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by Sandy Dover / @San_Dova
In the NBA world, athletes are subject to physical rigors that most laypeople cannot comprehend. For the elite basketball player, his/her body is his/her literal temple and principal livelihood, and while the roughly 400 players in the NBA put their bodies and minds to the test daily and yearly, those outside of that realm (in the so-called real world) also have become just as conscious about their fitness and health. The FIT is a series that will concentrate on the Fuel, Information and Training (F.I.T.) that it takes for both NBAers and laypersons to be at their very best in the world, as well as focusing on the literal Food, Intelligence and Technology that also comes into play in our physical fine-tuning—because after all, without having the vital fuel, guidelines and tech advancements to feed our bodies, help us better absorb and process what’s necessary, and make the labor efficient and effective, we don’t have much to advance our collective health and performance. The FIT is here to bring to light what can make us all the uniquely tuned creatures who we presently are and can continue or aspire to be.
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Basketball, as we all know it, is a game of running, and basically, outside of the half-court nature of the game, it’s a game of runs, literally. Basketball shoes as they are constructed are meant for protection of the body because of the game’s dynamic nature and drastic levels of force exerted and absorbed by the body…but the shoes are crucial in running, also; it’s why the soles of basketball shoes are so important, but regardless of that, the running aspect of basketball is why a running shoe for basketball players is a relevant topic; as basketball players, our training is based our runs!
In the case of the adidas adizero Rush, the footwear is engineered for training in all sports, including roundball. Before I get into the breakdown of the adizero Rush, have a look at the specifications of the shoe, per adidas:
These featherweight, dynamic men’s running shoes are just 7.5 ounces of high-mileage style, with adiPRENE®+ support in the forefoot, a light synthetic upper and a thin rubber outsole for a close fit.
Weight: 7.5 oz. (size 9)
Synthetic upper for comfort and light weight
Full forefoot adiPRENE®+ maintains propulsion and efficiency
Comfortable textile lining
Sprint Frame construction for the perfect balance between light weight and stability
Thin rubber outsole for lightest weight
One of the big deals about the adizero Rush (to me, outside of it weighing 7.5 oz! – my size 10 is listed on the shoe at 7.9 oz) is that it’s similar to 2011’s adizero Feather, a shoe that was as close to an all-around wear of a track spike as possible. I gave it rave reviews last year and said that “I had the best running experience of my life” in them, and that’s still true; unfortunately, not too many people were aware of the adizero Feather (comparably to the adizero Rush), because unlike the latter, the former lacked a national promo campaign and therefore was in the mix with the other adizero products, namely the basketball products, like the adizero Rose and the adizero Crazy Light.
The adizero Rush is essentially the upgraded version of the highly praised adizero Feather. They both have the same last and chassis (the exact same Sprint Frame and the exact same adizero sole), and they’re both super light (both shoes were the lightest running shoes that adidas had to offer). Specifically in the last that the adizero Feather and adizero Rush both share, they are comprised of:
– A full-length Sprint Frame plate, which is featured directly below the upper, separating the top from the midsole and outsole; normally, plates of any kind in athletic shoes are under the foam, but the Sprint Frame’s plate being placed on top of the sole allows for greater stress management placed upon the foot and shoe and also renders shock absorption to be level out equidistant among all areas of the shoe, producing a more efficient stride and thus allowing wearers of either shoe to have more energy for a longer and/or more intense run (and excellent transition).
– An adizero sole, made up of the adiPRENE+ enhanced midsole and adiWEAR outsole.
In addition to the last/chassis, the adizeros Feather and Rush share a one-piece upper, made of what adidas has dubbed “zero mesh”, which is a special grade open-hole mesh specifically used in adizero running footwear for lightweight breathability and durability. The best yet, both shoes share the same snappy adiPRENE+ cushioning that propelled my runs in my evaluations. Of course, adidas, being the innovative company that they are, made improvements to the adizero Feather that have now manifested themselves in the wonderful adizero Rush.
One big refinement took place in the upper, where there are less overlays and more underlays in the adizero Rush; specifically, the Sprint Web of the shoe is both internal and external, with a majority of the Web adhering under the actual top layer of the zero mesh; taking more of the Sprint Web inside of the shoe makes for a faster, more attractive look for the adizero Rush as well. Building on that, the Sprint Web is more expansive, particularly in the forefoot, medially and laterally, for a better 1:1 fit (my only qualm with the adizero Rush is that the Sprint Web’s greater presence in the inside forefoot caused some superficial, non-injurious rubbing that did not occur with the adizero Feather). A higher tongue in the adizero Rush made for a better fit in my evaluations, as did the slightly wider three stripes laces.
Outside of those things, I would’ve like to have seen more adiWEAR rubber embedded in the EVA foam for a great durability, but even that is a minor takeaway from the shoe. Simply, the adizero Rush is the best running shoe I’ve run in, and it translates extremely well in performance and in comfort. For ball players looking to accelerate training for the hardwood, utilizing the adizero Rush as a running shoe for your training is highly recommended.
(For additional photos of the adidas adizero Rush, go to Facebook.)
Sandy Dover is a published author, media consultant, and web & print magazine columnist in the world of publishing, while acting as a sports product evaluator and as a wellness & training consultant, advocate, and journalist in the fitness industry (with the two worlds often colliding). You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as at About Me, Facebook and Twitter.
