Less than zero

There are two things runners always talk about: their PRs and their injuries. Listen in on any post-race breakfast conversation and you’ll find them happily telling each other that they did well in the race or they did badly because of pain in their knees or hips, hams, calves, shins, heels or glutes.

Both topics actually have a lot to do with the shoes you’re wearing: the first if you’re wearing the right shoes — the kind that lets you run without pain, like you had wings in your heels; and the second if you’re wearing shoes that are so wrong for your feet and your gait that they can lead to long-term injury.

Triathlete and running coach Ani de Leon says, “It’s about developing a good running technique and finding the right shoe. You have to address both.”

Enter Adidas’ Adizero, the lightest shoe in its class. Haile Gebrselassie ran the Berlin Marathon in 2007 wearing Adizero Adios, finishing in a record 2:04:26.

Xavier Medina, manager for Adidas’ Go To Market, explains that Adizero is designed with ForMotion upper and ground-adapting 3D ForMotion unit for smoother, more natural touchdowns at high speeds. He should know about speed — he was a bemedaled track star during his college days in Ateneo in the 100, 200 and relay events. He was running competitively until he was 22 and is now shifting to longer distances.   

Ani adds that Adizero is great for both training and racing. “Most people switch from one shoe to another; they have to because most training shoes are heavy, and racing shoes are too light and don’t give you enough support. Adizero gives both, it is perfect for any distance.” 

An interior designer by profession turned national triathlete turned coach, Ani explains that because it’s a stability shoe, it fits people with “neutral feet, also those who over-pro-nate, which means they have this extra rolling inwards when they run, and people with flat feet. The shoe helps to make their stride become more efficient; it is designed in a way that you are encouraged to land mid-foot, where you’re supposed to be landing if you’re running correctly.”

But it is the ultra lightness of the shoe that sets it apart from others. It’s so light that when it was launched last month, Adidas ran a promo that gave customers 20 percent off if they brought to its stores their running shoes and they weighed more than 265 grams.

So how did I find Adizero? It’s like running with just my socks on — that’s how light they are. I tried it both on the treadmill in the gym and outdoors. The first time I wore it in the gym, it felt a bit weird, like I had forgotten to put on my shoes, but that’s because I have always worn cushioning shoes because I have knee problems. After a kilometer, I was beginning to get used to it. Adizero makes you feel like you’re flying (but believe me, I was not) or like you’re suddenly running without ankle weights for the first time.

Running on the road was another story altogether. As I said, I have ITBS issues and I tried Adizero on a 10-kilometer run. It doesn’t provide as much cushioning as shoes designed for that, of course, but what it does give you is a feeling that you want to run faster. Maybe it’s psychological or maybe they are designed that way as they help to propel you forward.

It’s no surprise that the shoe is designed for competitive runners, for speed runners, for those who break their PRs in every race.  

Xavier says Adidas has three categories in its running division: Competitive, for which Adizero was designed; Serious Runners, which has Supernova and Adistar; and Recreational Running, which has the Bounce series.

You may belong in the third category, but wearing Adizero makes you feel like you can be in the first.