Im curious if there is a carbon plated shoe better suited for high cadence running. My cadence is over 200spm. Ive been running in Vaporfly’s for the past two months and like them, but my legs get really tired at race pace. At a 5K pace (6:20/mi), my cadence is in the 220spm range. At half marathon pace (6:50/mi), my cadence is around 205.
Is there a carbon plated shoe other than the Vaporfly that might be better, or stick with the VF’s?
Im curious if there is a carbon plated shoe better suited for high cadence running. My cadence is over 200spm. Ive been running in Vaporfly’s for the past two months and like them, but my legs get really tired at race pace. At a 5K pace (6:20/mi), my cadence is in the 220spm range. At half marathon pace (6:50/mi), my cadence is around 205.
Is there a carbon plated shoe other than the Vaporfly that might be better, or stick with the VF’s?
Wow! How the heck did you get up to that cadence? Was it a concerted effort, or just a naturally fast footfall (i.e. are you on the shorter legged side of things)? It has always required effort to get up to a 180 spm range at the pace you mention; as my ‘natural’ footfall is in the 164 range.
Stephen J
Im curious if there is a carbon plated shoe better suited for high cadence running. My cadence is over 200spm. Ive been running in Vaporfly’s for the past two months and like them, but my legs get really tired at race pace. At a 5K pace (6:20/mi), my cadence is in the 220spm range. At half marathon pace (6:50/mi), my cadence is around 205.
Is there a carbon plated shoe other than the Vaporfly that might be better, or stick with the VF’s?
Wow! How the heck did you get up to that cadence? Was it a concerted effort, or just a naturally fast footfall (i.e. are you on the shorter legged side of things)? It has always required effort to get up to a 180 spm range at the pace you mention; as my ‘natural’ footfall is in the 164 range.
Stephen J
Its just always been my race cadence. My regular everyday easy run cadence averages 190spm. I dont know, maybe something is wrong with my running. The 200-220spm feels natural/normal. I am not trying to turnover that fast - it just happens.
Your best bet is to try them out. This is one of those ask 10 people questions and get 10 answers.
From sticking a lot of athletes in these shoes from world class runners, pro triathletes, ncaa runners to people who want them to improve on their fire fighter/police academy time bc they are on the bubble I’ve not seen a consensus.
good luck
I think you’ll have to experiment (unfortunately) to find another supershoe that can go faster or feel more ‘right’ to you than the VF as a fast racer.
I will add as my n=1 of someone who does most of my miles in the most padded, heaviest shoes ever (Hoka Bondi 6, Nike Invincible), does speedwork in a variety of lighter vs stiffer shoes (Endorphin Speed, Hoka Bondi X Carbon), and then races in the Alphaflys, that to me, the weight of the shoe is the single biggest factor in feeling how ‘fast’ the shoe turns over.
I recently added a New Balance 1080 V11 to my collection since I really need a wide-sized shoe but not super padded (running in super padded shoes all the time makes it harder to transition to 'normal shoes), and none of the mid to faster shoes I run in come in wide. The NB 1080 isn’t supposed to be a ‘fast’ shoe, and is more of a all-rounder, but from the weight alone it is so much easier to turn over than the heavy shoes.
The Asics Metaspeed Edge is specifically designed for high cadence.
Asics Metaspeed Edge is targeted at higher cadence runners. Their other shoe is the Metaspeed Sky, which they say is for ‘stride’ runners.
I don’t have any personal experience with Asics and I’m a lower cadence runner.
Your best bet is to try them out. This is one of those ask 10 people questions and get 10 answers.
From sticking a lot of athletes in these shoes from world class runners, pro triathletes, ncaa runners to people who want them to improve on their fire fighter/police academy time bc they are on the bubble I’ve not seen a consensus.
good luck
I live in a shoe desert. No one locally has carbon plated shoes to try on. So, I will have to buy one of each to try out. That’s why I was hoping for some guidance to narrow down the number of shoes I need to purchase.
I need to see a video of this. Generally higher cadence is better but that cadence is high!. I ran a marathon on Saturday and averaged 188 at 5:36 average- getting over 200 is quite unique for that distance.
In your case the vaporfly would be better suited than the alphafly IMO. I can’t speak for the other shoes.
Legs generally get tired at race pace too!
I run with similar high cadences. I have the saucony endorphin pro 2 and like them but I haven’t tried anything else for comparison.
