Asics Men's Gel Nimbus 9 Running Shoe - 9.5M Lightning

This is a very comfortable and light shoe. I use them to run and also to travel. Sizes are rather small, so make sure you order at least half a size larger than you'd normally wear.

I'm a long time jogger, average 2.5 miles per day, for over 15 years.
I bought a pair of Nimbus 9 during Christmas holiday at a local shoe store for $120 which is the most expensive running shoe I ever purchased, since I felt so good after tried it on for a little walking on the floor, and their design, color, and material all indicated a good quality.

Secondly, I was completely ignorant about the need to select a type of running shoe to fit one's foot type, and never heard words like "foot arch", "overpronate", and "underpronate". To me, all running shoes are good for running, and should have no difference for their basic functionality, except their durability, material, outlooks, and price. Based on this assumption, good and expensive shoe should at least be equally good for my daily jogging.

I couldn't be more wrong about this assumption.

For the last five months, I started to have frequent problem with my calf muscle (gastrocnemius muscle). It's kind of sour and tight at first, and progressively became pain, and then went away after a few days break on running.

During the 1st 3 months, the problem skipped my attention since I was on business travel several times during that period, and while I'm on the road I used a different pair of shoes that is preserved for my travel.

But during the last 2 months, this muscle problem of mine becomes chronically worse. And I could not find a rational explanation for its cause. As I compared my current running condition, I could not find any cause, such as change of treadmill which is the same for the last 2 years, or anything else related to my daily jogging.

That is, other than my new shoes!

To find it out, I decided to switch back to my old shoes which were worn out but still in a reasonably usable condition. That was 2 weeks ago. Magically, my calf muscle problem went away for the last 2 weeks, during which time I ran 2-4 miles every morning.

Then, this Thursday (yesterday 06/12) morning, I put on my Nimbus 9 again and did a 2.5 miles (10 laps) jogging. I went to a local community college and ran on its tracking field. Before I finished the 8-th lap, the pain started to come back again and I didn't finish the 9-th lap.

Today, I did some research on the web, and for the first time, I learned that one has to know one's foot type to select the best running shoe. I asked my daughter who's a junior in college and my son who's a freshman in high school, both are sport oriented, and they were as ignorant as me.

I then went on amazon.com to buy a new pair of running shoes. And I noticed, after several searches with various combination of words like "underpronate" and "overpronate", there is no clear information about the type of foot that one brand of running is most suitable.

If you read through the product description on this page about the Nimbus 9, it says that it's suitable for all types of foot. To quote the line here:
"... The broad supportive platform is suitable for a range of runners from underpronators to moderate overpronators."
which seems to imply that this shoes fit all types of 'pronators' except a 'overpronator' that is NOT moderate.

But this seems to be misleading since the very concept of under- and over-pronation suggests that the way of compensation the shoe could do can only be one of the two, never both, since an overpronator tends to wear the inside side of the shoes while an underpronator its outside.

[...]

Finally, here's my suggestions.

To us consumers: know your foot type and try to match it with the right type of running shoes (e.g., cushioning, neutral, etc.).

To amazon.com: could YOU and Your sellers to provide clear information about the type of foot that the running shoes are most suitable.

Almost forget to mention that I'm a non-moderate underpronator.

I've owned "lesser" Asics in the past. But I thought, why not go with a nicer model this round? I bought the Nimbus-9, and thought I was fairly happy with it. Then after a few weeks of light running (I'm NOT a huge runner by any means . . . 6miles x 2-3 times a week if that). I'm not entirely sure what type of fabric they've gone with for the interior, maybe it's lighter than the other models, I don't know. But, it's definitley not as durable. Within a month of my "slacker running" which usually involves a bit of walking as well (all on pavement). Both shoes started wearing through the lining near the heel. Alright I thought . . . now 4 or so months in the lining is pretty much destroyed. The top cuff area of one of the shoes is starting to fall apart as well.

I suppose they're comfortable, but so were the Gel Trabucos, and Eagle Trails or whatever they were called that I owned in the past. But both of those models, and no longer used for running but yard-work, and whatever else are in better shape after several years than these are after a few months.

Fit is the most important thing with a shoe, but I'll definitley shy away from any model with this lining again.

The picture of the product showed yellow. But the color is golden. Not liked.

Shoes are good, they feel nice on the feet and are comfortable to run in. Haven't put a lot of miles on them yet, but so far they're excellent.