Believe in the Run discussed the new Rebellion Pro, which has about 50mm of stack but passes the World Athletics guidelines. The shoe has a heel cutout, making it 40mm at the point where it is measured for compliance (12% from the rear).
I was joking in another thread about the Mozuno Wave Duel Pro, which is designed like a track spike for short road races and has a thicker sole at the front than the heel. Makes it possible to have 40mm heel but more stack overall. Looks like that’s what they are actually doing with the Rebellion Pro.
I’m excited to see how Mizuno does with this shoe. Their review of the midsole is very positive, while the upper could use some refining.
I had high hopes for their Wave Neo Wind but the reviews haven’t been great. I would like to actually try a pair. I’m a big fan of Mizuno (played their MP-33s and MX-23s (golf) decades ago) and hope these do well for them.
I guess we will see in Tokyo in March. Mizuno focuses the majority of the athlete marketing dollars on athletes in Japan. If they are wearing the shoe then it will passes IAAF. My guess right now is that Nike, adidas, Saucony and Asics are not scrambling to figure out what Mizuno has done. Sure they will look at it but It is a long way from where Mizuno enters the market to where even Altra is with their shoe.
I have always been a fan of Mizuno. Well not always. They had a shoe called the Sumo Trainer. The shoe fit 1.5 sizes (USA) to small. If you wore a 10 in another brand you would need to buy an 11.5 and the funny thing is that was the best selling shoe at the time. Finally after years of struggle they developed the Wave Rider 2. The Wave Rider is still their top selling shoe world wide.
I had high hopes for their Wave Neo Wind but the reviews haven’t been great. I would like to actually try a pair. I’m a big fan of Mizuno (played their MP-33s and MX-23s (golf) decades ago) and hope these do well for them.
The Neo Wind seems to be more about renewable materials than performance, even by their own marketing. It was ever meant to compete like the Rebellion Pro
but It is a long way from where Mizuno enters the market to where even Altra is with their shoe.
Why? The Metaspeed Sky showed that a first honest try can be a great hit. First reviews of the Rebellion Pro midsole seem to place it up there with the AlphaFly. Meanwhile Altra seemingly can’t make it into anyone’s honorable mention, let alone top 5 race day list.
I had high hopes for their Wave Neo Wind but the reviews haven’t been great. I would like to actually try a pair. I’m a big fan of Mizuno (played their MP-33s and MX-23s (golf) decades ago) and hope these do well for them.
The Neo Wind seems to be more about renewable materials than performance, even by their own marketing. It was ever meant to compete like the Rebellion Pro
Agreed - I was still hoping for a good shoe though.
I have covered 49 running events this year including 5 of the Marathon Majors. I have the rankings and give them to the brands. Mizuno has a long way to go in super shoes and in brands. They used to be solidly in the top 7 brands and that simply is not the case right now. I was going to mention Li Ning instead of Altra. Li Ning is moving up the super shoe charts too! At the Athens Marathon the woman who won was in the Altra. In the 49 events there was not a single Mizuno on the podium. Li Ning showed up multiple times. Of course the Podium does not matter much at all. The overall ranking does.
Just watched the review Believe in Run did on this shoe. Not the podcast, the review. They gave it green lights which means full approval. Yet, in the review both mentioned fit problems around the toe and neither could tell you if the shoe was actually short or the toe volume was too low. Even after the green light reveal Thomas makes mention of the fit. It actually does not matter what a midsole feels like or does not feel like. If the super shoe does not fit your foot perfectly, you will not realize the full benefit of the shoe. Personally, I would try different socks and barefoot to see if that makes a difference in the fit if I had to have the Mizuno. Or I would simply go up 1/2 size.
Both Asics and Mizuno as you know are Japanese companies. Asics chose to confuse the market with the Metaspeed Sky and the Metaspeed Edge. They did not come right out and say it, but they built the Edge for their home market. Without mentioning the difference in foot structure, the Japanese runner runs way up on their toes and piston like. There is very little length in their stride. Just listening to the description on the video, the Mizuno shoe is leaning towards the home market which makes sense.
