Asics Kayanos are the devil..?!

stamfordbridge

Hi Boardsies,

Just a quick question. I'm getting so much mixed feedback it's unreal. I've been training with Asics Kayanos and Brooks Green Silence, most days over the past month, running an average of 7-8 miles daily. Major uptake in volume of training for me. Anyway, I was emailing a buddy of mine who is in Africa who is increasing his own serious training, and mentioned the gear I was using etc. Anyway, he totally told me off for using a supported, heavy shoe like the Kayanos. He said "

"Kayanos are the devil - like running with bricks on your feet. There's no proof that shoes do anything to prevent injury. As a short term thing, big shoes will protect your feet and let you train more but that can often mean training too much for your fitness and also becoming weak and dependant on them."

Now, I'd be inclined to trust him as he's a decent runner, but is there any major truth to this? Have you found the same? I'm a little bit considering forgoing the kayanos and heavier shoes in future because of this, maybe going for lighter shoes. Any need?

dev123

I've only started running in the last 8 months or so and started out with Kayanos. They are hyped as being the best shoe out there with all sorts of cutting edge technology. There is no doubt that they are slipper-comfortable but they are on the heavy side and now everytime I look at the inner side of the sole they remind of Frankenstein boots.

I have Nike Lunerglides now which are much lighter and just as comfortable. While the Lunarglides arn't exactly minimal they are a definite step away from the Kayanos.

I've been trying to move away from heavily supported shoes after reading "Born to Run". There are some interesting statisitcs in the book regarding the incidence of injury since the modern cushioned runner was invented by Nike in the '70s. I'm not sure how verifiable the stats are but our own internationally renowned sports physio Ger Hartman doesn't agree with the big shoe manufactures and their sales pitch of correcting for overpronantion.

http://www.ceburunning.com/your-feet-are-perfect/#more-1116

The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons. These have all evolved over centuries to act as natural shock absorbers. Before Nike came on the scene athletes competed without the need for gel, air, wave technology etc. and they seemed to manage just fine. I don't think we've turned the evolutionary clock back in the space of 30-40 years.

ThePiedPiper

I spent a month in Kenya a couple of years back and trained with a middle distance runner most days. The first day we went out, he was wearing a pair of dress shoes! After that, he was wearing old beaten up runners that were at least 10 years old, soles practically worn down to nothing. I was wearing my trusty Kayanos.

My point is, most East Africans will never wear a pair of decent runners until they make the big time over there, they do their running barefoot or in beaten up runners that are falling apart. This is what there bodies are used to and the idea of heavy cushioned runners is alien. We grew up wearing Nike, Adidas and Asics and when they start wearing a bit after a measly 500 or 600 miles, we throw them in the bin. This is what we are used to.

From my own experience, I've been wearing Kayanos for 6 years and 11 marathons having been recommended them after gait analysis. My injuries have been virtually non-existant, any I did get were from running into potholes or something ridiculous. Yes, they're heavy and slower compared to my racing Mizunos, but I've ran probably close to 10,000 miles at this stage in them so they work for me.