Nike Victory Elite Review

I was lucky enough to win 2 pairs of Nike Victory Elites.  Let me tell you, these shoes are amazing.  The upper is lightweight and much more breathable than its predecessor and the new and improved full-length carbon fiber plate makes these mid distance spikes feel quite agressive and fast.  In fact, that plate makes these shoes feel like they would be ideal for the 400-600-800 distance.  I would be hesitant to use them in longer races but I have seen the original Victory used often in 10ks and XC races.  It will be interesting to see how the new material will hold up over time.  I have no doubts about the Flywire or plate but the areas of the upper that are not held together by the external flywire may have issues.  That being said, these shoes are going to be worn most often by elites, hence the name, and high level collegians.  Those types of athletes don't race as often as high schoolers and if they do choose to workout in these shoes they are probably at some level of sponsorship that they can get these shoes for free or highly discounted.  My overall recommendation would be to go with the cheaper Victory 2s or even the original Victory if you can still find them.  These shoes are great but the differences are minimal compared to their predeccesors.  They also might be more limited in range than previous Victorys due to the aforementioned longer plate.  Like always, I recommend trying on a shoe in your local running shoe to see if you like it.  Thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions!