7 replies to this topic

[Chris B.]

I am probably leaving it a bit late with Burnley 1/2 in 3 weeks, but I have decided it may be time for some new race shoes.

At present I train in 2090's comfy but heavey.
I have been racing in a pair of Nike Air Zooms. They are not very soft in the heal and don't think 21.1 kms will do my legs much good in them. My other pair are Brooks Racer ST's unfortunitely they are nearing the end of their racing life. The fore foot has little cushioning left and 2km on our bitumised rubber track gives me a sore fore foot. A little more arch support/height would be nice in them also.

So I think I have narrowed it down to ASICS Gel Magic Racer or the Gel DS Racer(VI?). I don't think the Tiger Paw will have enough support.

I wear orthotics and now wear shoes very evenly.
Weigh in around 69kgs. I hope to use them for the Burnley 1/2 then probable for track season 800m to 5km/Steeple and Master racing. Unless I can get some cheap spikes as well.


:unsure: :unsure: :unsure:

Does any one use either of these or able to recommend one over the other or another???

[yeti]

Hi Chris,

I went through two pairs of DS Racers a few years back (99/00 IIRC). I was around 62-63kg and running ~83min HM then. Used the shoes up to Marathon without any problems. All in all a really nice, lightweight and comfortable racer, as long as you have sufficiently narrow feet. One problem: at least with the pairs I had the outer sole wore of rather quickly (i.e. the little black bits came off). Both pairs became unusable after ~300km due to worn of soles, while the midsole (cushoning) and the upper were still in good condition.
Caveat: I have no idea if the current model DS Racers have changed significantly compared to the ones back then.

Hope this helps

Yeti

[drunner]

Hello Chris

I currently use a pair of Magic racers. I weigh 75kg and have used them for distances up to half marathon. I do have orthotics but do not use them in these shoes. I have found that the magic racers have worn very quickly on the forefoot, especially with road races, I have only used them for about 230 km and the sole has worn off the forefoot section of the midfoot supports leaving the hard plastic midfoot support exposed. They feel great to run in and I have never had any problems with their level of support, although they do feel less supportive then my DS Trainers. If the DS Racers are reasonably similar to the DS trainers then I would suspect that they would last a lot longer than the magic racers.

[Chris B.]

Sounds like they may both have a similar life expectancy. Thanks for the replies, nice to know what others think of different shoes. May leave getting them till tomorrow, hoping for a few more replies.

Might also see what they say about them in Stringers.

[southy]

Ditto to what Yeti said about the DS Racers. I bought a pair , raced a 10k in them but couldn't feel my left forefoot at the end (& I have fairly narrow feet , or so I thought). I gave them to my daughter & she loves them. I do road races in the DS trainers, but both my son & I got bone stress reactions from training in them (one reason I believe), so I wouldn't use them much for training. I'm afraid it's a bit of trial & error at times, although expensive. Once I find a model of shoes that suit me I'm wary of changing!

[GaryO]

G'day Chris B,

I've only used my Adidas (sorry, don't know which model) twice - the Sandown 10k & Coliban Relay - so my experience with them won't help much. One point I will make though, is that I won't consider wearing them for longer races, like the Half, because my running style leads me to getting significant calf soreness whenever I stray from my trainers. :)

Anyway, what I really wanted to suggest is that you take in all of the information that the other CR's have offered & take that knowledge with you to a good running shoe store. I think Runners World, High St Kew, would be pretty hard to beat for this purchase. It's run by Neil Ryan (?) (an experienced distance runner & current AV competitor) & he has a very large range. You'll even get a discount if you flash your current AV membership card. He normally has a box of old stock including spikes as well. I got my middle distance spikes out of that box & they've been great for me.

[Chris B.]

GaryO great advice.
Went last night and did try the Addidas but the inner doesn't come out and with the orthotic on top the shoe was too tight.
We then tried the DS and Magic racer.
The Magic racer won in the end as I felt it gave more arch support. All I need to do now is find the darn brightness control on them :)
They are so bright :D But being that light I think I can handle it. Roll on Burnley

[GaryO]

Glad to help, Chris B. I bet you're itching to give them a workout at the Masters tonight, & you won't have to worry about getting lost. :D

Good luck at Burnley. I'll be there too, for Western A's (wearing nice sedate trainers) & it would be good to say hello.