Review: Mizuno Wave Ekiden 10

Better pics to come soon.

I'm recently started running in the Mizuno Wave Rider 19 (yes the old one, it's cheaper) as my everyday trainer, and was pleased enough with the performance of that shoe that I decided to give some other shoes in the Mizuno line a try. As my past racing flat, the Brooks T3 was worn out and no longer in production I thought I would take a look at the super light and nimble Mizuno Wave Ekiden 10. Billed as a 5k-13.1mi. shoe it's light, quick and super responsive, but should be used with caution at the longer distances.

Initial Quality:

There's not much that you can really tell about a shoe without getting you feet in 'em for a few miles, but from what a simple out of the examination could reveal that Wave Ekiden 10's looked pretty damn good... or at least the quality and design looked good, the colors left something to be desired in my opinion. The build of the shoe, use of Mizuno's patented insole material (probably the same EVA as everyone else's), and general finish of the shoe appear to be good and up to the quality one would expect from a major shoe manufacturer.

Fit:

I do have a minor bone to pick with Mizuno here, and that is that they do not make half sizes in the larger sizes, this means that runners such as myself with an 11.5 US foot have to pick between an 11 and a 12. This is obviously not ideal, fortunately I was able to try before I bought and went with the size 11 which fit my plates of meat just fine thank you very much! Once the correct size had been determined it was all golden rays of sunshine on the fit front, the upper is flexible and the midsole felt natural underfoot.

The Run: 

This is what you've all been waiting for right? What does the thing feel like? Well, it's pretty damn good, though definitely a shorter distance shoe and one that should not be used by anyone that could be described as stocky, or plodding. My experience in the shoe was primarily positive, however when racing the Amity Island Relay in them (10 miles for my leg) I did suffer a foot injury in these shoes; I will however take most of the blame for that issue as I rushed the shoe into service without much running in them before to see how they felt... dumb move. On the other hand I did run a 58:05 into a serious headwind and didn't feel any foot fatigue until the next morning when I realized my foot was all kinds of hurt.

Long story short, this is a great shoe, and at 5.1 ounces it's sooooo light and super fast, just don't go doing stupid things like running a race in it before you know how you'll react. Learn from me, if you buy crazy light shoes run in them some before running a race right at their upper limit of distance. If you buy the shoe and read this blog (that's a small slice of the population) comment on your experience.