I would wear it for 5K if it’s very aggressive. I like the extremeness in shoes which justifies buying a pair for a certain purpose. There are too many shoe models in the middle that are so similar to each other, even within the same company.
I ran my 5K PB in Alphafly 1, so it can certainly handle every distance for me. I'm more curious about the reduction of midsole in the forefoot with the 8mm drop as a forefoot striker.
I've hit a brick wall in getting my 5K PR down, and I can't manage much more mileage than I have been doing, so I may have to bite the $280 bullet and see if the Vaporfly or Alphafly 3 can help. The Endorphin Pro 2 and Takumi Sen 8 are my "fast" shoes, but neither feel like they are doing anything special.
@@Feanaro5503The Takumi Sen is great, but even compared to the Vaporfly it's a world of difference. Sooo much more bounce. I think for anything but a track 5k a Vaporfly/Alphafly would be more efficient for me. Can't imagine what this new Alphafly is like, but it sounds like it'll be amazing at faster paces
I’d have to agree that AF are definitely a racing shoe made to run fast. When I warm up and run easy feel likes I’m falling back similar to those jump shoes back in the day. But when I’m HMP or MP running on mid to forefoot that’s where you feel the shoe working for you.
Absolutely Excellent audio on this vid. Not sure what you are using for mics and settings in editing, but great all around. Oh ya, the AF3, I am super excited about them too. Hopefully, I'll have them on my feet when I tow the staht line in Hopkinton for the Boston Marathon. I have a pretty aggressive marathon schedule for 2024 as an Athlete with Disabilities. Like wearing all the compression I can find, the top shelf AF3s I am sure will help me slash time.
The af2 has been a keystone for me this year from mild 30k training days, to sub 20 5k even to doing a 100k Altra. Has saved my legs and helped clock good times
Will have to come back and comment about the shoe appropriateness when I actually can run in it. No way to know until then! Looking forward to this one though!
Great review! Are u saying this is for sub 3:30 marathoners, sub 3hr marathoners or sub 2:45 marathoners? How about distances. Obviously good for the marathon, but how about HM, 10K and 5K?
Thanks for the key point. I ran with AF3 and then AF2. I have bad hips, low back, and after interval running work out with AF3, I felt my hamstrings and hip soreness after. For now, I’ll do the AF2 for racing and AF3 until I get stronger.
Very interesting. I’ve run in both previous iterations and it’s my fav shoe ever (yes, even AF 2). I’ve been able to feel confortable doing a 5k in 20 mins and my 1st marathon in 3:58. So, are you saying that this is not going to be the case in this version? I mean, it’ll be good for my 5k pace but not for my marathon’s one? Thanks Matt, I really love how technical your reviews are
Alpha 2 was meant for all types of runners / jogger’s etc. because it had broader heel that provides more stability. The new ones that is alpha 3 has a very narrow heel similar to adios pro and that will not be good for slow running or jogging. In other words, Alpha 2 is meant for larger section of the people that is for the fastest runners to slow simple joggers, however, alpha 3 is only meant for a very small section of the people who run fast all the time. Not sure whether fast runners would find any difference between the two alphas but slow runners and jogged should definitely stay out of this new model.
Finally got a pair in the white and purple coloreay and ran in them today. I used to be a forefoot striker until i started running in the Neo Vista's and realized im more efficient mid foot striking instead. When i ran in the Alphafly's today it definitely felt like in order to get the most out of it i had to forefoot strike again. When i ran midfoot it still felt ok but i wasn't getting the same benefits from the airpods doing so. The difference between actually using the airpods and not is significant. It almost feels like a waste of money if you aren't taking full advantage of what the shoe is offering by not forefoot striking. I can do it but i can't run as long as when i midfoot strike so i think it's best to return them and try a different shoe.
2:45 what you said is exactly what I found. It was good for a 5k at 3:05-3:15 pace. When I am on my toes it’s great and the forefoot is so springy. For 10k and half marathon pace for me 3:20-3:26 it was terrible. I land mid-foot at this pace and the heel is so squishy and soft that my foot sinks back onto the heel and bogs down my stride, I have to push hard to get moving. I kept dropping my pace and my calves were working to lift my foot forward into the forefoot. In the invincibles this doesn’t happen and it snaps me forward onto my toes automatically as I land on my mid-foot. Sadly the AF3 doesn’t work for me.
More agressive eh? Sign me up, sounds like a great shoe to walk the dog in. Or at least that's what I assume these shoes are for given the amount of Rocket X2s and Endorphin Pro 3s I see for dog walking shoes along my run route. Really excited for this though, I had my first run in the Vaporfly 3 today, and while I really enjoyed it, in the back of my mind I was saying "I wish this was a little more aggressive" so this sounds perfect. Ready to refresh the Nike page 100 times on January 4th
I doubt it would be more aggressive than the VF3. The VF3 is less aggressive than previous models but the Vaporflys have always been more aggressive than the Alphaflys.
All reviews for the latest Nike shoes I saw are saying the same regarding the foam: „shoe got little bit firmer“… Invincible, Vomero, now Alphafly… can it be that Nike ruined their secret ZoomX recipe just to get that little extra cent out of their dollars?
i was thinking about to take this shoe for my next marathon next year, but if it's so weird at slower pace i maybe buying the vaporfly 3's. feels like the vaporfly is more forgiving?
I’d say 7:10 per mile or quicker. Slower than 7:10 and there’s definitely nicer options like Saucony’s Endorphin Pro 3. Basing that off my experience in the AF2. The arch issue is diabolical-they are fast, until the blisters they cause slow you down 😢
Is a sub50 10k (4:40-5:00m/km) fast enough for this shoe? Or its more for under 4min/km runs? I am looking at the takumi sen 9 (possibly 10) as a 10k race / interval shoe, but if its really that aggressive it might be good.
Buy them and they will contribute to getting you a better time! I did exactly that with my Vapourfly and over the past weeks have taken my 5k from 23 minutes down to 20 Mins. Just go for it and ignore all the “ not fast enough for this shoe” BS
Aren't the Oregon Track Club and Nike in bed together? doesn't Nike sponsor OTC? Hard to trust this review with the conflict of interest, but he does seem pretty transparent.
Because the shoe is so resilient that you get a ton of compression and potentially extra side to side movement. While the foot is decently stabilized in this shoe, the hip still has to work hard to being on a softer surface, especially in the heel.
I dunno, I think the Alphafly shoes like it (I'd say the Endorphin Elite and probably the new Fast-R) are not meant for anything more than workouts and race day. I'm not totally sure it's that slower runners can't use them so much as they need to be aware that the use case is limited. I also think there's still probably something to whose biomechanics it works for. Asics introduced the "stride" vs. "cadence" concept in their marketing, and these bigger bouncier shoes seem like they work for the stride runners. Are stride runners always faster? Maybe, but I wouldn't say this is necessarily true in all cases.
I feel like they advertised it as stride vs cadence but if you want to go fast you have to increase your cadence. It seemed more like mid foot forefoot vs heel striker
@@Skibidibobobeebop your cadence doesn't have to go up that much though. Most of my runs are 176-180spm. My cadence in my last few races (2 halfs , 2 5Ks) is only 184-186spm. My stride length is increasing about 35-40% from an easy run.
I’m pissed! Now everybody loves this sneaker, keep the same energy, I mean this sneaker was never hard to get now it seems like everyone loves this sneaker, to the point I feel like I’m not going to get my hands on this pair because everyone is on the bandwagon now!!🤨
