I personally think not having loops on the back and tongue is really stupid. It weighs nothing and it’s very convenient to have. Hoka needs to fix flimsy heel area too. Asics is one of the most easy to put on so I guess it’s popular among triathletes especially ITU athletes. I totally get it. They are pretty fast and you can slip them on so easily.

Unless the run is incredibly short (Arena League Games) the best running shoe for triathlon will be the shoe that runs the fastest. Saving 2 seconds by having a loop on the back isn't worth losing 2 sec/mile being in a slower shoe.

As mathematics mentioned: because outside of AGL, or *maybe* an ITU sprint race…it won’t matter.

And because those features generally will disqualify a shoe from being purchased by the general running population. Nothing makes a shoe sell like the opposite of hotcakes than having a big old heel loop or a large tongue.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Saw Cam Wurf with an Alphafly that had a velcro closure a year or so ago?

I think as triathletes we are such a small subset there is no point to develop anything. Even smaller subset who actually care about saving seconds in T2.

I remember watching women's PTO Ibiza last year and anyone using Hoka Rocket X2 took noticeably longer to get the shoe on. Owning a pair myself I have first hand experience what a pain they are to get on quickly.

Once upon a time I ran in Nike Kukini (v1 and v2) in short course tris.
Of course they are low tech by today's standard but v1 was a slipper and v2 had velcro closure.
I can't even remember what year that was ...

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I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain.

Best triathlon shoe ever!! When they discontinued I bought 5 pair. Still the best I have ever had!

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

I don't know why others don't do it, but I have a small shoe horn in my t2 layout.

Grab shoe tongue in one hand, grab shoe horn in other, slide in foot with shoe horn placed inside the heel and repeat with other foot.

Works quickly every time. It doesn't really add extra time because instead of holding the back of the shoe you're just holding a shoe horn in the back of the shoe.

Completely eliminates the random struggles where your foot doesn't go in right or the shoe tongue gets all jammed up.

Genius.

That might wind up in my IM run bag.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I've showed a few people including pros who I've seen lose 10 seconds on their shoes and they just look at me like I'm crazy.

You can actually buy clip on shoe horns on Amazon, one for each shoe that removes when you pull your shoe on. Used for elderly people who struggle to put on shoes. But at least the ones I tried didn't play well with the unstructured super shoe uppers.

Something like these.
https://www.amazon.com/...sabled/dp/B083R8PFNK

But they were too flexible for the softer shoe uppers.

I'd just go with one of the ones I still have left over from my shoe fitting days.

Granted, I still need to test what shoe I'm gonna wind up wearing for races this year. That'll wind up being another one of those "N=1" articles.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

My current hunch is that the Paris Metaspeed Sky is the way to go as very light and it brings in some of the soft Nike bounce, with more of the structured support of the Asics. But I've not tried Saucony past the the Endorphin pro and non of the Adidas shoes. Shoe articles is one area I think would be very interesting. A shoe count like the bike counts could be pretty interesting.

I respond quite well to the Endorphin Pro. It's a very good shoe for me.

I loved the feel of the MetaSpeed Sky. But it's a touch narrower under the mid foot and I usually like something that's a bit more filled out there (see my undying love of Hoka as well). It's in the running, for sure. Along with a couple HOKAs. And the Endorphin Pro.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I ran a marathon in the Endorphin Pros that turned out better than expected, so I ran another in them the following year and felt around 30k they shoe felt just too firm for me. I was really beat up by the end. I think I may have gotten too used to some of the softer shoes. Like many people I do have a shoe problem...

The Hoka Cielo X1 is actually a pretty cool shoe if you like Hokas. I haven't raced in them, but have been using them for most of my fast runs lately. They got a really pronounced bounce underfoot. I'm not sure if I'm faster in them or just feel a little more lively.

Sky or Sky+? Asking b/c the SEP3 does not appear to be going on discount while my size might be available, the reviews of the SEP4 suggest that it is plusher and less 'racy' than the SEP3 and may be targeted to 1/2M and full M distances (I race sprint and Oly distances) and I have some 'A' races in the next 6 weeks, so if I'm looking to replace the SEP1 (what I've been racing in - love them, but wearing out)...I guess that I'm looking for an alternative. I admit to be attracted to what the pros run in and the Asics supershoes are pretty well represented. (I'm eliminating Nike for personal, not performance, reasons.)

Of course, since the Sky+/Edge+ are not on sale, maybe I should pull the trigger on full price, one gen old SEP3... :/

Officially the pair acquired are the MetaSpeed Sky Paris.

I think the EP1/2/3 were plenty soft / bouncy. But that's me talking, too.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I’ve got a pair of the París Edges based on early reviews stating that they were soft like the Sky+. They feel very similar to my old VF2s. I love them so far.

They reissued a modified version of the Sock Racer a few years back (mostly updated to a Flyknit upper). I still have the yellow ones (waiting for the right event to break them out). That shoe was so ahead of its time.


You can still find some on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/...sh=item404cf1490c:g:~zMAAOSwiPRiAKVi&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwC4iyBLsrFUJq0Vt2DR4UFGczx6TzidNq6cgnLbTRwNesBHUX2DcL9V2hPIsTevLtjecrKBdCCHrsv09sg%2B%2FxSnquTDkf4QWLjBB%2F1erOBL1Bvrzv28PZvYJW4FCur3ea1cpxwhm1FnXG%2F1Ch9EyrzFdY1WOezJxbXe0dQyBwoLa89FuVDkvnccUwr0HbCWsSvOTBW3Fh9AW4yj4VpXtOHSB4Pf7d3SDfIm97O3L%2B7%2F05mwOxrO1xbaRb7urAmi73g%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8be5LbeYw

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