Asics Metaspeed Sky: do-anything runners for those who want to stride ahead
An energetic ride that kicks into gear when you push your pace at any distance
It took a while but Asics finally has a contender to rival the top-tier carbon shoes… and to offer something a bit different too. After all, that black and red colouring of the Metaspeed Sky is certainly distinctive!
This is the first Asics shoe to pack a full foot-long carbon plate and newly designed nylon-based FF Blast Turbo foam. These shoes are designed to provide a killer combination of soft landings thanks to the ultimate cushioning but also explosive push-offs when you lift your feet.
They certainly give you a really great bounce on lift-off – way more so than many cheaper runners, though of course, you do pay for the latest in running tech – although prices have come down a little, it’s hard to get away from that fact they’re rather expensive. What price for speed?
Metaspeed Sky has designed these shoes to increase your stride length when racing (sister pair Metaspeed Edge is intended more for cadence runners) and cover distances at speed – that’s what we all want, I guess.
You really do feel very light on your feet (if your legs are feeling heavy, then these really do provide relief.) and crucially you feel like you could run further in them because they’re so much lighter than many rivals. There’s not a lot of padding in the upper of the shoe and your foot will certainly feel less ‘surrounded’ by material, whatever runners you used before.
They’re very much a road-running shoe, of course; we’d warrant they’re not so suitable for runs where you regularly come across mud and standing water – at this price you really want them to last and you’ll need different shoes for regularly running down country lanes, we’d warrant.
The lightweight mesh uppers also offer decent space for wider feet and the grippy rubber outsoles are great on tighter turns even on wintry days where grip is hard to find.
They’re a shade more stable than some high-stacked racers, and the balance of cushion and response makes this a good option over shorter distances and fast rep interval sessions. They’ll happily eat marathons as well, mind.
Additional words: Kieran Alger
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
