Through maybe eight years Nike Air Max Thea Solde total of cumulative running experience, and now seven marathons, I have actually never put much thought into my shoe selections. I’ve been lucky to be either blessed with mechanics that don’t care about shoe characteristics or to stumble upon shoes that worked with my gait and foot strike. Oh sure, I’d tried the wet-footprint approach to determine whether I needed neutral, control, or stability shoes and frankly found that I could make the answer whatever I wanted it to be. However, as I seek to up the intensity of my workouts in striving for a 3:00 Boston Marathon next year, I thought the time was right to finally let the experts weigh in. And, as with any new experience, I learned some things in the process.

The upper Nike Air Max 90 Premium consists of two layers of fabric separated by flywire bands that extend from the sole to the eyelets on each side (the orange strings that can be seen in the images here). The outer layer is a stretchy, open mesh, the inner layer is a more tightly woven fabric. The inner layer is stitched to the tongue on each side and has very few seams. It fits like a snug sock, and feels great against bare skin. At the back of the shoe there is a firm plastic cradle that wraps around the heel to provide support – I have not experienced any irritation from this. The ankle collar is well padded and lined by a soft material. Overall, I’m really impressed by the upper design and construction.



Conclusion: In summary, the Nike Free Run+ is a great looking, very comfortable shoe that is an excellent choice for someone who runs in traditional trainers and wants to transition to less shoe. Fo r someone who has already made the switch, it can serve a role as a recovery and distance shoe, and my feeling is that the Free Run+ would hold up well as a marathon shoe for more minimalist runners as it provides some protection from late-race form-breakdown (though I would probably recommend the Saucony Kinvara over the Free Run+ as a marathon shoe since it is a bit lighter and has a bit less heel). The Free Run+ will likely see continued use in my rotation, and although it is fa Chaussures Nike Dunk Sky High r from barefoot-like, it fits nicely in the transitional minimalist category.