The past spring, my oldest son had a six week track lesson in his middle school gym class. Of course, this piqued my interest and each day I would poke him about what they were doing. Much to my dismay, Tyler was not a fan of any of it. He does not (yet) have a passion for running and it was his first period, so he did not want to walk around stinky the rest of the day. Fine. But the phrase he used all the time when I would inquire about his times was “try hard.” As in, I am not one of those “try hard” kids in gym class. It’s freaking gym class Dad.
Last year, Asics set the world abuzz with their NovaBlast 4. It was fun, light, bouncy, had this fantastic forefoot pad that encouraged you to land more efficiently and just overall was a bad ass shoe. Earlier this summer they updated it and I have just been so hesitant to pull it. It’s just not the same. It seems like they took the parts that worked and made them too exaggerated. Like they were just trying too hard. The pod sits out too much, it feels almost too wispy and the step in is just off. It feels like a shoe that was for most people a 10/10 and they wanted to crank it to an 11 and in doing so they had diminished returns on it.
At the same time, they were making similar gains on their stable daily trainer, the GT2000V14. The GT was always, for us, popular more for the problems it solved more than the fun of the shoe. Truthfully though, not their fault. Most shoes in that mid-cushion stability category are just dull. It always felt like a slight to me. Brands put all this energy into their neutral shoes and then the leftover tech goes into the stable boys. Most shoes in this category treat runners like they’re too fragile to want anything fast.
Which brings me back to the new GT2000 V15. For the record, I really liked version 14. It had just enough pop to make runners not feel neglected while also giving some support to those who need it. It was not crazy bouncy/responsive compared to some fun neutral shoes, but it had enough pizazz to separate it from similar concept shoes like the Brooks Adrenaline or Hoka Arahi.
So, this morning I got to take the V15 out for their maiden voyage and they did not disappoint. It was like they took the best parts of the NovaBlast 4 and added the stability needed to keep it in check. They were light, fit true to size and did not feel like they were trying too hard. They updated the forefoot pod, but just enough. They improved the fit, but not so much it felt unfamiliar. They even kept the price at $150. I think the best part is it took the idea of a fun, stability shoe and improved it without doing too much. Heck, even the bright yellow color made me happy.
It’s going to be interesting to see if people that may be lukewarm on the newest NovaBlast are going to matriculate over to the GT2000. There are always going to be people who won’t pick up a shoe that is too stable out of fear it’ll be a slog to run in. I get that. There was a time in my life when I felt too cool for the GT. That it was the old man Asics shoe. I am too quick for a clunker with last year’s midsoles in it. Now that I am closer to fifty than forty, it’s an absolute no-brainer for me. Maybe Asics should listen to Tyler and stop trying so hard to one up themselves and take what they have and fine tune it. The GT2000 is the perfect example of taking a wildly popular shoe and tweaking it into the most enjoyable stability shoe on our wall.
