GEL-Landreth™ 6

The GEL-Landreth™ 6 is making a big technical step forward this season with the introduction of an innovative new Heel Clutching System. By removing the heel counter and securing a heel fitting sleeve to the lacing system, this version offers amazing new fit and comfort. The GEL-Landreth™ 6 also features Biomorphic Fit® for the first time, with a unique placement of the stretch panels designed specifically for the shoe. The shoe's tooling continues to employ the GT-2000™ series midsole without DuoMax®, creating a more responsive ride than most cushioning models.

The GEL-Landreth™ 6 is available in running specialty stores now.

View Men's GEL-Landreth™ 6 | View Women's GEL-Landreth™ 6

GEL-Foundation® 9

Since the introduction of the first GEL-Foundation® in 1999, the goal for the series has been to provide maximum support to runners who need more than a standard stability shoe offers. To that end, the shoe offers a wide, supportive base that is surprisingly comfortable, as well as a great fitting upper. The GEL-Foundation® 9 will maintain the platform feel and fit from the current version offering a small density adjustment to allow for a more supportive platform. The base is quite wide along the length of the shoe, particularly in the midfoot area, to ensure excellent stability. The upper pattern has been adjusted just slightly to provide an ample toe box with a snug, locked-in heel fit. Width sizing will also be adjusted to be a bit wider to ensure proper fit in the 2E and 4E range.

GEL-Foundation® 9 is available in running specialty stores now with wider distribution scheduled for June 1, 2010.

View Men's GEL-Foundation® 9 | View Women's GEL-Foundation® 9

GEL-Trail Sensor® 4

The GEL-Trail Sensor® 4 is ASICS most advanced performance trail shoe. The upper features the evolution of the innovative Inner Lock Lacing System®, made visible by an outer layer of micro mesh and enhanced by the Asymmetrical Lacing Design for a more anatomically correct fit. The upper also features a version of ASICS' Heel Clutching System designed for trail use which responds effectively to terrain changes. The shoe continues to deliver improved performance through a low profile Solyte® midsole for cushioning and an aggressive lug pattern for great traction.

The GEL-Trail Sensor® 4 is available in running specialty stores now with wider distribution scheduled for June 1, 2010.

View Men's GEL-Trail Sensor® 4 | View Women's GEL-Trail Sensor® 4

GEL-Trabuco® 13

The GEL-Trabuco® 13 will appeal to a wide range of runners looking for an aggressive trail shoe. The rugged WET GRIP® outsole and a lower-profile Solyte® midsole create a responsive, traction-oriented tooling. The new upper protects as well as it provides comfort, with rubber toe bumpers, tongue gusset, and new memory foam sockliner. The functional lacing system and improved heel environment create a superior upper fit. For 2010, the GEL-Trabuco® 13 takes another technical step forward, and will continue to satisfy the needs of a variety of trail runners.

The GEL-Trabuco® 13 is available in running specialty stores now with wider distribution scheduled for June 1, 2010.

View Men's GEL-Trabuco® 13 | View Women's GEL-Trabuco® 13

The GEL-Nimbus® 12 carries on the series’ tradition of a cushioned ride and comfortable upper fit. The new version has been updated with several new features, including Guidance Line™ to encourage a more efficient gait. Discrete Eyelet Construction, full-length Solyte® 45 lasting, and new memory foam ComforDry™ sockliner from Ortholite takes the shoe to a new level of upper fit and comfort. The GEL- Nimbus®12 has also added a new Gender Specific component, Plus-3™, to enhance the two carry-over women's-only technologies, Gender Specific Space Trusstic® System and Gender Specific Forefoot Cushioning.

The GEL-Nimbus® 12 is available in running specialty stores now with wider distribution scheduled for June 1, 2010.

View Online Video Campaign for The GEL-Nimbus® 12
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The updated GEL-Cumulus® 12 features the softest road feel among ASICS® Performance Running line. The ride is remarkably stable and the transition from heel strike to toe-off is quite smooth. This shoe features a decoupled heel and forefoot tooling that helps establish the smoother ride. Cushioning is improved as well, resulting from the addition of Gender-Specific Forefoot Cushioning, a larger rearfoot GEL® Cushioning System, and full-length Solyte® 45 lasting material. The upper features dual PHF® in the rearfoot and lower collar heights for improved heel fit. The vamp area remains basically unstructured, but is given a bit more lateral support with a lateral welder across the side of the vamp.

