It’s been my racing shoe of choice since I first slipped it on the day before last May’s Sundown Ultramarathon, and it hasn’t disappointed yet.
Sure, because of its innovative paper-thin flywire upper (where stiching gives the foot support by acting like the cables of a suspension bridge), it is not the best shoe to run barefooted in. Sunday’s Aviva Ironman 70.3 gave me a couple of blisters, but I guess that’s my own fault for not wearing socks. Perhaps it was also because I swopped the default laces with elastic laces, which results in pressure and friction on some parts of the foot. And perhaps also because my right foot is not the same as my left…
Anyway, when wearing socks, the LunaRacers have been a god-send. When I first slipped it on for a 30min test run, my first feeling was “Boing!”. The cushioning technology was developed by Nasa, so it’s no surprised that I felt like I was floating along on the moon. The cushioning and lightness of the shoe is really out of this world.
Some people have asked me if the shoe’s cushioning and outsole lasts. Well, I made it through the Sundown Ultramarathon, last July’s Gold Coast Marathon, last September’s Aviva Ironman 70.3 and a number of smaller races and countless other track workouts and long training runs in the same pair of LunaRacers. And I still keep them as a backup pair in case my new vivid pink LunaRacers gives up on me somehow.
Are they for heavier runners? Well, Damian uses the LunaRacer too, and he ran a 1.41 in the half-marathon in it. He’s 1.8m-tall and over 70kg, but the Lunar’s cushioning supports him just fine.
I think the best thing about the shoe is that the upper does not retain water well, so if you like me are an extremely sweaty runner, your shoe won’t get all soggy and heavy during a long run or race. Washing it is a breeze too, as stains hardly can stick to the material. And it dries super fast.
Neon yellow, the colourway of the first release of the LunaRacers, really isn’t my colour and probably not yours too. But I believe the pink version I was wearing at Sunday’s race, along with a blue version, is/will be available at Nike’s flagship store at Wisma Atria.
Oh, it’s also Nike+ enabled, so if you’ve got an iPod Nano and the Nike+ kit you can listening to real-time feedback on things like your pace and distance from Paula Radcliffe or Lance Armstrong through your headphones. Neat.
3 Comments
Hi there Jeanette, out of curiousity, what is your running style? Fore foot strike, mid foot or heel strike?
Reason i’m asking is that i’m interested to get a pair of lunar racers, however as silly as it may sound i’m experimenting with mid foot running. I’ve always been a heel to toe person but recently there have been more talk about mid foot running and how it helps to conserve energy and make one a faster runner.
Do you think the lunars can handle this type of running? Thanks
Hi martin!
I’m a mid-foot striker, and the lunaracers are great for me because as a mid-foot striker I like to feel close to the ground with a less elevated heel, yet still appreciate some cushioning between my feet and the pavement. The lunaracers do just that.
On a side note, make sure you ease into mid-foot running gradually. I know there’s a lot said about it but there’s no point if doing it causes you to have more injury. If it ain’t broke, after all, why fix it? :-)
Hope that helps.. but I really recommend the lunars. My boyfriend is a heel striker and it suits him too.
HI there Jeanette
Thanks for answering my question and thanks for all the advice.
I’ll definitely be giving the lunars a try and i’m really excited about the Nike+ as well.
Thanks again and happy running / training.