This is what I get for not expounding on my point in full in the forum, and it's not meant to be a jab at Fleet Feet in particular, but moreso the general point that there are efficiencies gained through centralizing some of the buying. Whether that's greater allocations in the at-once availability pile, or whether that's by managing 8-10 doors worth of inventory in one place, it's definitely different than it was, say, 20 years ago. The game's shifted a little bit!

The general point on the field sales rep model still stands - I think it makes way more sense to have a tech rep, and centralize buying ops to booking at stuff like TRE/FF's event, and other ways to pre-line.

Hope all's well out in NY. It's still too damn gray in CT.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Salming, they are simple and great, they are simply great

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Team Zoot 2023

Voted Saucony for most running and specifically triathlon (type A8 with tenex laces), but I use several Adidas shoes for fast road races and marathon. As indeed many marathon runners do. But when testing new shoes for triathlon I always consider the practical side for getting them on quickly with a good fit and Saucony still feels better to me. I suppose the Brownlee's prove it can be done, but I am not comparing myself with them anyway.

That said, gonna try Adidas Sub 2 in a few hours at a pure road race. Switching shoes regularly in my opinion helps to keep the legs prepared for different scenarios.

Monty, your not suggesting the Hoka Bondi has a similar feel to the Air Mariah are you? Imagine the Bondi it 1988. My view on this:

It’s been awhile since a brand really took a shot at innovating for the young fast runner. No offense to Hoka (I have many friends there) they weren’t innovating for young and fast runners. The original purpose was for an Ultra Runner to run fast. I very different prospect at the time. The Nike shoes are really grabbing share of runners who are going after it in the race. When I look at runners running under 3:00 which tend to be younger runners, the Vapor Fly is taking great share.

This also fits with my statement (based on observation) that athletes are bypassing sponsorship or breaking sponsorship to run in the Vapor Fly. If you want to win in or even place in the top 5 in Kona you’re going to have to turn in a run that is faster than maybe you have ever run off the bike before. When the current Champion can run 2:39 off the bike it’s a different game.

Technically why would the Vapor Fly be good in Kona:
Midsole Pbax - super resilient material. Gut says it won’t soften up like EVA does in the heat. If your shoes are soft going into Kona they are going to get much softer in that heat. I see that every October.
Carbon Plate - Even if the Pbax does soften under the heat there is a Carbon plate that keeps the platform in the forefoot stable which gives you a better toe off.

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Dave Jewell
Free Run Speed

Oh yes I remember you talking about forefoot cushioning. We’ve had many conversations about that.

The Vapor Fly has that carbon plate that makes a world of difference in forefoot cushioning. It evens out the platform.

You know me I’m not knocking the Clayton. In fact I think it’s the best Hoka made. Or at least it’s one of the two Hoka shoes I can run in. I put 400 miles on a Clayton when it first came out. Hopefully with the Mach they fixed the arch issues so that more people can enjoy that unique ride.

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Dave Jewell
Free Run Speed

Posting to Slowman. I’ve also left adidas off lists from time to time. And I worked there.

To the adidas comment. Rightfully you are looking at this through a narrow lens. The USA. In the US adidas is not the big running company. Outside the US adidas is a very big running company. If fact it’s the $ Billion running brand nobody thinks about. Where adidas absolutely shines in the US and all around the world is at the front of the race. If we look at the front of any Marathon, 1/2 marathon, 10K etc. adidas is a top 2 brand. When I say front I’m talking under 3:00 for the marathon. The two shoes are Adios Boost and Boston Boost. Both light and very dynamic in feel. Ask Herbert.

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Dave Jewell
Free Run Speed

I'd be super intrigued to finally get my grubby paws on the Vaporfly, as my experience in the Zoom Fly has been similarly surprising. I figured it'd be unstable due to narrowness in the midfoot, and have a strange ride with the plate in the forefoot. Instead that damn shoe has been a dream.

I nominate the Tracer as the single-best Hoka of the moment, although the original Clifton might be the best ever shoe they've produced.

To me, the Everrun/Boost/pBax midsoles are the best innovations of the last 20 years in cushioning. The single best innovation's been on the uppers.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Caleb, If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. Shawn at 361usa.com

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Shawn
TORRE Consulting Services, LLC
http://www.TORREcs.com

I’m curious about the Sensation 3. I have a pair on the way via amazon. I’m trying to find an On/Clifton 3 love child.

Zoot

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I think the Skechers GoRun Ride 7, might be your baby.

Salming has the best shoes hands down. No gimmicks, just simply run naturally with no nonsense. I love seeing other athletes are becoming more aware of this brand and finding how to be the most efficient on the run.


https://www.salming.com/en/running/

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__________________

Louie Frank Cicchino
Accelero Endurance

Salming

Based on your instagram and this post, I would hazard a guess that you have a relationship with Salming, which needs to be disclosed when you're touting them in public forums. If you'd like to view the handy FTC disclosure guidelines, I'd be happy to post them for you.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

zing! love it

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

There are few things that annoy me more.

This probably says a lot about how much time I spend on the Internet, and me as a person.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I thought you were kidding about the Dunkin Saucony, but there it is..

https://www.saucony.com/...al-saucony-x-dunkin/

awesome. I think.

thanks for the update from the front lines of running shoe marketing, interesting times..

On Running.

ONLY shoe I have ever put on that fits like it was custom made. Just bought a new pair last night.

Customer service in on point too. Small company values type thing. They won my brand loyalty

i believe that's on the poll.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Oops. Then ignore me haha

Wow, you do spend a ton of time on the internet. I have been running in Salmings since their North American debut (4 years ago) and became an ambassador in the past 3 months. Even if I wasn't an ambassador I would still write fondly of the brand, as I believe in letting the body run naturally and find it's natural gait. Have you tried them?

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__________________

Louie Frank Cicchino
Accelero Endurance

So, multiple things.

1. Yep, tried running in them. Hated them. I don't think I can emphasize the word "hate" enough in that. They felt like I strapped a couple of cardboard boxes to my feet. Upper didn't hug the foot at all, nor did the midsole feel like anything special. I was incredibly disappointed - I really wanted to like them.
2. In EVERY. SINGLE. POST. that you have about Salming, you need to disclose the relationship that you have with them. The easiest way to do this is through either the hashtags #ad, #spon, or #sponsored. It's not saying that you, yourself, are sponsored (I know that term is negative towards age group athletes), but it indicates that you have a relationship with the vendor that is being disclosed in your posting. And that disclosure needs to be the first hashtag you use, and needs to be "above the fold," - meaning somebody can't have to hit the "More" button to find the hashtag at the bottom.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Tell that to ggeiger as well (see post #24, above). I actually like Salming shoes, but I agree with you about shills. Really annoying and shameful behavior.

Skechers GoMeb