**TL;DR:** Kind of overhyped but solid long distance trainer overall. Review just in time for it to be out of production. 🐌

**Total Distance Ran:**

512 miles, almost exclusively long runs in these things.

**About Me:**

31M, 5'10", 145 lbs, midfoot strike. Built for middle distance but long distance is more fun. Stubbornly chasing a sub 2:30 marathon in spite of this.

**How I've used this shoe:**

As mentioned, I almost exclusively use the Superblast 2 as a long run shoe. I primarily do my long runs on a light flat dirt/gravel trail but when that's unrunnable during the winter sometimes I've taken it to the streets.

**Midsole:**

Midsole is on the firmer side which is to my preference. Can't say it feels all that magical like the reviews back when there was peak hype around this shoe. The setup is quite good to keep things stable despite the stack height. It's supportive enough for 2+ hours regardless if I'm chilling or going "fast". It feels good at any pace up to maybe like 10k pace where it gets clunky I'd say? Would much prefer an actual race shoe if I'm doing any true speed within a long run too. It is consistent and reliable though thankfully, and that's often what I'm looking for so it works out. 

I've seen this shoe be somewhat polarizing and called a brick and can see where they're coming from. I run like someone twice my size with these sprinter calves so I assume the low cadence/higher power output lets it work out for me. It makes sense why it's more popular with the bigger/taller crowd to get the most out of the foam.

At 512 miles the midsole is far from dead which isn't surprising given other peoples' long-term reviews. Again, the performance has been very consistent across its lifetime and it doesn't feel that different from when I first got them. I bought another pair when Asics was purging stock for the 3s so I'll probably retire these around 600 miles if they haven't hurt me by then. 

**Outsole:**

For the conditions I run on, I'm surprised the outsole doesn't look worse. It definitely has the dried sponge texture on the exposed foam that I get with shoes on these trails but that's about the only visible issue. Rubber has held up very well over the miles as you can see compared to the new shoe. 

**Upper:**

Nothing to really comment on here. I'm mostly indifferent to uppers as long as it's not shredding my skin. Comfortable enough, breathable for warm days, no damage after many runs. Cool. 

**Is it worth buying?:**

Nah can't recommend it even though I like it. I got both my pairs on discount for roughly the price of a normal trainer which I think is fair. However, at full price I think there's enough shoes on the market that perform the same job, if not better for a similar or better price point. $200 is absurd for a trainer. Maybe the 3 is worth the price/price increase but I'm skeptical.

Asics Superblast 2 - 512 mile Review 🐌