I have covered 49 running events this year including 5 of the Marathon Majors. I have the rankings and give them to the brands. Mizuno has a long way to go in super shoes and in brands. They used to be solidly in the top 7 brands and that simply is not the case right now. I was going to mention Li Ning instead of Altra. Li Ning is moving up the super shoe charts too! At the Athens Marathon the woman who won was in the Altra. In the 49 events there was not a single Mizuno on the podium. Li Ning showed up multiple times. Of course the Podium does not matter much at all. The overall ranking does.
When I said “top 5” I didn’t mean in place or count. Especially among sponsored athletes. If nike has more sponsored athletes but hoka came out with the fastest, most efficient shoe, then nike would still have a higher count and better finishes. I meant runners who try them all, do not rate Altras high.
What do you mean? They are “in fact” 50mm thick at the thickest point, and well over 40mm for a lot of the shoe. There is simply a cutout where World Athletics takes its measurement.
So they are 50mm thick. And meet the 40mm rule, as defined.
I guess we will see in Tokyo in March. Mizuno focuses the majority of the athlete marketing dollars on athletes in Japan. If they are wearing the shoe then it will passes IAAF. My guess right now is that Nike, adidas, Saucony and Asics are not scrambling to figure out what Mizuno has done. Sure they will look at it but It is a long way from where Mizuno enters the market to where even Altra is with their shoe.
I have always been a fan of Mizuno. Well not always. They had a shoe called the Sumo Trainer. The shoe fit 1.5 sizes (USA) to small. If you wore a 10 in another brand you would need to buy an 11.5 and the funny thing is that was the best selling shoe at the time. Finally after years of struggle they developed the Wave Rider 2. The Wave Rider is still their top selling shoe world wide.
The Sumo Trainer……completely forgot about this shoe until you mentioned it. At that time I still sold running shoes in my shop and had big issues with the sizing, people not liking they had such ‘big’ feet
Believe in the Run discussed the new Rebellion Pro, which has about 50mm of stack but passes the World Athletics guidelines. The shoe has a heel cutout, making it 40mm at the point where it is measured for compliance (12% from the rear).Wave Rider fan here: have had more models than I care to remember.
Perhaps you could be clear what is meant by a “heel cutout”. Is that the same as ‘no heel’? https://believeintherun.com/mizuno-wave-rebellion-pro-review/
“There are no official measurements on the stack, but it is big, bold, and **allegedly **World Athletics Legal.” https://www.worldathletics.org/...uments/book-of-rules (edits)
10. Technical Requirements for Athletic Shoes
10.1 Unless specifically agreed by the Chief Executive Officer (or their nominee) in writing,
any Athletic Shoe worn in Applicable Competitions must, at ** **points set out in
Regulations 10.3 and 10.4 below, have a sole with a maximum thickness as set out in
the table in Appendix 3 .
10.2 The sole of the shoe may have
grooves, ridges, indentations or protuberances, ( same or similar material ).
10.3 The thickness of the sole will be measured at the centre of the forefoot and the centre
heel of the Athletic Shoe as the distance between the inside top side and the plane of
the outside under side at the centre of the forefoot and heel respectively. This
measurement includes the above-mentioned features. See Figure (a) below:
Figure (a) – Measuring the thickness of the sole
10.4 The centre of the forefoot of the Athletic Shoe is the centre point of the shoe at 75% of
its internal length. The centre of the heel of the Athletic Shoe is the centre point of the
shoe at 12% of its internal length. See Figure (b), below. For a standard sample unisex
size 42 (EUR) , the centre of the forefoot of the Athletic Shoe will be the centre point of
the shoe approximately 203mm from the inside back of the shoe, and the centre of the
heel of the Athletic Shoe will be the centre point of the shoe approximately 32mm from
the inside back of the shoe. The thickness of the sole outside of these points is not
relevant for the purposes of meeting the technical requirements of these Regulations
