Witnessing elite runners Mo Katir and Eilish McColgan break their PBs in Spain was a life-changing experience

Top ASICS athletes put the new METASPEED + running shoes to test and the results were spectacular

It’s not every day that you’ve got to experience the thrill of the world’s best athletes breaking records first-hand. This is exactly what happened to me last weekend in Málaga, Spain, where I’ve got to witness over 70 elite runners smash through their PBs on the ASICS’ META : Time : Trials event wearing the Japanese brand’s latest racing super shoes, the METASPEED Edge + and METASPEED Sky +.

In total, an impressive four national records and 27 PBs (personal bests) were recorded by athletes at the ASICS’ pinnacle event, as 37% of them achieved their fastest time ever for the respective distances. Among the most impressive records is Eilish McColgan’s new British 5km record with a time of 14:45, which is even more remarkable considering that she said during the pre-race interview that she didn’t feel 100% after catching covid a few weeks back.

Running superstar Mo Katir narrowly missed out on achieving a new Spanish record by winning the men’s 5km race in 13:20. Here is the footage of him blasting through the finishing line:

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[Impressive running performance from Ben Felton, a.k.a. Ben is Running, the videographer of the above footage.]

Mohamed Reda el Aaraby won the men’s half marathon with a PB time of 59:54, and Yeshi Kalayu was the winner of the mixed half marathon race with a time of 1:07:30. Here are the winning times of each race:

• Half Marathon (Mixed)
• Yeshi Kalayu (ETH) – 1:07:30 (PB)
• 10k (Mixed)
• Vicoty Chepngeno (KEN) – 31:39
• 5k (Mixed)
• Eilish McColgan (GBR) – 14:45 (PB & NR)
• Half Marathon (Men)
• Mohamed Reda el Aaraby (MAR) – 59:54 (PB)
• 10k (Men)
• Tsegay Kidanu Reda (ETH) – 27:14 (PB)
• 5k (Men)
• Mohamed Katir (ESP) – 13:20 (PB)

All PBs achieved were accomplished wearing the new METASPEED+ shoes, which were revealed to the public for the first time at the event. The second iteration of ASICS’ fastest running shoes underwent significant improvements, including optimised carbon plate placement for stride and cadence runners, updated last and the new Motion Wrap upper.

The ASICS METASPEED Sky+ has a 5 mm drop (39/34mm), and the carbon plate sits closer to the foot, as well as having less of a curve. The ASICS METASPEED Edge+ has an 8 mm drop (39/31mm), and in this model, the carbon plate has more curvature and sits closer to the ground. The METASPEED Sky+ is recommended for stride runners, while the METASPEED Edge+ for cadence runners.

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The METASPEED + series is available at ASICS and selected retail partners from 14 June 2022. Watch the now not-so-live stream of the event below.