Race

ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo

ASICS' carbon-plated road racer for stride-style runners — a race-day shoe, not a training one.

The Metaspeed Sky is the ASICS racer for stride-style runners — the ones who get faster by lengthening the stride rather than quickening it. The Tokyo version puts the new FF LEAP foam in the bottom layer of the midsole with FF TURBO PLUS on top, and carries the carbon plate high with extra midsole through the toe, which lifts you into a longer stride late in a race.

It suits you if you race often enough to justify a dedicated pair, from 10K up to the marathon, and it is your stride that lengthens when you push. If your turnover rises instead, the Edge Tokyo is the one built for you.

It is not a training shoe. The foam is tuned for a handful of hard efforts rather than for mileage, the low 5 mm drop asks something of your calves, and none of it survives easy days.