Mizuno Wave Rider 17 giveaway winner!

Congratulations to Jason, who won a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 17s! Jason, please get in contact with me with your size and address. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Rider 17 and GIVEAWAY!

The Mizuno Wave Rider has been a mainstay in the neutral running category for as long as I can remember. Seriously, the first Rider was introduced in 1998, and I didn't start running until '99. And I'd bet there are some young'uns reading this review who are actually younger than the Rider! In an industry that seems to have remarkably high shoe model turnover, for a shoe to last that long without being discontinued or replaced, it must be a fairly successful shoe. This holds especially true for Mizuno, who currently seems to be in the process of hacking down its line, with the Elixir and Precision being consolidated into the Sayonara, the Ronin and Musha being replaced by the Hitogami, and the Nirvana and Alchemy being discontinued in favor of the Paradox. That's not to say the Rider hasn't hit any stumbling blocks, with the original Rider being a bulky nightmare nicknamed the "Kiss boot," and even the relatively recent Rider 14 getting a lot of negative backlash from longtime Rider fans. After the Rider 14 debacle, Mizuno returned to more familiar territory with the Rider 15. Two iterations later, Mizuno hasn't strayed far from that formula, introducing a familiar, yet much lighter, Mizuno Wave Rider 17.

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Universe 5

The Mizuno Wave Universe 4 was a cool shoe. Light, responsive, flexible, and fast, it was the closest thing to my beloved Adidas adiZero PR that I could find (the PR was an early ultralight that had been discontinued a while ago). It had one big issue that held it back though, and that was the somewhat sloppy upper, which traded the sleek performance-fit of the PR for a roomy forefoot that seemed more in-line with minimalist shoes allowing for toe-splay than racing flats that prioritized speed. Thankfully, Mizuno has finally realized that women like to run fast too, and now offers both men's and women's specific Universes (women generally have proportionately narrower feet, and though the Universe 4 was finally available in small sizes, they were still men's D width instead of women's B width), and the gender-engineered Mizuno Wave Universe 5 is a winner.

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Sayonara and GIVEAWAY!

Up until now, Mizuno has offered two performance trainers: the neutral Wave Precision and mild stability Wave Elixir. However, with everyday trainers getting lighter and lighter, there was increasing overlap between the 9.9oz Wave Rider and 9.6oz Wave Precision (I'm not sure whether Mizuno felt the 10.1oz Wave Inspire was encroaching on the 8.8oz Wave Elixir or if they just wanted to streamline their line). So instead of slimming down its current performance trainers, Mizuno went back to the drawing board, seeking to create a new neutral performance trainer that still had enough inherent stability as to not disappoint Elixir fans. The new shoe is the Wave Sayonara, a lightweight shoe with a clever name that gives a nod to the old Wave Goodbye racing flat of the early 2000s (interestingly enough, today's Wave Sayonara performance trainer is lighter than yesterday's 8.7oz Wave Goodbye racing flat).

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Universe 4

It's no big secret that I loved the Adidas adiZero PR. The PR was an early attempt at an ultralight flat, taking the sacrifice of cushion and structure in order to save weight to the extreme. At only 3.9oz, the PR was little more than a spike without a spike plate. Coming off of several years of high school and college running, I yearned for the familiar feeling I got from spikes, and the PR was pretty much a spike for the road. I wore that shoe for everything from the 5K to the half-marathon, and if the praise that shoe gets on LetsRun is any indication, I wasn't the only person who loved it. Then, sadly, Adidas discontinued it. Desperate for a replacement, I first tried the ASICS Piranha. The Piranha wasn't bad, I guess...I mean it was still super light and felt ridiculously fast, but for some inexplicable reason, I found myself overpronating noticeably in them, something that never happened in the PR. I eventually gave them away to a friend. Then Mizuno began offering the Mizuno Wave Universe 4 in small sizes (earlier models were only available in men's 8 and larger, I believe). I gave them a try next, and I believe that fans of the adiZero PR may finally have a replacement.

Mezamashii Contest Winners!

I was absolutely blown away by the response to the Mizuno Mezamashii giveaway. All in all, there were 256 entries (minus a few that I'll discuss in the next paragraph) for two spots on the Mezamashii Project. I enjoyed reading about all of your Brilliant Runs, as well as hearing what kind of shoes you guys would want, so thanks to everyone for participating! And of course, thanks to Mizuno for sponsoring the Mezamashii Project!

In case you're all wondering how this worked, I used RANDOM.ORG to generate a random number, then figured out which comment corresponded to that number. Seems fair, and seems to be how all the other blogs do it, so if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. There were a few deleted comments, and at least one joke comment (thanks a lot, Nicole!), so I had to see if the deleted comments figured into the comment count (they did). Thus, I figured if I landed on one of them I'd just pick another random number. Luckily, this wasn't an issue and I was able to just use the first two numbers I picked.

The Mezamashii Project and Free Shoes Giveaway! CONTEST CLOSED

As you may have heard by now, Mizuno is starting up The Mezamashii Project. This is Mizuno's way of reaching out to runners, getting some shoes on people's feet with the confidence that they'll like 'em enough to be repeat customers.

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Precision 12

When I tested the Mizuno Wave Rider 15, I found myself unconsciously making a list of characteristics I wished the Rider had. I would be running and thinking, "Wow, I'd really like this shoe if it had this, and this, and this," hoping that the next iteration of the Rider would take on at least some of those features. Then I tried the Mizuno Wave Precision 12, and I realized that there was no need for me to make a list of what I hoped to see in the Rider 16. My list had pretty much described the existing Precision.

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Ronin 4

You know that boy (or girl, substitute if you wish) who keeps trying to get your attention and keeps failing? He asks you out, and you accept to be polite, and then he brings you to a Chinese place, except Chinese food makes you sick. Then a few years later, he tries again, now armed with the knowledge that you like Italian, and he brings you to Fazoli's, which is okay, but not exactly your Italian restaurant of choice. Then the morning of your goal race, there's a knock on the hotel room door, and there he is, holding a bagel, a jar of peanut butter, a Powerbar, an apple, a Sugar-Free Red Bull, and a Powerade Zero. And nevermind that you normally drink a Monster Lo-Carb instead of a Red Bull, because it's so close to perfect that you just melt. (And yes, I eat a lot before races. DON'T JUDGE ME). That's Mizuno for me. The first shoe I was put in was the Alchemy, way back in my senior year of high school, which was just wrong for my biomechanics. The second shoe was the Rider, which wasn't terrible, but not really what I wanted. Well, with the Mizuno Wave Ronin 4, Mizuno has finally won my heart.

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Rider 15

15th Anniversary Edition Mizuno Wave Rider 15

When I was still running college cross-country and track, it seemed like the two most popular shoes on the team were the Nike Pegasus and Mizuno Wave Rider. To this day, the Rider is, without a doubt, one of the most popular go-to trainers among many of my serious runner friends. Last year, when I was looking for a trainer, several of my friends told me to go Rider. Unfortunately, the Rider that was available at the time was the Rider 14, the red-headed stepchild of the Rider family that strayed from everything everyone liked about the 13 and earlier. I tried it on, and immediately knew I couldn't wear that shoe...especially since the arch support seemed to dig into the front of my calcaneus (WTF???). Thankfully, Mizuno promised to return the Rider 15 to its roots, and I was again curious to try this shoe. When my friend Seth asked me if I wanted to test the Rider 15, I jumped at the opportunity.