My thoughts on the Asics Superblast 2 after 65 miles (100km).

31M, 5'6, 140lbs, Size 9. 1:32 HM

I've now run in this shoe for 65 miles. Just finished a 1:35 half marathon effort in them this morning. Already have the Hoka Mach 6 and Cielo X1 but wanted something else for long run efforts as the Mach felt a little flat after 10+ miles. I bought into the hype of the Asics Superblast 2, hoping it would be the answer, but I’ve been a little disappointed.

The shoe felt stiff and slappy out of the box, reminiscent of the Alphafly sound (not as bad though). While they softened slightly after about 20 miles, they remain slappy and offer an abrupt transition that doesn’t encourage a smooth roll through the stride. I feel more comfortable landing midfoot, but the shoe seems to want adjustments to my natural stride (slight heel strike), making me very aware of it on my feet.

Lockdown has been the biggest challenge, especially on my right foot, where I get heel lift unless I use a runner’s knot. However, the knot causes soreness across the top of my ankle—something I haven’t experienced to this degree with other shoes with a runner's knot—and creates hot spots on the medial side of my feet during longer runs. Even then, I have had to stop and retie at some point every run to try and fix the fit without much improvement.

On the positive side, the black colorway looks great (not that important), and the toebox width and upper are generally comfortable, aside from the lockdown issues. Wet grip is also pretty good with a long run in heavy rain and leaves on the pavement. I’ve tested them across various paces—from easier 10-minute miles to sub-6-minute tempos—and found they perform best at faster paces but feel underwhelming at slower ones, even 8 min paces.

Compared to the Hoka Mach 6, with the early meta stage rocker, these just don’t deliver the same smooth ride and rebound for me. I’m considering selling them and switching to my Hoka Cielo X1 for longer runs (adore that shoe). Perhaps the Superblast 2 is better suited for heavier runners, as I might simply be too light to get the most out of them.

Anyone else feel this way or know how to address the lockdown issues? I'm just not feeling the "shoe of the year" that so many others are.