Fifty-six days out from Valencia and I’ve got a proper dilemma on my hands, which is what this week’s video is all about. My 2:24:35 PB at London 2024 came in the original Nike Alphafly, but that shoe and I have history since then, and it isn’t all good. I go through the whole thing on camera because it felt like the kind of decision that’s more honest talked through than just announced.

There are three shoes in the running. The Alphafly 1 that got me my PB but that I trust the least these days. The Adidas Adios Pro 4, which is what I rebuilt my training in after surgery and which just ran 14 miles at marathon pace last week. And the ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo, which has carried my last three races and a 15:40 5K PB, but has never been asked to go further than a half marathon. Each one has earned its place differently, and in the video I score them properly against what they’ve actually done, not what they look good doing on paper.

I also set out the three rules I use for picking a marathon shoe, which I think matter more than any spec sheet. Race in a shoe you’ve done marathon pace long runs in. Never debut anything on race day. And listen to your legs over the internet, because the fastest shoe on paper is only your fastest if it still feels right at mile twenty. By the end I land on a verdict, and I’d genuinely like to know if you’d have made the same call.

Drop a 1, 2 or 3 in the comments for which shoe you’d race in, or tell me what you’d choose instead if none of mine would do it for you. And keep an eye out, because Lee, who I’ve backed on this channel to go sub 3, raced Chester Marathon this morning and his result lands on Wednesday. Go and watch the full video to see how I got to my decision.

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