The GEL-Cumulus® 12 is available now in running specialty stores, with wider distribution scheduled for June 1, 2010. For more product information, visit GEL-Cumulus® 12 Men's and GEL-Cumulus® 12 Women's.

Only 10 days to go until the Chicago Marathon and I am thrilled with the way my training has gone in the last 2 months.  Today marked my last tempo run and the official beginning of tapering for the race.  Although I still have a couple quality workouts to do, my mileage will reduce considerably.  I have been running about 115 miles a week and will reduce to about 80 the week leading up to the race.  Tapering is when we expect to feel exuberant with energy, but our bodies have something else in mind.  Tapering never feels as good as we want it to.  My week usually consists of restless night’s sleep (from not taxing myself in training), a mild headache (endorphin withdrawals) and a sudden feeling of loosing fitness (a five mile run doesn’t feel as easy as it should).  But our bodies have a self-preserving mechanism when it comes to marathon preparation.  We train for months to condition ourselves and then taper to store energy.  Race day arrives and we have all the tools to accomplish the distance.  When you add the buzz and enthusiasm of 45,000 people on the starting line, I consider this the special ingredient, the added boost that drives us.  Tomorrow is my last day at altitude before heading to sea-level to rest. 

I’ll be lounging in Southern California for a few days before heading east. We call these interim days “Camp Oxnard” since the sea-side town calls for a leisure existence.   I look forward to arriving in Chicago next week.  If you are there, please visit the ASICS booth at the Marathon Expo on Friday, October 9th from 1:30-2:30.  I’ll be there to visit with runners and running fans, sign autographs and enjoy the camaraderie of so many fit people on a 26.2 mile mission.  I look forward to sharing the experience with all of you.

Today as I was out running the last 20 miles on The ING NYC Marathon course I felt like I re-learned a very important lesson and fulfilled my purpose for coming to New York City this week.  I was having one of those days where I was tired and my run wasn’t going as well as I hoped.  All I could think about was how off my body felt, how tired I was from getting up at 5:30 am, how hard it was for me to navigate the city roads and traffic, how I wished I was back home in the forest. Really I was reaping frustration because I had let my heart become too self-focused.  As I ran along, God was telling me this is what it is like to be running with an inward focus, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  Though I heard Him, it didn’t make it from my head to my heart until after the run, as I lay on the massage table, still irritated by the morning, God impressed on my heart, get outside yourself.
 
It’s ironic that I am writing about lacking an outward focus less than two days after Sara and I launched our foundation, the Hall Steps Foundation.  Its goal is taking small steps towards the marathon goal of ending poverty.  The vision for the foundation came from one of my personal heroes, Mother Teresa, who said, “I can do no great things, just small things with great love.”  Out of this quote our slogan was born, “small steps, great love”.  Marathoners know best about taking lots of small steps towards accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal, whether it’s to break 2 hours or 8.  Through the Hall Steps Foundation our aim is to encourage runners to take their own “small steps” by focusing outside themselves on others both in their community and around the world living in poverty.
 
Yet, despite my excitement about starting this endeavor and belief in its mission, somehow I had lost focus.  This morning I woke up with the wrong perspective and forgotten my life and running is not all about me. I had forgotten that the truly special moments that I have experienced in running are all when I was outwardly-focused.  When I set my mind on God and praising Him through my running, thinking about my wife, family, and all those who I love, and remembering the people I am impacting a positive force in my running and is how God designed me to ideally function.  The more I reach out to positively impact others, the more my motivation and focus changes when running.  After visiting Zambia with World Vision in the fall of 2008, the faces of the kids we were to bring clean water to became burned in my mind’s eye.  I often go there when I am hurting on a run finding new strength that I couldn’t find in myself. 
 
The goal of today’s run was to preview the last 20 miles of The ING NYC Marathon course, but I accomplished so much more than that.  I learned an important lesson about what enables me to really fly: focusing outside myself by focusing on others I love.