Anta Guangzhou Speed RC Review: A Green Carbon-Plated Trail Racer Worth a Look

Introduction

Chinese running brands are gathering real momentum in the global running space, and names like Kailas, Li-Ning, 361, and ANTA keep coming up more and more. ANTA is one of the brands driving that trend, and the Guangzhou Speed RC is a good example of why. It is a bright green, carbon-plated trail shoe with a name that is admittedly a bit of a mouthful, but the shoe itself looks genuinely great. This review covers the key specs, the upper and midsole construction, and how it performed over a first run of just under eight miles on a mix of tarmac, stony trails, grass, and gravel.

First Look and Key Specs

The Speed RC first caught attention at the ANTA expo stand during a trail race event in Chengdu, China, and it has proven tricky to track down since. Pricing found online ranged from around £224 up to £269, so availability outside China may take some digging. At a UK size 10, the shoe weighed 297g, which puts it in a similar weight bracket to other carbon-plated trail racers on the market.

Stack height sits at 37.5mm at the heel and 31.5mm under the forefoot, giving a 6mm heel offset. The midsole is a dual-layer design: a top layer of ANTA’s Nitroedge Pro foam for rebound and cushioning, paired with a lower layer of nitrogen TPU for durability and stability, with a full-length carbon fiber plate sandwiched in between for energy return.

Upper and Fit

The upper uses a booty-style construction built around a lightweight, matrix-style engineered mesh that feels breathable and reasonably durable to the touch. Structural overlays run from the heel, around the lace eyelets, and around the toe box, giving the soft upper a bit more substance and helping with durability.

There are a few trade-offs here. The tongue is very thin with almost no padding, and the laces are equally minimal. Rather than a traditional lace setup, the Speed RC uses a quick-lace cord system, similar in concept to what Salomon offers: you pull the cord tight around the midfoot and slide the locking mechanism into place. Heel and ankle collar padding is also minimal, though a small area of zonal padding wraps internally around the back of the shoe, and an elasticated knitted ankle collar helps keep trail debris out.

On the run, the upper felt comfortable with no irritation or rubbing, and breathability was high. The zonal padding at the ankle collar did its job and felt plush. However, on downhill sections towards the end of the run, the thin laces pulled through the tongue and dug into the top of the foot. It was not terrible, but on a longer effort, lace bite seems like a genuine risk. A bit of padding in the tongue would go a long way.

Sizing is worth noting: ANTA suggests going up half a size, and a UK 10 was tried here. After eight miles, the fit felt borderline, and a UK 9.5 would likely have worked better. The midfoot lockdown was good and heel hold excellent, but the toe box had just over a full thumb’s width of space past the big toe on a slightly shorter foot, which reduced the sense of connection to the upper.

Midsole and Ride Feel

This is where the Speed RC gets exciting. On flat pathways and compacted stony trails, the dual-layer plated midsole bounces along nicely, and the rocker geometry built into the midsole design gives the shoe a rolling, efficient feel at a steady long-run pace. On tarmac, it almost felt like a road racer: responsive, comfortable, and delivering good levels of energy return. Gravel pathways told a similar story.

With a deep stack of foam and a carbon plate underfoot, there were no issues with sharp stony sections, and underfoot protection was solid. The trade-off, common to deeply cushioned plated trail shoes, is a loss of ground connection on uneven terrain. The shoe felt stable on technical trails when loaded through the forefoot, but stability got wobbly when weight shifted back through the heel on descents.

Outsole and Grip

The outsole uses Vibram’s Megagrip Lite Base compound, a sticky and lightweight rubber paired with a 3.5mm lug depth. That lug depth is shallow, so this is not a shoe built for wet and muddy conditions. What it does do is work well on dry, runnable terrain.

On a route combining tarmac, stony trails, soft sand, grass, and gravel, the lugs gave good traction on everything, including the soft sand. The lug shape and layout seem to be well thought out, and combined with the known sticky properties of Megagrip Lite Base, grip is unlikely to be a problem in the conditions this shoe is designed for.

Buying Advice

The Speed RC makes sense as a shoe for trail races on predominantly flat, dry, runnable routes, where the plated midsole and rocker geometry can genuinely shine. It is not the shoe to reach for when moving fast through technical, uneven terrain, and the shallow lugs rule out wet and muddy conditions.

With a few upper refinements, mainly some zonal padding in the tongue and a bit more structure around the midfoot for foothold, ANTA would have a very capable trail racer on its hands. For now, buyers should weigh the strong midsole and outsole performance against the stripped-back upper and the difficulty of finding the shoe outside China.

Conclusion

The Anta Guangzhou Speed RC is a promising carbon-plated trail shoe with a lively dual-layer midsole, reliable Vibram Megagrip traction on dry terrain, and a comfortable, breathable upper. The main compromises are the thin tongue and laces, the roomy toe box, and wobbly heel-loading on technical descents. For runners chasing a fast, cushioned ride on runnable trails, it is worth serious consideration.