Mach 2

Mach 2 was the worst shoe I have ever run in.

Some combo of MagMax 2, UFO, Superblast 2, Megablast, Aerogoat 3 GRVL, Sky Paris, Vomero 18, Rebel V4, and most recently Azura. Rotate based on vibes, minus the race shoe really everything gets worn for whatever I feel like. 

I’m wearing on cloud surfers right now at work in a clinic. I got them at a running swap meet. I would never in a millisecond run in them. Day to day, running errands, in a clinic, around the house, sure. But literally running, absolutely not. Some brands sell a lifestyle, others sell actual running shoes. (I know that last line was harsh and I’ve worn cloud monsters and I have a pair on Mach 2s I got as a pacer for a group that I wear sparingly. Like I said, fine, but I’m a new balance girlie. I’m on my 7th pair of fuel cell trainers and just tried sonic blasts from asics because the rep is an acquaintance and has been hyping them since TRE last year)

I personally love Hoka Mach or Saucony PWR Run. I always size up (half to full size) than my normal shoe size as your feet tend to swell during runs. Everyone raves about Brooks but their shoes gave my shin splints and didn’t provide support. I recently discovered Mount to Coast R1 shoes and I LOVE them

I was always this girl and I may be again soon but I’ve accidentally built up a collection 🙈. I’ve always in just brooks adrenalines. My coach said she’d like to see me in another shoe too, perhaps one with a slightly lower drop. I liked the idea of a tempo shoe so I ended up with a pair of hoka machs. Recently my current pair of adrenalines were causing knee/shin pain which was in line with the 300+ miles I’d put on them so I went back to the shoe store. I’ve been curious about straying from adrenalines because I have HEFTY callouses / blisters on my big toes and I question how normal that is. I ended up with a pair of ASICS GT 2000 14s - a lighter stability shoe… and a new pair of adrenalines in case I don’t like the asics 🙈. So now I have 3 pairs. A tempo shoe for faster shorter distances, a light stability shoe, and a heavier plushier stability shoe 😅. I still feel monogamous in my very sole though so we’ll see if I don’t just gravitate towards one shoe anyway

Brooooks. I’ve been running in just adrenalines for years. I have bad arches and those + custom orthotics keep me upright and mobile. I recently bought a pair of Hoka Machs which I do like but if I could only pick one brand of shoe I’d stick the brooks and just get some kind of brooks tempo shoe

I’m a dedicated Hoka wearer, and I just do speed work in my Bondis, which are the most cushion you can get. I can’t justify buying a “speed shoe” when I only do speed work 1x per week. Until last week I was rotating 3 pairs of Bondis, two of them Bondi 9s, the other was a Bondi 8. I had gotten one pair of the 9s and the 8s as a used resale, and the 8s worked great as a speed shoe. I also tried the carbon plated racing speed shoe in the panic that was 2020, and it just wasn’t worth the $$. I have ran in the Rincon, Mach, Clifton, and my forever favorite but sadly discontinued Cavu. I would say those are all decent contenders for a mid-weight shoe.

The Clifton and Bondi are the same shoe and they are both trash. The only Hoka I have ever tried and liked is the Mach series. The only reason the Brooks Ghost sells so many pairs is because that is the first thing the employee at the store makes people try on. So people are too worried to try other shoes and end up leaving with the Ghosts.