Magic Speed 2

I loved Novablast 3, liked Novablast 4, never tried Novablast 5. I like/loved Superblast 1, absolutely love Superblast 2. Superblast 2 I think only gets responsive feel at a certain speed/effort and above, but is really good at locking in at a pace and feels exactly the same 20+ miles later. For me, it's just reliable on any type of run I do. But, for the type of workouts you wrote, I've used Magic Speed 2 and Magic Speed 3. Wanted to try Magic Speed 4, but ended up not getting them. 4 was supposedly a departure from 1, 2, & 3, as they added more stack, but with the introduction of Megablast, I saw they brought the new Magic Speed 5 back to where Magic Speed used to be. I saw good reviews online. I really wanted to get them as soon as they came out, but i have too many retired from duty race shoes that I need to use till their death for those workouts.

I over pronate and did my first race today in the endorphin speed 5 and had bad posterior shin and knee pain after too. The best shoe I’ve ever had for my over pronation is the ASICS Magic Speed 2. Never raced with them, but they were springiest, efficient, fore front striking shoe I had. I found with my pronation the less time my foot stays in contact with the ground, the better.

Hey I’m an over pronater and about 105kg (if I did my conversion correctly). Just did a 10k today and used the endorphin speed 5… which I wouldn’t recommend. Striking felt weird, unsupported, and ultimately caused posterior knee/shin pain for me. The best shoe I’ve had for this was the ASICS Magic speed 2, but I’ve never raced in them. This has a springy plate that allows me to have super efficient forefront striking. They’re super light too, but they don’t last long and now they’re worn through. I’m looking for something like this with better wear and balance (it’s very front-biased, but quick!)

Yea that’s totally fair. Running form is so subjective- totally depends on what feels comfy and fast and safe for you. I’m a heavy guy so I found that minimal time striking makes me feel safe and fast. The rolling mechanism on the endorphin just felt so weird to me and put a lot of strain on my posterior upper shin/knee. Not sure if you ever train with strides, but that’s exactly what those ASICS magic speeds help me “feel” as far as muscle memory goes. Quick tempo, quick strikes, etc. They just degraded quickly. But like you said everyone is different. My dad runs with Mizuno so I can ask him what he’s heard about the hyperwarp pro.

Just got my second pair of ASICS Magic Speeds (v2 and now the 5s). I barely ever seen these discussed as a legitimate tempo shoe. Most asics traffic goes to the blasts (nova/super squishhhhy) or to the meta speeds (pricey), yet these shoes have been nothing but solid. The 5’s are everything I loved in the 2s except somehow both more comfortable and almost 50g lighter. Wild. Carbon plate, their newest race foam, robust yet airy upper, pretty light (less than 200g \[for nominal size 9\]), minimal stack and drop which gives it a great feel for the road/track. Overall they feel so quick to me and incredibly nimble. Cornering feels like a breeze. Now they’re not perfect. Can’t go super long distances in these. My feet are a bit sore even after 3 miles… which is proof that it’s not your daily trainer (obviously w a carbon plate). I’ve seen some question on the quality of foam / density consistency (I.e one side of the heel gives before the other, causing tilt and instability). I haven’t had that yet but I can tell they’re not the most stable. But they’re also not any more unstable me than other race shoes… idk. And don’t let anyone tell you heavy runners can’t use these tempo shoes. I’m 235lbs (106kg) and these feel incredible. Anyway - anyone else enjoy running in these? Is there any good reason that I’m missing why these aren’t talked about more? Maybe others would rather spend up for the Metas, but I can’t help but think… save 50-100 bucks and get an equally good tempo trainer. **Edit:** some great convo regarding the Magic Speed 4, which seems to be popular. It’s tricky for me to discuss the 4 because it’s pretty much universally accepted as the outlier in the Magic Speed line. Heavy, significantly more stack, unstable, no feel for the road, strange foam choice/distribution deviates from what many loved from the MS2 & MS3. But hey- maybe thats why there’s no love: maybe they ruined the reputation a bit?

