I am looking for a shoe in between the Kinvara and the A5 with respect to comfort/weight and durability for a IM Marathon; anyone race in the Saucony Fastwitch shoe for IM Marathons?
I like the A5’s for 70.3/Half Marathons, I think that due to my size the A5’s for the 140.6/Marathon will do more harm then good.
Thoughs on the Fastwitch 6?
The Fastwitch 6 is a mild stability shoe, I’ve used the Fastwitch 4, it’s a good shoe if you need the posting what little of it there is.
I’m still using my A4’s and there is quite a difference between those two. I’ve switched from the Fastwitch to the Asics DS Racer and like the quality, spring and shape of that shoe better. Consider that shoe in your search.
Just my thoughts
jaretj
Thx the Asics DS Racer looks like a great shoe, was looking for something in the weight of 6oz’s-7.0oz’s with a “wider” toe box that one is right around 8oz.
Give the Fastwitch 6 a shot. I don’t think you will be disappointed at all. I use the same shoes as you. Kinvaras for training, a5’s for half ironmans and the new fastwtich 6 for ironmans. They are completely different than the 4’s which I agree with the above poster, they were a lousy shoe. I hope this helps but again I think you will love them!!!
I second the DS Racer! I switched over after hating the Fastwitch 5 and absolutely love the DS Racer. Its a great shoe for halfs and I would venture to say it has the support to be a great marathon shoe.
I have the Fasttwitch 6. I train in Guide #? and figured I’d stick wit hthe same brand for racing flats. Whatever you do, do not train or race in these without socks. I still have some scars I think from a 6 mile brick attempt. I’ve never had a shoes with worse seam edges and narrow tongue and uneven lacing tension with elestic laces. After about 4 miles my feet were donwright hurting in 3 or 4 places on each foot. They turned out the be the worst blisters I’ve ever had. That has never ever happend to me. I intended to do longer races in them but now they are just for fast training days and track workouts WITH SOCKS!
I race in my Brooks T7’s and actually my knees felt so fresh after my rescent HIM, and no blisters at all with socks… that I might even use them for my first IM next year. They are decievingly well padded I think.
Obvisonly shoes are individual, but that’s jsut my expereince with them. With regular laces and socks, they works fine for me on 8-9 miles runs.
I’m in the same boat as you and I use the Fastwitch 6’s. I love them and there is a little more heel for when I get tired and start to run a little more sloppy.
Give the Fastwitch 6 a shot. I don’t think you will be disappointed at all. I use the same shoes as you. Kinvaras for training, a5’s for half ironmans and the new fastwtich 6 for ironmans. They are completely different than the 4’s which I agree with the above poster, they were a lousy shoe. I hope this helps but again I think you will love them!!!
I like Saucony, I will go witth the Fastwitch 6, I’ll give them a spin, thanks!
IMO the DS Racer is a lower volume shoe than the Fastwitch. (Foot volume)
So definetly try them on before purchasing
jaretj
Thanks I will buddy, not a fan of the actual weight of the DS Racer too heavy.
What do you mean by lower volume? Lower “cut” shoe?
Think he is referring to the distance from the inside sole to the top of the toe box. So if you have fat toes you will get rubbing issues.
oh read it fast, that makes sense. thx
Yes, that is what I meant.
While my foot is a normal width, it is thin top to bottom and the DS Racer works well for me.
jaretj
+1 on the DS Racer.
I was a long-time loyal Saucony runner, with the Fastwitch 4 being my racing shoe. The Fastwitch 5 turned out to be a completely new/different shoe, with only the name in common with the previous version. I started getting foot problems using it. After some experimenting with different makes/models came upon the DS Racer, and never looked back.
Every foot’s different, though, so best is to try as many as you can to find what works best for you.
I used the DS Racer 8 for a couple seasons (bought in bulk) of sprints to 70.3s. Ramping up to a full IM I got some blisters forward on the inside of my arches that wouldn’t go away. Found the Fastwitch and gave it a shot. Raced Texas in May and loved it. I train and race in socks so I can’t comment on going sockless.
I’ll second @motoguy128’s comment about always wearing socks. I have scars on my feet and blood stains in my shoes from the day I forgot to bring socks to work for my lunch run…
Besides that, great shoe for anything from speed work to marathons. For triathlons I use kinvaras just because I can wear them without socks.
There’s very little weight difference between the Fastwitch and the Kinvara. Is there a reason you don’t want to run the IM marathon in the Kinvara?
I used the Fastwitch back when they came in the speed and endurance model (think is was #2 version?).
I can say for sure not to use those without socks. I used them that way at the Annapolis Oly (the one year they actually did it) and at the end of the race the outside of both feet had blown the sides out and I had about 1-1/2" blisters/cuts where my foot was slipping out the crack that was formed.
Yeah, it was my fault for not running in them without socks before but also for racing with them when they had over 200+ miles in them. Usually I would only put a 150 or so into my race shoes.
After that I went Zoot and never looked back for race shoes. But I only train in Saucony stuff and like their stuff a lot.
I do most of my running in kinvaras, but just did IMMT in the virratas. They are a little lighter than the kinvaras, but seem to have a slightly wider toe box for my fat feet. Other than loosing a Kona slot b/c of my poor run, my feet were happy for the whole race.