “My Socks Weigh More Than My Shoes” award.  The RC1600 is a flat out racer and lightest of the 3 shoes featured here.  The FantomFit upper wraps the foot extremely well and customers have refused to take the shoe off after trying them.  New Balance are a serious player and with the RC1600,  they’ve showed their commitment to designing good looking, high performance shoes.

–

I’ll admit that I had intended to put out a Top 5 list but got a bit distracted.  These are the shoes I’ve liked the most this year based on performance, fit and of course, looks.  No one wants to run in ugly shoes, not even the “serious” runners.  2013 is just around the corner and I can’t wait to see what other great shoes the new year will turn up.

Here’s an early Merry Christmas to all of you, thanks for the strong support for our blog and our store!  And if you’re looking for the perfect gift for a runner in your life, just head down to The Runner’s Gait and you’ll definitely find something that’ll fit the bill!