Lets start by addressing the elephant in the room…at £225, this trainer is PRICEY. That’s more than the Nike Vaporfly 4% or in fact any other running trainers that I know of.

And why is it so expensive?

Well the ASICS METARIDE reportedly took two years for the ASICS team of designers and scientists to develop. And it is designed specifically to help make your long runs…easier.

Having just run the LA marathon as a long run… I totally understand why that’s appealing to the consumer.

The shoes look very striking, with a black and gold upper, and red 30mm thick sole, with zero drop (and holes in the midfoot and heel of the shoe). But the major design focus is the rocker shape, developed to guide your foot and ankle through the motion of the stride.

The design of the ‘GuideSole’ has been engineered to minimise movement in the ankle-joint (apparently the area in which most energy is expended) and reduce energy loss at the ankle by 19% according to ASICS.

So what do they feel like to run in?

Well…a bit weird.

It took me a couple of miles to get used to the way that the sole rolls. I found it kind of hard to run forefoot in these – although as a heel striker I guess that isn’t an issue. The foot rolls through from back to front, thanks to the forward-leaning shape and the roll mechanism. They are optimised to make heel strikers more efficient.

The sole is very stiff and the shoe doesn’t feel as bouncy as the Vaporfly 4% or Hoka with a similar height sole, however the shoe was surprisingly light.

The downside – they’re a little difficult/annoying to walk in, and they squeak on polished floors.

I also didn’t love running in these shoes on the treadmill. I know my gait changes a little when I’m doing a tempo workout on the tread, and the roll of the shoe just didn’t feel right. In fact, after 6 miles, my feet were quite sore and I was looking forward to taking them off!

The verdict: Being honest, I probably wouldn’t spend £225 on these, especially having heard on the grapevine that some of the technology will be trickling down to some of the more affordable shoes in the range.

However, I did really enjoy running easy and mid length runs in them on the road, and I’ll be including them within my trainer rotation.

And although they won’t be the pair of shoes that take you from run -> HIIT class -> brunch, they will garner a lot of attention from fellow runners, demanding to know what they are like!

This post is in no way sponsored. I was gifted the METARIDE with no obligation to post. Some links may be affiliate.