Discontinued · road · Race day · $130
Elite-level Japanese marathon flat.
Built for race day, at a target pace of 4:45–6:45 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris.
Asics tuned this midsole firm (2/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 20 mm of heel stack keeps you low and connected, with more ground feel than most current trainers. Combined, the ride reads as snappy at 4/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A 6 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The geometry is fairly traditional and flat, so the shoe follows your foot rather than steering it. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 200 miles from the outsole, about $0.65 per mile at $130.
For the foams and plates Asics uses across its line, read the Asics brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
170 g / 6.0 oz
105 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
20 mm
16 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
6 mm
Level with the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$130
30 cheaper than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
2 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~200 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Asics line it is lighter than the brand's median (268 g / 9.5 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (38 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Adidas Adizero RC 5
210 g / 7.4 oz · 28 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $90
Lightweight, firm budget racer for track work and 5Ks.
Altra Golden Spike
155 g / 5.5 oz · 15 mm · 0 mm drop · — · $100
Zero-drop track spike for middle- and long-distance racing.
Adidas Adizero Adios 9
176 g / 6.2 oz · 28 mm · 7 mm drop · — · $140
Adidas Adizero Adios 9: 28 mm heel stack, 7 mm drop, 176 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Asics Hyper Speed 4
210 g / 7.4 oz · 32 mm · 7 mm drop · — · $100
Budget racer: light, simple and fast enough for 5Ks on a dime.