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What do you get when you cross a super shoe with a lightweight trainer?

Perhaps for a lack of a more creative answer, a super trainer? Maybe not. But that is what the adidas Adizero Boston 10M is (to this wear tester).

Buy up a full size if you typically find adidas shoes to be narrow at the forefoot and toe box area or a wider fit, up to “E,” if available. I ordered a half size up and still, not enough. At 9.5, for a 9-wearer, I absolutely need a thin 100 per cent synthetic sock and wish I was wearing a 10 or a wide fit. If did order a 10, I feel the heel would likely slip more than it already does and I would eventually toe a curb sending myself staggering forward like a late-night reveler, just let out at the watering hole.

Keep in mind, this is not a harsh indictment of the shoe, but a one-off personal experience and a tad more research would have solved the issue. I run with a size 13-wearer, who loves the shoe as is. A wider fit can be ordered — tested here is the “D” width, known as the regular fit.

The nylon energy rods (instead of carbon plate) seems to boost performance, the lightstrike Pro foam or EVA foam and the thickness of that sole, make for a super shoe-like ride, without the full-on super shoe performance or price tag. Perhaps there is a 1 per cent performance benefit rather than the range of 2-6 per cent of many super shoes and as studied by Wouter Hoogkamer Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Integrative Locomotion Lab’s Department of Kinesiology Massachusetts, Amherst, who was the first to study and help coin the Nike 4% shoe.

Perhaps the benefit is a cause of the placebo effect as the ride just feels super shoe-like.

Specifications

Price: $100 +/-
Drop/off-set: heel to toe 8mm
Upper: Lightweight mono mesh, synthetic suede, inner sleeve
Midsole: Lightstrike Pro foam, EVA foam, Nylon Energyrod tubes
Outsole: Continental-branded rubber
Weight: 286 gms/ 10.1 Oz for the men’s US 9/UK 8.5/EUR 42.5/CM 27
Widths available: D – regular (reviewed), 2E (wide)

Hill session

Why not?

Why not test a shoe in various conditions? The warm-up was nearly 4K in length almost entirely on gravel. The shoe wanted to go faster. I was trying to run slower like the Ethiopians in Out of Thin Air — a fascinating read by the way. So, the warm-up was a tad hasty in effort.

Six times 40m on a steep pitch with a surface of grass felt great. To my relief coming down the hill did not cause the feet to jam into the toe box, suggesting that a size 9.5 wide may have done the trick after all (never ordered wide in my life).

Then added six times 300m at 30 per cent grade, slow and deliberate with a good knee lift and push-off. The darned shoe felt even better. Perhaps it will be my hill sesh super trainer shoe.

The warm-down was the warm-down (it is what it is) and probably not slow enough.

A second wear test, primarily on gravel for 5K at a steady pace, reminded me nonstop that I have metatarsals. It’s difficult to solve the world issues on a standard lunch run at work when you are super aware of your toes. There are a couple of pairs of very thick trainers that solve this issue. One is an adidas ultra boost. So, some days it is about preservation, and others, performance, and effort.

A third test put the shoe in the spotlight. It was a progression-style tempo-like run with a 30-minute easy to moderate effort, which slipped gently into 30-minutes at the anaerobic threshold range (effort, not pace) on asphalt and then another 30-minute effort winding down. It was a good metatarsal day, so, the focus was on keeping the rhythm of a half-marathon race — that feel.

This effort and rhythm made me want to lean forward that infinitesimal amount that allows a slight forefoot plant, a tad more knee lift, and that feeling that due to the ever so slight forward lean, I may look like Lasse Viran in the 10,000m in Montreal (truth hurts though).

The shoe test is the white model, with the new Outway (formerly Endur) synthetic sock that nearly touches the calf, and my white New Balance Athletics Illustrated-branded technical top, I felt perhaps I was trying to look more professional than I am. But the dead giveaway is the various brand choices; pick a lane.

Right now is the best time to buy this shoe as it is being heavily discounted to make way for another model (the 11), hopefully, as good. It is frustrating when changes are made to a shoe one likes and I am sure many people will like this one if you can find your size and width. Good luck.