I haven’t noticed any fatigue compared my regular shoes but I haven’t done any marathon distances
It could be interesting for you to check how you position on the ASICS graphs “Stride vs Cadence”
As already mentionned ASICS Metaspeed Edge seems specifically designed for high cadences, 190 / 210 from these graphs.
I need to see a video of this. Generally higher cadence is better but that cadence is high!. I ran a marathon on Saturday and averaged 188 at 5:36 average- getting over 200 is quite unique for that distance.
In your case the vaporfly would be better suited than the alphafly IMO. I can’t speak for the other shoes.
Legs generally get tired at race pace too!
Have you noticed any pattern that stand out of people that run with a cadence of 200+. I can not comment on that, as I have not come across anyone that runs with that high of a cadence for distance running in my 35 years of competitive running. Thanks!
Stephen J
I need to see a video of this. Generally higher cadence is better but that cadence is high!. I ran a marathon on Saturday and averaged 188 at 5:36 average- getting over 200 is quite unique for that distance.
In your case the vaporfly would be better suited than the alphafly IMO. I can’t speak for the other shoes.
Legs generally get tired at race pace too!
Im attaching a sample of my runs with cadence. Again, this is just what feels normal. If I go run fast, its just the cadence that happens naturally. Nothing is forced.
Image attached.
I would consider a few things in making your decision, first of which is your foot fall/landing and take off and also look at the wear on your Nike’s. IF you have a shorter stride and typically land on your mid/forefoot, which based on your cadence I’m going to assume, you may not be getting the full benefit of the carbon plate’s rocker/lever effect, however, you still gain the benefit of the stability and energy return. IF you are a forefoot/midfoot striker, the Nike Alphafly Next% may be the best suited for you due to the zoom air unit in the forefoot providing the extra cushioning to help with fatigue (Vs the Vaporfly). The zoomx foam also provides the softest ride and cushioning from the others. The Saucony’s just don’t have the same feel, although I love the Speed’s for training, the Pro’s just don’t compare to Nike’s soft landing. Asics’ Metaspeed have a more traditional running feel and not as forward leaning but also again not as soft a landing as the Nike’s. You may want to try New Balance FuelCell RC Elite v2, which are a bit between the Asics and the Nike’s in providing the soft landing and forward lean.
I’ve always heard the AlphaFly is more friendly to heel strikers than the Vaporfly and have experienced that personally myself, owning both pairs.
would like to see a video of you running. stride length seems short.
today I did
warm up: cadence 172, stride length 1.00, pace 9:28
intervals: cadence 177, stride length 2.97, pace 6:04
but this data what you are measuring is in the arm, not actually the leg. i tend to swing my arms much more than my legs, so i look funny on video ha ha sad face. So maybe you have short arm carry
would like to see a video of you running. stride length seems short.
today I did
warm up: cadence 172, stride length 1.00, pace 9:28
intervals: cadence 177, stride length 2.97, pace 6:04
but this data what you are measuring is in the arm, not actually the leg. i tend to swing my arms much more than my legs, so i look funny on video ha ha sad face. So maybe you have short arm carry
Typo? Should the stride length be half that in the intervals?
At the same spm you need a longer stride to travel faster.
To OP: try the Asics. They are specifically designed for your case.
would like to see a video of you running. stride length seems short.
today I did
warm up: cadence 172, stride length 1.00, pace 9:28
intervals: cadence 177, stride length 2.97, pace 6:04
but this data what you are measuring is in the arm, not actually the leg. i tend to swing my arms much more than my legs, so i look funny on video ha ha sad face. So maybe you have short arm carry
Your arm swing doesn’t matter. Each swing will be 1:1 with spm, and stride length will be GPS distance divided by spm
would like to see a video of you running. stride length seems short.
today I did
warm up: cadence 172, stride length 1.00, pace 9:28
intervals: cadence 177, stride length 2.97, pace 6:04
but this data what you are measuring is in the arm, not actually the leg. i tend to swing my arms much more than my legs, so i look funny on video ha ha sad face. So maybe you have short arm carry
Your arm swing doesn’t matter. Each swing will be 1:1 with spm, and stride length will be GPS distance divided by spm
Don’t think it’s by gps, since the Garmin uses stride length for indoor run work outs. Technically yes, arms and feet should have matching spm, but I’ve seen runners with ZERO arm swing go fast (look like T-Rex)