Whilst we cannot categorically determine the ideal shoe for a runner based on a few clinical tests in isolation, I think some of these findings may point you towards this being a shoe worth considering:

• Average to high medial longitudinal arch.
• Efficient toe off in running gait.
• Moderately experienced runner looking to mix up their pace and/or add in some longer sustained efforts.

Key Features

This is a new model in the ASICS range, so all of the below features are new.

• Upper: Lightweight technical engineered material upper that is designed to optimise comfort, breathability, and fit. Tongue wing construction helps improve fit and reduce tongue movement.
• Midsole: FF BLAST TURBO top layer with FF BLAST PLUS bottom layer.
• Outsole: Full ground contact geometry, coupled with a wide base nett. AHAR+ outsole.

Clinical Relevance

The SUPERBLAST is unique. The way I view this shoe is similar to a super shoe without a carbon plate. Considering that the carbon plate is the reason why super shoes are not for everyone, I see the SUPERBLAST as being suitable for a wider audience.

In a clinical setting, I refer for this shoe in the following cases:

• An efficient and experienced runner looking for a general mileage trainer particularly conducive to quick longer runs.
• A runner looking to do some up-tempo work but is still developing their biomechanical efficiency at faster paces.
• Someone wanting a racing shoe who is not a good candidate for carbon plated shoes (eg their cadence is low, their stride is long, their calves weak/injured, or their pace is not quick enough to get benefit from a METASPEED or similar).

In my mind this shoe is well placed as a performance option. However, there are several advantages that also lend it to the management of injuries and more of a clinical presentation, in suitable cases. The full ground contact outsole and wide base nett make the shoe feel very stable underfoot. The soft midsole is exceptionally forgiving whilst maintaining responsiveness. I have recently had several runners making their way back from stress fractures, who I have put into this shoe for their workouts and faster runs. When working with a runner who is coming back from a prolonged break from running or rehabbing a niggly injury, I still wherever possible encourage them to mix their pace up. I see benefits to this in terms of their development as a runner, their biomechanics, not to mention their sanity. The SUPERBLAST is my top pick in these cases.