- METASPEED™ Edge is specially designed for cadence-style runners by helping them extend their stride length and improve their overall efficiency
- The innovation is proven to reduce step count over the course of a marathon, and is already helping elite athletes to new personal bests
- First announced at the ASICS Innovation Summit 2021, METASPEED™ Edge is launching in stores globally from June 4
[June 4 2021 – KOBE, JAPAN] – ASICS is today launching the second of its high-performance running shoes that take the power of human-centric design to a whole new level. The METASPEED Edge is a shoe designed for a specific style of runner – one that has been overlooked in the relentless pursuit of speed in the category to date.
The arrival of METASPEED Edge follows the launch of METASPEED Sky earlier in the year – each scientifically designed with a distinct type of running style in mind. The new racing shoes help elite athletes reach the top of their game, as they no longer have to adjust their running style to fit the shoe anymore; instead, ASICS is giving them high-performance shoes to match their running style. With initial tests from ASICS already showing the METASPEED Edge could help reduce the number of steps for a runner to finish a marathon by around 2.6%1, it will give more elite runners the opportunity to reach peak performance.
The shoes are already proving to have an impact on the performance levels of elite ASICS runners. At the Hokkaido-Sapporo Marathon Festival 2021, German distance runner Katerina Steinruck became the first cadence-style runner to record an official personal best wearing the METASPEED Edge, clocking a time of 1:10:43 in the half-marathon event to take a fourth-place finish.
On the subject of her achievement, Steinruck said “I’m delighted with my time and how I felt during the run itself. I’ve been training in the
METASPEED Edge for a couple of months now and it’s made a huge difference to my psyche going into a race. I now feel like my shoes are working with me, perfectly complementing the way I stride for perhaps the first time in my career. I feel like a better runner in the shoe and they’re giving me added confidence looking ahead to this summer.”
The unique design story behind the new shoe centers on a crucial insight first discovered by scientists at the ASICS Institute of Sport Science (ISS). They recognized that the type of shoes powering the world’s fastest were only favoring one type of runner - stride runners - those with a long-loping gait with large periods spent airborne who increase their speed by extending their stride length.
ASICS’ research however showed that these shoes do not fully support elite athletes who prefer the second major running style – cadence, which features smaller steps made while hovering over the ground with minimal up and down motion. Crucially, these runners increase their speed by both extending their stride length and increasing the number of steps they take per minute.
Informed by the finding that athletes perform better when running in shoes that are optimized for their running style, ASICS has created METASPEED Edge for those with a cadence-style1 to help them reach peak performance.
To help runners learn more about their own running style and whether the METASPEED Edge might offer them both added performance and protection, ASICS has released a new online tool as part of its recent ASICS Innovation Summit 2021. To find out your own running style and find the right fit for you, visit the ASICS Innovation Summit.
METASPEED Edge will be available from June 4, 2021. The shoe will retail for $250.