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The Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 is a one-of-a-kind racing shoe. It feels different from every other racing shoe I've tried, both for good and for bad. The shoe is fast, no doubt about it, it will spring you forward and make you feel like you are launching yourself through every step of your race. This aggressive design comes with some caveats though. The first time I ran in them I tried some strides at the end of my run and pulled my calf muscle after 3 strides. I didn't try these again until after implementing a calf strengthening regiment. After doing so these shoes felt faster than anything I've ever worn. This shoe is designed for a mid-foot to fore-foot strike, heel striking in this shoe would not be advised as the heel of this shoe is very unstable. I also am not sure I can recommend this shoe for longer races (marathon and up) as you would need to keep very strong running form throughout, this shoe doesn't just want to go fast, it needs to go fast. Finally my calves were definitely a bit more sore after using this shoe versus others. I wouldn't call these necessarily cons of the shoe, but more just warnings to understand what this shoe is. I have no doubt in my mind this shoe is anything less than 5 stars, but it is a very specific shoe for very specific runners.
Also the laces the shoe comes laced up with suck, luckily they include a pair of sawtooth laces with every pair.
The laces that are on the shoe when you purchase them are not good. They don't feel secure and come undone. Luckily the shoes are also shipped with a pair of sawtooth laces, however (at least with this colorway pictured) I wish the sawtooth laces were the same color as the standard laces, but oh well.
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