Metaspeed Edge Tokyo vs Vaporfly 4

The Metaspeed Edge Tokyo is ASICS at its sharpest: a 159g carbon racing shoe built to chase a personal best on the road and not much else. It is the Edge, so it is tuned for cadence runners, the people who get faster by turning their legs over quicker rather than by reaching for a longer stride. If that is you, the geometry here works with you instead of fighting you. At 38.9mm in the heel and a 6.9mm drop it sits right at the front of the modern marathon shoe pack, and the carbon plate gives you a firm, snappy platform that wants to roll forward. This is a race-day tool, not a do-everything trainer. Step on at easy pace and it feels stiff and a touch unforgiving. Hold goal pace and it comes alive. If you lengthen your stride to find speed, look at the stride-biased Metaspeed Sky Paris instead. At £230 it is a serious outlay, so be honest about whether you will use it.

The Vaporfly 4 is Nike's pure road racer, the carbon racing shoe that started the super-shoe era and still sits near the top of it. This is a marathon shoe built for one job: returning as much energy as possible when you run fast. At a claimed 190g with a carbon plate and an 6mm drop, it is light, snappy and unmistakably race-focused. It is not a do-everything trainer and it does not pretend to be. Park it for easy days and bring it out when the pace matters. We rate it as one of the most accessible elite racers you can buy, because it suits a wider range of paces than the bigger Alphafly 3, which rewards a stronger, faster runner. If you want a proven 5k-to-marathon racing shoe with real pop and a forgiving ride, the Vaporfly 4 is an easy shortlist pick. At £260 RRP it is a serious investment, so it earns its place as a race-day specialist rather than a daily option.