All
year long, Reid Coolsaet has been running races, coaching
runners, and reviewing shoes for iRun. In addition to
being a two-time Olympian and the second fastest male
Canadian marathon runner for years, Coolsaet is also a
dedicated student and expert historian of the sport. Here
Coolsaet, coach @Coolsaetgo, looks back on a year of running
and sneakers and tells you what you should buy yourself
this holiday season.
iRun: First of all, let’s
say I want to new sneakers. How many pairs do I need?
Reid Coolsaet: My normal
arsenal, since I’m doing trail and road stuff, is
a trail shoe, an everyday shoe, a shoe where I can run
fast and something for the winter slop.
iRun: So a runner really
needs four pairs.
RC: Some people who don’t
run trails can disregard those, and if you run on the
treadmill, you can disregard the shoe for slop and if
you’re not racing, disregard the race shoe.
iRun: Let’s get into
it. Say I want to buy myself the best shoes out right
now, for racing.
RC: The Next Percent or the
Alpha Fly, by Nike. That’s best if you’re
running really fast. I think the Saucony Endorphin Pro
is more versatile and accommodates more speeds, and that’s
something I’ve heard other people say, too.
iRun: The Nikes don’t
work if you’re not Kipchoge?
RC: Sometimes when I go and
run, I don’t like warming up or cooling down with
my Next Percent, but the Saucony Pro still feels OK at
4:15-per-kilometre.
iRun: So if you can’t
sustain 4:15-per-kilometre, should you not bother with
the Nike?
RC: It has to do with mechanics.
I think someone trying to run fast would be happy with
that shoe. It helps.
iRun: But if I buy them now, can I wear them to the Vancouver
Marathon in spring?
RC: They wouldn’t last
until spring. You’d want a relatively new pair for
race day. I think if getting a super shoe is worthwhile
to you, you’re going to want to do it properly,
which is racing with a pair before you put 100K on it.
iRun: Wow, that won’t
last a marathon runner until Valentine’s Day.
RC: Not true. Those shoes
will still be useful for training. Even when I got the
Next Percent for free I’d still train in them with
500K on them and they still felt good. But when it comes
to racing, I want them to feel great.
iRun: So what’s your
approach to race shoes?
RC: I would get pair A, and
race important races in them before 100K. After that,
I get pair B, and I might wear them once for training
to wear them in a little bit, but they don’t need
much wearing in, then use pair A for my workouts and pair
B for racing, until 150K. It doesn’t cost you more
because you’re going to keep running. Those shoes
are good for five or six hundred kilometres. You use the
shoe up, but buy it early to maximize the benefits.
iRun: You called the Next
Percent a super shoe. What’s that mean exactly?
RC: High stack height, responsive
foam, carbon plate.
iRun: What even is “high
stack height”?
RC: The amount of midsole
underneath your foot. They range, legally, from 30-40
millimetres, but adidas makes one at 50 millimetres, which
isn’t legal for setting records, but you could probably
qualify for Boston in them and I don’t think anyone
is going to care.
iRun: So Nike makes super
shoes. Who else?
RC: adidas makes a super
shoe, Nike had the first one, and then adidas, New Balance.
Brooks has a good one. Hoka has a couple options. Saucony,
the Endorphin Pro. ASICS has a really good one—the
Metaspeed Sky.
iRun: Who’s the super shoe for?
RC: Anybody for who shaving
two to four minutes off the marathon would make a difference.
iRun: Only marathoners?
RC: Not only marathoners.
But if you’re looking for BQ and worried about it,
they’re for you. If you’re trying to compete
at a local race and know your competitors will be wearing
them, they’re for you, but also they help you recover
faster, and not only at the elite level.
iRun: So the super shoe is
for—
RC: Anybody that wants to
run a bit faster and feel a bit better when they’re
done.
iRun: You can also probably
run a bit faster and feel a bit better if you eat a little
less cheese.
RC: Whatever you’re
doing training-wise, health-wise, leading up to a race,
that’s a given. But after all that, the super shoes
will make you faster. You still need to train hard and
perform, but super shoes will make you faster.
iRun: How many shoes did
you try this year?
RC: On Strava, I record all
the shoes I run in and this year, I tried out 21.
IRUN: WHAT’S THE MOST
COMFORTABLE?
RC: ASICS GEL-KAYANO.
iRun: Wow.
RC: It’s a bells and
whistles shoe. An innovative shoe with the newest technology.
It’s a bit more expensive than their regular shoe,
it has more cushioning and support, but in the road running
category—it’s second to none.
iRun: Running in 21 shoes,
what did you learn?
RC: The uppers on almost
every shoe is good now. That wasn’t the case 15
years ago. There were overlays and stitching, the materials
weren’t as good, the heel cups were hard and you
had to wear the shoes in for them to feel good. Now it’s
almost redundant to say the upper is comfortable. Across
the board, they’re comfortable. The technology is
so good—if your upper’s not good, you failed.
iRun: Let’s just pretend
I didn’t know what an upper was.
RC: It’s what holds
your foot to the midsole and the outsole. The material
on top.
iRun: OK, so I get the super
shoe for Christmas, or whatever excuse folks need to be
nice to themselves. What else should I get to round out
my collection?
RC: The New Balance 860 is
my workhorse of choice. It’s more affordable than
the GEL-KAYANO and offers protection and it’s just
a solid shoe that’s going to last.
iRun: One real indulgence I like is winter shoes.
RC: I always have a Gore-Tex
shoe—but they last three years because I don’t
wear them that much. The ASICS GEL-KAYANO is a good one.
They have a bigger, thicker outsole that provides more
traction and the upper is Gore-Tex, it’s stiffer,
and I wouldn’t use it on a normal day, but on the
days you need it, it’s a much better option than
your feet getting cold and wet.
iRun: Which is hell.
RC: Exactly, and remember:
most of the super shoes don’t have good traction,
so when buying yourself shoes for Christmas, remember—if
you get a super shoe, you’ll be slipping all over
the place and risking injury.
iRun: Gotcha. So maybe it’s
best to use the treadmill?
RC: Comes down to the person.
iRun: Sami Jabril one time
told me on the MGT that running in the winter outside
makes Canadian runners tougher than folks you guys compete
against.
RC: I think there’s
something to that, but the treadmill allows for a way
more specific pace. Some people can do 25K on the treadmill
and hit all their paces versus outside, when the wind
and crappy footing might make that impossible.
iRun: What about you?
RC: 25K on the treadmill?
I hate it. I get to 10K and I’m sick of it, but
a 25K loop, I’ll do that. I think it comes down
to what you enjoy more but, if you train exclusively on
the treadmill than try road racing, your legs won’t
be weathered because the treadmill is soft.
iRun: And your pick for trail
shoes?
RC: North Face Vectiv is
a great trail shoe and it also works on the road. It’s
a good mix of stability and cushion.
iRun: What new shoe are you
itching to try?
RC: Solomon is coming out
with a road shoe, a super road shoe, and I liked the HOKA
Zinal. That’s a trail shoe that runs like a road
shoe but has slightly bigger lugs for better grip on the
bottom and another good one I’ve been running in
is the Solomon Glide and Norda, out of Montreal. It really
feels good, but it’s a trail shoe that’s $285.
iRun: Eh, all this talk about sneakers. Can we give any
love to socks?
RC: Honestly what I wear
now are these $7 socks from Decathlon. It might even be
$7 for two pairs.
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