If you're wanting a more flexible responsive shoe, but tend to be a mild to moderate overpronator and still need a little support and guidance, the you may want to check out Saucony's new
Cortana. It's gotten rave reviews and won several awards including "Best Debut" from
Runner's World Magazine, September 2011 and "Best New Shoe" in
Running Network's 2011 Fall Shoe Review.
I've always been a big "the proof is in the pudding" kind of guy, so while reviews go a long way with me, I still like first hand experience to make my final decision. Saucony sent me a pair of the Cortana about two months go and I've been testing them ever since. In this case the "pudding" is pretty dang good.
While not really a minimalist shoe, this shoe
is like a souped-up racing flat. It's very flexible, but also provides a touch of guidance. It contains Saucony's PowerGrid technology the entire length of the shoe which is what provides great cushioning. The other feature that I really like is the 4mm heel-to-toe offset. This "close-to-the-road ride" really helps promote more of a midfoot or forefoot strike. The shoes are very light weight at only 10.7 oz.
I've run exclusively in the Cortana since I received them in August. I've done short tempo runs, speed work and longer runs up to 14 miles. In each case, the shoes were very supportive while at the same very flexible and cushy. The only thing that was a drawback was the the upper began to fray pretty quickly near the ankle area. For a shoe in this price range ($145), I expected the upper to last a little longer. Now this may be due to my particular stride, but I've not had other Saucony shoes' uppers wear so quickly. I think it's just the particular fabric used. The fraying doesn't affect the shoe's performance at all however and wouldn't keep me from purchasing a second pair.
So, if you're looking for a low profile, flexible, responsive and cushy shoe, I highly recommend the Cortana! And.....you're in luck! Saucony is giving one free pair of the Cortana away to one lucky RunnerDude's Blog reader!
WIN A FREE PAIR! To enter, simply send an email to runnerdudeblog@yahoo.com. Put
"Cortana" in the subject line and
your full name in the body of the email. You have until Saturday, October 15th to enter! Each email will be assigned a number in the order that it was received. Then the
TrueRandomNumberGenerator will be used to select the winning email number. The winner will be announced on the blog on Sunday, October 16th. Good Luck!
