ASICS Superblast After 100 Miles: A Marathon Effort Companion Worth the Hype?

Introduction

Some shoes are easy to categorize. The ASICS Superblast is not one of them. It packs the brand’s racing foam, FF Turbo, over a thick base of FF Blast Plus, the same foam family found in the Novablast. There is no carbon plate. It has a very tall stack height. And yet, after 100 miles of long runs, tempo sessions, and even a marathon race, it has proven to be one of the most satisfying speedy long run shoes available right now.

The question that always surrounds this shoe is the price: $220. That is not cheap, and it deserves scrutiny. Below is a full picture of how the Superblast performs, how it holds up, and whether its price makes sense against the alternatives.

How It Performs: Long Runs, Tempo, and Marathon Day

The Superblast does its best work at marathon effort. Not easy runs, not recovery runs, but the long, controlled, fast efforts that sit at the heart of a marathon build. Think of the classic Sunday session: a short warm-up, ten miles at marathon effort, then a cool-down. This is the shoe for that day. It helps you hit the pace, then lets you recover fast enough to hit your next threshold or tempo session midweek.

Tempo runs work well too, though that is not where it shines brightest. The lack of a carbon plate is rarely a penalty at marathon effort. The shoe delivers a comfortable yet somehow speedy ride, and the thick stack of foam never feels like dead weight. On a rainy marathon morning, the shoe held up over the full distance, keeping legs feeling good even days after a hard 3:04 effort.

Who This Shoe Is For

The Superblast makes the most sense as a marathon training companion rather than a race day shoe. For most runners, the ideal setup is a fast carbon racer for race day and something a bit more mellow and comfort-oriented for the toughest long workouts in the middle of the block. That is exactly the role this shoe fills.

It also suits runners who want a bit more stability in their speed day and long run shoes. The platform is very wide, and the thick FF Blast Plus layer at the bottom mellows out the livelier FF Turbo foam on top, making the shoe noticeably less squirrely underfoot on every landing. Runners as concerned about comfort as they are about carbon will find it a compelling marathon shoe option.

Stability and Comfort at Pace

Two details stand out in daily use. First, the toe box shape is genuinely nice, and overall comfort is high for such a fast shoe. Second, the wide, thick platform inspires confidence when fatigue sets in and form starts to waver late in a long session.

The trade-off is the upper. The material is thick and scratchy, almost as if a rain coating was added to a racing upper. It is not the most comfortable upper, and for a shoe in this price range meant for important sessions, it feels less premium than it should. To be fair, that dense construction paid off on a wet race morning: it kept water out and traction held on soaked roads.

Durability After 100 Miles

Durability has been a pleasant surprise. The outsole rubber is holding up better than the outsole on the Novablast 3, with only the faintest scuffing visible in the highest wear areas, such as the outer heel and the trampoline-style pod area. The FF Blast Plus foam has avoided the small chunks of damage expected from its exposed placement.

One practical flaw: the many little crevices in the outsole are rock magnets. On softer crushed limestone and hard-packed trail surfaces, the shoe picks up debris that needs to be picked out after every session. Road runners will notice this far less.

How It Stacks Up Against the Competition

Is $220 overpriced? Comparing the Superblast against similar training companion shoes from other brands helps put the price in context.

Against the Adidas Prime X and Prime X Strung at $300, both shoes fill a nearly identical use case: tall, exciting, marathon-effort shoes that are not ideal for easy or recovery paces. At $300, the Prime X feels a bit overpriced, which makes the Superblast look reasonably priced, perhaps even slightly underpriced, by comparison.

The Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 at $170 is the better value for most people, though it does not agree with every foot strike and is less convincing at marathon pace, where the Superblast thrives. The New Balance SuperComp Trainer at $180 makes sense on paper with its racing foam and carbon plate, but anywhere the Trainer fits, the Superblast is the more enjoyable pick, even at $40 more.

The Hoka Carbon X 3 at $200 comes up short as well, feeling like the overpriced option of the pair. Nike is the interesting one: a Vaporfly Next% found at $175 could be the better value for the weekend long run role, and an Alphafly 1 at $200 would be tempting too, though finding one in your size is a real challenge. At the Vaporfly’s $250 retail price, the two feel appropriately priced relative to each other.

Buying Advice

If you already own a carbon-plated racer and want a companion shoe for the biggest sessions of your marathon block, the Superblast is one of the strongest options available. If you run mostly easy miles, this is not the shoe for you. If you want one premium shoe that can handle a rainy marathon and weekly long workouts, it is a legitimate choice.

At $220 it is expensive, and a price closer to $195 would feel fairer. Still, based on how it performs and how well it has held up, the shoe earns its place in a serious training rotation.

Conclusion

After 100 miles, the ASICS Superblast stands out as a rare thing: a tall, plateless, high-cushioned shoe that genuinely delivers at marathon effort while keeping recovery quick between sessions. The scratchy upper and rock-catching outsole are real annoyances, and the price asks a lot. But for runners building the one-two punch of a carbon racer and a dependable long run companion, the Superblast is an easy shoe to recommend.