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| GT-2000 |
The past 20 years of my life have focused around running shoes. For the first 18 or so of those years the
changes in running shoes were incremental.
Fits improved, shoes got generally farther off the ground, softer (up
until a few years back, that’s all anyone wanted). Enter the trend toward “natural movement” (or
minimalism or barefoot running) and we’ve seen a crazy amount of change in just
12 months. Keep in mind that a year ago
there were only a handful of shoes that truly fit into this natural movement
category. Now there are dozens and this
will continue to evolve in the months and years to come.
Despite all that change it’s probably not surprising that we
(like most running stores) still sell far more “traditional” shoes than
anything else. The Asics 2000 series and
Brooks Adrenaline continue to lead the way despite the fact that other shoes
are chipping away and gaining on them. Our
goal is to get people in the shoes that will work for them, keep them free of
injury, and help them meet their goals. Regarding this task we’re realists more
than idealists. We know that runners,
first and foremost, want to run, and they certainly don’t want their shoes to
hold them back.
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| Asics GT-2000 Trail |
What I really want to talk about however is how the natural
movement trend in running shoes has impacted even one of our most tried and
true shoes. The latest edition of the
Asics 2000 series has been in the store for about a month now. The Asics GT-2000 series originated back in
1995 (the year I opened FootZone) with the GT-2000. The name has grown sequentially by 10 each
year (2010, 2020, 2030, etc) through the 2170.
Breaking from this pattern, they will now maintain the name GT-2000 and
every year go to version 2, v3, v4, etc.
Regardless, this is the shoe that replaces the 2170 and it
seems like a winner. It continues to be
a mild to moderate stability shoe. Like
any change in a running shoe, there are people who will be disappointed but our
general feedback has been very positive.
The fit is relatively low volume and secure, much like that of the 2170
(which was one of our best fitting shoes in 2012). The two biggest changes will go un-noticed by
many but they are at least notable.
First of all, the heights on the shoe have come down a tiny bit. Asics removed 2mm of foam in the heel and
forefoot bringing it ever so slightly closer to the ground (now 21/11mm vs.
23/13mm). As a result, (and the 2nd
big change) they were able to de-emphasis their midfoot support piece (Guidance
Trussic System) to make the shoe quite a bit more flexible which ultimately results
in a smoother ride.
I’m talking like a shoe geek here and just to
re-emphasize, most people will not notice a difference. However, make no mistake, these are changes
brought on by the trend towards smoother riding, less cumbersome shoes and
generally, I applaud Asics for their efforts (and their willingness to tweak
things). The GT-2000 and the GT-2000
Trail version are very good shoes that will give many runners happy miles. As always, the test will be whether runners
come back for another pair after they get 300/400 miles on these. Time will tell and we hope you’ll let us know
what you think. Cheers-Teague
