Mens Nike Lunar Trainer

When they arrived I couldn't believe how clumpy they were, the shoe was almost twice as wide as my foot, the depth of the heel was 'massive'. I can't understand why if the new foam is so good the midsole has to be this thick. The upper was very nice apart from a dodgy heel tab which digs in to the achilles. One other thing i couldn't understand is why the trainer has less carbon rubber on the sole than the racer??? I personally don't think this shoe will last on the market, whe I ran on light trails in it it was downright dangerous and I always felt I could turn an ankle or trip and that was just on woodchip trails. Its dissapointig, loking at the upper you think ike are finally beginning to listen, simple, great fitting lightweighta nd then they attach it to a midsole which to be honest is ridiculous. I read the designers story about these shoes and he said he wanted it to feel like running on pillows, well I'm ot sure that soft soft is teh answer for running, you need a bit of a return. At £85 I don't feel this represents a good shoe.

It took all of 10 steps in the lunar trainer before I decided that it was my new first choice shoe for distance road racing. Just can't wait to try the racer version.

As a bit of background, I'm a high mileage runner, used to minimalist shoes. I run most of my miles in the Nike Streak XC and Streak Racer - both under 200g in my size UK11. My running is split between road and light trail / grass.

In my first 3 days of ownership, I've covered over 60 miles in this shoe which has included a long run, long road intervals and a few recovery runs. First impressions were great. It's like nothing I've ever run in before. The cushioning is far superior to the racers I usually wear - and also much better than the Pegasus lurking in the depths of my wardrobe. Running feels almost impact free; akin to running on a flattened out stress ball. The closest shoe I would compare it to is the Skylon, but it feels significantly lighter - only marginally heavier than my ultra lightweight racers.

When the surface moved from hard towpath to light trail, the shoes gripped well. Only gripe is that the foam spreads wider than the upper which can make them feel a little clumsy on uneven surfaces.

On the tempo intervals the lunars also felt great and I felt they were protecting my legs from the impact very well. Whilst the stress ball comparison may not sound suitable belongs on a fast shoe, it seems bouncy and responsive - well suited to faster running.

So why not a score 9 or 10?
The high heel collars have dug into the skin around my Achilles tendons, up to the point of drawing blood. I've never experienced this on any other type of running shoe before and unfortunately it’s bad enough to prevent me wearing them for several days whilst the skin heals up – watch out for this on your test run.

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