I too have a wide mid-foot. My thoughts on brands/models: * As a brand, Hoka would probably be my last choice. They are known for being narrow in general and even in a wide width, all the ones I've tried just don't feel right to me. * I have no personal experience with Brooks, though I know they're popular. Most of their shoes are very high drop, which I don't like, so I've always just avoided the brand. * Puma is another brand I've never even tried. To my knowledge, they don't make anything in a wide width. * Nike is another brand that I've mostly avoided becasue they didn't really offer wide width shoes for the most part. Plus they weren't exactly known for being on the wider side in the "normal" width shoes. That said, the Vomero Plus is really intriguing and is offered in Extra Wide. I'm definitely thinking about trying a pair, though the 10mm drop is a concern. * Both Asics and Saucony have been hit or miss for me. For example, I always loved the Saucony Kinvaras, but some of the other models didn't feel right. Same with Asics. I liked the Magic Speed and Magic Speed 2, but the Novablasts that everyone else seems to love were not for me. * New Balance, as a brand always gets props from me. They are the only brand I'm aware of that actually makes their racing shoe in a wide width (the SC Elite). That said, I feel like even their wide-widths are not always wide enough for me in the mid-foot area so they can be hit or miss. * I don't have a ton of experience with Mizuno, but I did have the Wave Sky 8 (I think that was it), and it was a great easy run shoe. Way too heavy for a race shoe, though and Mizuno does not make any of their faster shoes in a wide width. * Probably my favorite brand right now has got to be Adidas. IMO, they are just killing it in term of design and tech. My current racing shoes are Adizero Adios Pro 3s in a normal width. ( I do need to retire those and will probably give the Pro 4s a try.) As a brand, they tend to run wide, so I can successfully wear these even though that are not technically a wide width. I also **love, Love, LOVE** the Adizero EVO SL, even though it's also a normal width shoe. If you told me I had to stick to one shoe for the rest of my life, that would be it. Good luck!

I too have a wide mid-foot. My thoughts on brands/models: * As a brand, Hoka would probably be my last choice. They are known for being narrow in general and even in a wide width, all the ones I've tried just don't feel right to me. * I have no personal experience with Brooks, though I know they're popular. Most of their shoes are very high drop, which I don't like, so I've always just avoided the brand. * Puma is another brand I've never even tried. To my knowledge, they don't make anything in a wide width. * Nike is another brand that I've mostly avoided becasue they didn't really offer wide width shoes for the most part. Plus they weren't exactly known for being on the wider side in the "normal" width shoes. That said, the Vomero Plus is really intriguing and is offered in Extra Wide. I'm definitely thinking about trying a pair, though the 10mm drop is a concern. * Both Asics and Saucony have been hit or miss for me. For example, I always loved the Saucony Kinvaras, but some of the other models didn't feel right. Same with Asics. I liked the Magic Speed and Magic Speed 2, but the Novablasts that everyone else seems to love were not for me. * New Balance, as a brand always gets props from me. They are the only brand I'm aware of that actually makes their racing shoe in a wide width (the SC Elite). That said, I feel like even their wide-widths are not always wide enough for me in the mid-foot area so they can be hit or miss. * I don't have a ton of experience with Mizuno, but I did have the Wave Sky 8 (I think that was it), and it was a great easy run shoe. Way too heavy for a race shoe, though and Mizuno does not make any of their faster shoes in a wide width. * Probably my favorite brand right now has got to be Adidas. IMO, they are just killing it in term of design and tech. My current racing shoes are Adizero Adios Pro 3s in a normal width. ( I do need to retire those and will probably give the Pro 4s a try.) As a brand, they tend to run wide, so I can successfully wear these even though that are not technically a wide width. I also **love, Love, LOVE** the Adizero EVO SL, even though it's also a normal width shoe. If you told me I had to stick to one shoe for the rest of my life, that would be it. Good luck!

Here's what has been consistent in the past six months: \- Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3: long tempo run, versatile long runs; half to full marathon races \- Asics Magic Speed 2: short to long speed tempo runs; 5km to 10km races \- Puma ForeverRun NITRO 2: easy, short recovery runs; will be replaced soon due to flat midsole after 500km

The 2’s were some of the worst shoes I’ve ever owned. Can’t tell you how much blood I lost with the terrible heel (only shoe ever done this). Seems like a lot of others had the same so I tried to forget it ever existed