Toward the end of June ASICS FrontRunner Admire ‘Mesa’ Muzopambwa challenged myself to break his 10km PB. He designed a training plan in the RUNKEEPER App So based on his previous times of certain distances and on how much time he had before his attempt.
“The best thing was I could sync my Runkeeper training calendar with my Garmin 920XT watch which is great to for me to avoid running with my phone,” Mesa says.
With his training plan sorted, the next big consideration was gear. Shoes in particular.
“Initially I had no idea which shoe I was going to run,” he says. “But it just so happened that the new ASICS Gel-Cumulus 22 Tokyo Edition arrived. That felt good, as I saw myself as running in Tokyo which helped with the spirit of the attempt.”
"The CUMULUS 22 has has some significant upgrades done to it, including the fact that is lighter than the previous model," he says.
"I’m weighing 60kgs now and the GEL-CUMULUS 22, at just 10.1 ounces/285 grams for a U.S. men’s size 10,5 this is the lightest version of the range yet."
Admire needed that weight-saving for his PB attempt. And, also relied on the comfortable ride thanks to the new segmented midsole/outsole design under the heel. This configuration works with a soft midsole foam and deeper flex grooves in the forefoot for a superb transition from heel-strike to toe-off.
Admire had designed a route through the Cradle of the Humankind (which is relatively flat) using the mapping tool on onthegomap.com. "I like that tool because it shows me the elevation, which is an advantage," he says.
"The shoe was an integral part of his goal-chasing journey, we were like a it team," Admire says. "The response from the GEL-CUMULUS 22 was superb. With the pace I was pushing I got through without problems. I’m a neutral runner I get along well with light and soft shoes since I love speed."
Admire went on to run 33:59 for the 10km. A new PB, but not exactly the time he was after. "I’m not resting until that sub-30min is done," he says.
Learn more about the Gel-Cumulus 22 Edo Era Collection special edition, here.
