Race day. You stand with sweaty palms, even though there's snow on the roads. Are you full or hungry? Your heart is beating double time in your chest. Around you stand others, talking a bit nervously, trying frantically to make the few minutes before the start feel shorter. It's an unfamiliar situation, even if you've run several races before.
You calm yourself with the thought that the unfamiliar situation is irrelevant. Because you've done the work. And you've done it with the gear you're standing at the start line with. Gear you know and trust.
ASICS MAGIC SPEED 5 is the only tempo shoe you need. If you have a volume training shoe, there's no race distance or training session that MAGIC SPEED 5 can't be used for, making race day less unfamiliar.
- Drop: 7 mm
- Weight: 193 grams (20% less than the predecessor)
- Foam: FF LEAP, FF BLAST PLUS
- The shoe is for you, who wants a shoe beyond a volume trainer, capable of handling all training sessions and race distances.
ASICS MAGIC SPEED – A rare sight underfoot
An identity crisis is almost unavoidable when we talk about a series navigating the waters between the BLAST series super trainers like and and real race shoes. I don't include MAGIC SPEED in the race shoe category, even though many things point in that direction: carbon plate, foam you only see in the fastest , weight under 200 grams, and an upper better than most race shoes.
Still, it doesn't fit among the running shoes in the race category for one simple reason, and it's likely not what you think. Instead, it's something that most likely makes the shoe more relevant for you. So let me start somewhere we reviewers rarely do: the outsole.
Think of a classic race shoe: perforated upper, paper-like light foam, and laces cut to the shortest possible length to save weight. You probably don't think about the outsole, as it's sometimes not part of a race shoe. The grams are saved. Race shoes have their priorities straight. Brands sacrifice comfort and durability in pursuit of fewer grams. Something that can be off-putting for many, as comfort and durability are, and should be, a priority when it comes to running shoes.
That's where MAGIC SPEED's huge advantage comes in. Here you get a shoe that prioritizes speed and durability at the forefront while only slightly compromising on comfort. In fact, so marginally that I wouldn't call it a compromise. The upper speaks to that. But more on that later.
You've heard of fast midsoles before. But rarely is there talk about fast outsoles. ASICS MAGIC SPEED has given me a reason to do so.
Not only does the outsole cover about 90% of the shoe's platform, which by itself is more than I expect from super trainers, but it's also slightly knobbed. The result is a light grip, making the shoe excellent for runs where the route isn't straightforward, like parkrun or the Danish DHL relay.
It may be an exaggeration to talk about outright grip, but its placement, from the midfoot to the forefoot, is extremely clever. It speaks of a shoe whose aggression matches that of race shoes. Here, you don't land on the heel. We're talking midfoot, toe, push-off, repeat.
ASICS MAGIC SPEED 5 – Top-notch separates the foot from a hard landing
This naturally leads me to the midsole. For MAGIC SPEED 5 is no longer in the identity crisis that the transition between the third and fourth generation indicated. Here, all components work in natural synergy to create a fast shoe that is neither a race shoe, because it prioritizes durability, nor a super trainer, because the midsole doesn't compromise on speed.
The midsole is a point that, if standing alone, would indicate one of the fastest road shoes I've tried to date. It has the pop I associate with a spike shoe, and it has the propulsion I associate with carbon shoes for half marathons and marathons.
There's no doubt that super trainer shoes are popular for a reason. The added comfort you find here, for example in SONICBLAST, which I praised to the skies in December, makes them ideal for you who want a shoe that can do a bit of everything.
But you certainly miss some speed and aggressiveness. In that way, you risk on race day standing in a race shoe whose feel is markedly different from what you're used to. And if there's one thing you don't want on race day, it's the feeling of something unfamiliar.
ASICS MAGIC SPEED 5 feels like a race shoe because it has ASICS FF LEAP foam material. It's A-TPU foam, which is not only the most energy-returning type currently. It's also among the most performance-durable types.
The foam lies on top of a Y-cut carbon plate, and underneath it is a layer of FF BLAST PLUS foam. The bottom layer I find reasonably firm, which stabilizes my foot, but it also gives the small comfort compromise I mentioned earlier. It takes the shoe towards the race shoe rather than the super trainer.
It's also this compromise that adds a small "but" to my introductory remark that the shoe takes you through any race distance. The shoe is best for short distances like a mile on asphalt, five-kilometer road races, or a quick 10K. On a half marathon and a marathon, your feet will thank you for prioritizing comfort slightly more.
However, the firm foam helps provide the aggressiveness necessary for distances under the half marathon. And it's also the aggressiveness you know, or should know, before your next race. MAGIC SPEED 5 imitates the race day feel.
ASICS MAGIC SPEED 5: Upper ready from the start
The first time I ran in the shoes was on the riverbank in Aarhus on a cold winter afternoon. The sun was setting behind the trees, but I, in the company of a couple of friends, intended to run 8*1000 in pace 3:10 before it was completely gone.
The mission succeeded (and we finished in 3:03), and when I switched back to volume training shoes to jog off, I had no fear of how my toes would look. Often such a session can cause quite a few foot problems, especially when I'm bold and do it in a pair of unused shoes.
During the session, I had no worries. The upper with the excellent grooved laces locked me in at the heel, which is comfortable even with minimal foam.
My toes felt like they were in slippers. The upper didn't bother them and let them be. This is especially impressive, as the pace we ran almost always pushes you further forward in the shoe so you can push off. The shoes have particularly passed the comfort test under intensity. What it lacks in comfort in the midsole, it makes up for in the upper.
One last anecdote before you get my verdict on the shoe: On the bike ride home in the winter cold from another session, I froze my feet on the way home. It became clear how goodventilation the numerous holes in the upper contribute with.
ASICS MAGIC SPEED 5: Race shoe and tempo shoe in one
Looking for your first race shoe? Looking for a shoe that's strikingly different from your mileage trainer? Looking for a shoe that's more than just an ordinary super trainer?
MAGIC SPEED 5 finally seems to have settled. The race shoe, where the only thing keeping it from the pure title is actually a plus: long life.
The shoe meets all other parameters I expect from a race shoe: responsiveness, carbon plate, and premium upper in a very light and harmonious package.
Try a local road race around five or ten kilometers, and get some speed in your legs. It will undoubtedly make your half marathon experience this summer better.
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