Leo Manzano Races in Nike

I just watched the video of the Unstoppable heat of the Liberty mile. The announcers made it sound like Brannen was just out for a jog even though his time was faster than Manzano's, Macnamarra's and Dunbar's. They didn't give the runner who pushed the pace and finished second any credit. They didn't even know his name. Whoever he was he ran something like a 4:07. Not too shabby.

He was Jim Spisak, All-American from Duquesne.

I don't think Hoka currently makes a true racing flat. I'm sure once they do (and I believe they are expanding their line), Leo will be in them.

Just saying...... wrote:

Snobfest wrote:

Definitely Nikes are still the best. They make best shoes and haters can keep on hating and running slow.

Racing flats yes. Spikes yes. Training shoes HELL NO.

The ones with only 5 spike wells injure my feet.

The HOKA CEO gave Leo full permission to wear whatever shoes he wanted to wear in races when he signed with them.

Obviously there's no point in sponsoring an athlete like Leo if he doesn't perform well in races. That's why they let him do this. They are, however, working on both spikes and racing flats per the Lion.

http://instagram.com/p/o1uQ8dkcPa/

Another Hoka athlete was actually wearing those spikes in a race the other day. Forget who it was, though.

There's also another picture floating around where Manzano was testing out some flats but I can't seem to find it right now.

From the Hoka website: "As part of his new relationship with HOKA ONE ONE, a division of Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK), Manzano will play a key role in the company's development of its first racing flats and spikes."

and

"Adding Leo to the HOKA family elevates our brand visibility and is a testament to the momentum we are gaining in the highly competitive running industry," said Jim Van Dine, HOKA ONE ONE Brand President. "Leo is not only an Olympian and track-and-field all-star, he's also a person with great integrity and character. We look forward to closely collaborating with Leo on product development—specifically racing spikes and flats."

A couple more pics of Manzano with the spikes

http://cache.milesplit.com/user_files/324547/114026/manzano.jpg

http://www.letsrun.com/photos/2014/angel-martinez/images/Leo%20and%20his%20new%20Hoka%20One%20One%20spikes.JPG

But flats are coming. Just not here yet.

The best racing flats few people have tried is Altra One2. Great flats (and truly flats at zero drop).

2014: Leo earns his living from Hoka, but wears Nike.

2012: Leo earns his living in the US, but waves the Mexian flag.

Love what Hoka is doing and like my Hokas but Altra in my opinion has figured it out. I have both Hokas and Altras and think that a wider more natural toe box area and zero drop are the future.The funny thing is my Altras are a low cushion shoe but since they have multiple levels of cushioning I will be trying a medium cushioned one soon. Since injuring my foot, I have been able to see how much a regular running shoe which crams your feet into it really hinders your foots natural ability to support your body weight. I really never cared before b/c I felt like I could run in any shoe without getting hurt which I did for a long time. I think it takes an injury to see how bad a regular shoe can be for you.

What brand is he meant to race in?

oldenuf wrote:

I can tell you a couple things about this:

First, HOKA's contract with Manzano says he can race / do his speed work in anything he wants right now, as HOKA continues to develop its line. Manzano has been very up front with this - saying that he does training runs in HOKAs, and even some tempo-type stuff, but nothing faster. I assume that HOKA has made the same deal with its other mid-D runners (Rutt, Nicole Schappert), but I don't know for certain....

Hoka's problem is with so much cushioning, their race shoes will never be as light as their competitors. To cut out the cushioning would defy their shoe philosophy. 7.8 ounces for the Clifton is on par with lightweight trainers, not racing flats.