Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 2

To second this - I buy end of life performance shoes to see if I would like them in their prime. I.e. Metaspeed Sky for $50 and 200 miles, Vaporfly 2s that have done two marathons for $40, and Alphafly 2s for $30 that are pretty beat up, but I’m willing to make a bet they have some life left for $30. Then occasionally you get people that just don’t know what they have. This week I should be getting a pair of Endorphin Speed 3s that I paid $10 for that someone had listed as “Stylish Pink Saucony Shoes”

I will say that they do feel different between brands and shoes. Personally I'd rather run barefoot than my alpha flys V2 at 5 min km or slower. They just feel so bad and unstable. But faster than that they feel pretty fucking great. Versus some other which feel much better faster but don't feel bad slow. So someone running slow in certain shoes may get less benifit than another but at faster paces the benefits probably converge

I do agree, the biggest thing that it affects is the biomechanics. At least with the Nike alphafly 1 and 2, the higher stack height and foam changes my strides. I sometimes would get quad cramps with marathons that I don't normally see in my normal shoes.

I had a pair of Nike Alphafly NEXT% that lasted 880 miles. That version of ZoomX was fantastic. I actually wore through the outsole and the air pod in one of them burst (right in the middle of a 14 miler), but the foam still felt great. For shoes that are actually available now, I’ve had a good experience with several iterations of the Saucony Endorphin Speed. The foam feels good through 500+ miles and the upper and outsole hold up well. They are also good for any distance or pace.

It’s more than $100 more. I’ll get 300-400 good miles out of a pair of running shoes. The tread wear on my Alpha Flys are extremely noticeable after 50 miles. I would bet you start to see negative performance impact after that.

I've done my last few marathons in Alphaflys and in the lead up to those I've done some of my long runs that included MP intervals in Fly6. Generally I save training carbon for fast Parkruns and faster intervals but I'm not typically doing those sessions in a marathon build. New race shoes get a 5km tester before the first race day, but after that only get used in races. 

I transitioned from the Vapor Flys to the Alpha Flys. Both are good on my feet. But Nike jacked the prices up and now the Alphas are only $10 more. I use Puma Deviate Nitros for the gym/treadmill. Recently tried Adidas AdizeroAdios Pro 4s. They were good for my 5ks but tore up my heels on long runs. Went right back to my Alphas for long distances. If your feet feel great in the Vapors, you’ll love the Alohas. I’m 5’9 and weigh 170 and have decent speed for an old guy.