Shoe Review: Adidas Supernova Glide 4

I'm no shoe expert - I'll leave that to RunBlogger. That said - Ken W. on DailyMile suggested I do a show review of a pair I recently bought so I thought I would give it a shot. I've managed to collect quite a pile of shoes over the past couple of years and I know what I like and don't like. Anyway, here goes.

I'll start off by saying something that everyone should hear, whether you've already heard it or you're a new runner and you're hearing it for the first time: shoes cannot make you a faster runner and no matter what you hear, there is no magical shoes...HOWEVER, shoes can hurt you and if you don't have the right shoe for you, it can ruin running for you. If you want living proof, I'm living proof and you can read all about that here (and read the comments too to see how many other people have been through the same thing). With that out of the way, here is my review of the Adidas Supernova Glide 4s.

I've been pretty strictly a Saucony man for the past year or so. After some experimentation I found that the Ride series, particularly the Ride 2s and 3s were the perfect shoe for me. Then Saucony had to go and mess everything up...they changed the heel-to-toe drop on all of their shoes from 12mm to 8mm (or less). I bought and ran in a pair of Ride 5s this past year and it ended up causing me some serious achilles pain. I switched back to my Ride 3s and wah-lah, no pain. You might be thinking "so what's the problem?" The problem is that Ride 3s are becoming increasingly difficult to find because they're discontinued. I've been buying rogue pairs of Ride 3s on eBay for the last 6 months knowing that eventually I was going to need to find an alternative for the future.

I have the greatest blessing a runner could ask for - my brother-in-law works for The Running Room - which is a running-shoe specialty store and not only that, he's a regional manager...so I get my shoes at a very nice discount which basically means that I can buy any shoe out there, even the expensive ones, and they don't end up costing me that much (THANK YOU SCOTT!). I was in one of Scott's stores over the Thanksgiving holiday and I presented him with my dilemma and he suggested that I try these Adidas Supernova Glide 4s. I tried them on, they felt good, they are a NEUTRAL shoe and so I bought them.

My first run in them was that night - the temps were chilly (mid-20s) and the surface was a paved road surface. I ran with my brother and we kept a pretty solid pace (around 7:25). We ended up going 6 miles and I was happy with how my legs felt after the run...especially considering this was my first run in these brand-new-off-the-shelf shoes. I didn't have any blisters or even any hot-spots which was also a major plus. Since then I've run on an indoor-track surface, on roads again and today I ran on a crushed-gravel surface. The only test I haven't put these shoes through is a long run. I've done fast running and slow running and so far I've put about 20 miles on these - maybe too few for a good review, but hey, I'm an impatient guy.

Pros:
- I really like the distribution of the cushioning in the shoe. There is a lot of support towards the heel and progressively less towards the fore-foot. I'm not a heel-striker, but I like having that extra support in the heel area.
- The shoe feels like it has a nice wide base, which contribute to an overall sense of stability.
- Another thing I like about the shoes is that they are extremely comfortable. The tongue of the shoe is nice and thick and the shoes really feel like they're cradling your foot.

Cons:
- The only con I can think of is that the shoes are a little clunky. Weighing in at 11.3 oz. these are by no means racing shoes. With all the comfort though, it's no surprise these shoes are a little on the clunky side.

So far so good with these shoes - I think they are a worthy replacement for my Ride 3s. I never expected to be running in Adidas, they aren't exactly known for their running shoes, but hey - I'm satisfied.