I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge san francisco half marathon a few weeks ago, and brought my iPhone with me to take some photos. The race was staged in the gorgeous Marin Headlands.

This was around mile 1 or less. The sun was still low in the sky, it was still chilly, and I felt fresh.

Around mile 1.5?

Tennesee Valley trail

The turn up the coastal trail for the 2nd major climb

First glimpse of the Pacific Ocean

Pretty steep pitch. Pretty even mix of runners and walkers up the hill.

A few people had stopped here to enjoy the view. This wasn’t quite the summit.

It was somewhere up there..

Another view of the ocean

The descent down Fox trail was just as steep. Definitely hard to run down in a controlled manner. I didn’t.

The Marincello climb was the start of the 3rd and final major climb.

I was predictably exhausted at the end of the race but I’m happy with how I paced myself. I went out a little less conservatively than I had planned but I was probably being a little overconservative. And the race-day excitement gives you a little boost of energy.

Nike free 3.0 photo by flickr user edtrigger

I found myself looking for running shoes and found myself a little overwhelmed by all of the choices out there. My goal was to find a semi-minimalist shoe – basically a cross between a flat, minimal shoe with no heel-toe drop (difference in height between the heel and the toe) and a traditional running shoe that typically has a bunch of heel cushioning. I realize that the minimal shoes are already a cross between shoes and barefoot running, but my legs and calves aren’t quite ready for that yet.

I focused solely on Nike shoes. Nike’s website, while pretty, sucks for obtaining any technical information. Luckily, Running Warehouse has a lot of good information. They have a neat shoe fit predictor (“shoefitr”) and good information about the amount of support running shoes provide as well as measurements of heel to toe drop.

Nike Free series:

I like the Nike Free series because they allow your foot to flex naturally, which allows you to build up strength in your foot muscles when training. There are a ton of different variations out there and it’s hard to tell what the differences are.

Nike Free 3.0 – most barefoot-like with a super flexy sole
Nike Free 4.0 – a little more support, this is in between the 3.0 and the 5.0.
Nike Free 5.0 – flexy sole like the 3.0 but with about 4mm more cushioning throughout. This is ideal for runners new to the “Free” series.

Nike Free Run+ by flickr user Yoshihuang

Anything with “TR” in the model name is for cross training. This isn’t always obvious. There’s also a Nike Free Walk walking shoe. The Nike Free Xilla is a cross training shoe. I don’t know what the Nike Free Waffle AC is exactly other than it uses the Nike Free sole with an old school upper. I think it’d function as more of a cross training shoe. There are other versions, such as the N7 and Livestrong which are pretty much the same shoes with different colorways.

Nike Flex series:

What’s the difference between the Nike Free and the Nike Flex series of shoes? The stack height of the Flex looks higher, and also, there appears to be a larger heel to toe drop. It appears that the Nike Flex shoes are more flexible than a traditional shoe, but not as “free” as a Nike Free. So if you are considering a Nike Flex and a Nike Free and want a bit more support, then I would go with the Nike Flex. If you are looking for something closer to minimal, go with the Nike Free.

Nike Lunar series (and others):

The Nike Lunar series contains more lightweight cushioning than most of their other shoes. I did a lot of research on the Nike Lunar series (I purposely focused mostly on these to make my decision easier) and here’s what I’ve found for heel-toe drop. Once again, Running Warehouse was a great resource. Since creating the original table, I’ve added the heel-toe drop numbers for New Balance and Brooks shoes for comparison.

Ok, this is only sort of related, but what does the “MSL” in a Nike shoe name mean?

MSL stands for “Mesh/Synthetic Leather” upper. I got that straight from Nike’s customer support.

Heel-Toe drop table:

Brand/Model	Heel Height	Toe Height	Heel to Toe Drop	Image and notes - Clicking on name or image opens Amazon link.
Nike Lunar Racer	27mm	21mm	6mm	~~Image via Amazon~~~~I bought a pair of these. Sort of. They were actually the Nike Lunar Vengeance which has the same sole but a different upper. They are ok - I think I bought half a size too small and my forefoot feels a little cramped. They have a firmer feel (less flexible sole) than the Nike Free.
Altra Instinct	16mm	16mm	0mm	'~~I just bought a pair of these. They are being phased out for the newer models so there may not be a lot of availability. First impressions: these shoes are pretty damn ugly. They look goofy on my feet. But they feel pretty good. The build quality and finish of the Altra Instinct doesn''t seem to be up to that of other running shoes that I wear but I like the fit. The roomy toe box is wonderful for my wide feet, and I was happy with the level of cushioning. I started forefoot running almost two years ago, but in the 10mm drop Nike Lunar Fly or the 6mm (I think?) drop Nike Free 5.0s. Not wanting to have sore calves for a week, I cut my first run short after 2 miles or so to ease into these shoes. So far, so good. This model has since been replaced by the Instinct 1.5.'
Altra Instinct 3.0	17mm	17mm	0mm	~~Image via Amazon. No offense to Altra, I like their shoes but wish they looked better.
Brooks PureConnect	20mm	15mm	5mm	.
Brooks PureConnect 4	20mm	16mm	4mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance Minimus 10 MR10	19mm	15mm	4mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance Minimus MR00	12mm	12mm	0mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance Minimus MR00 v2	11mm	11mm	0mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance Minimus Trail MT10	15mm	11mm	4mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance Minimus Trail MT10 v3	16mm	12mm	4mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance Minimus Zero Trail MT00	12mm	12mm	0mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance NB 101 Trail	26mm	16mm	10mm	~~Image via Amazon
New Balance NB M1400	21mm	11mm	10mm	.
New Balance NB M1400 v3	23mm	13mm	10mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Air Max+ 2013	34mm	20mm	14mm	~~(traditional running shoe for reference)~~~~Image via Amazon
Nike Air Max+ 2015	34mm	22mm	12mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Air Pegasus	33mm	21mm	10mm	~~(traditional running shoe for reference)~~~~Image via Amazon
Nike Flex Run	??	??	7mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Flyknit Lunar1+	26mm	16mm	10mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Flyknit+ Volt	23mm	14mm	9mm	~~Image via Amazon~~This looks to have a Free 5.0 style sole for flexibility.
Nike Free 3.0 v4	21mm	14mm	7mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Free 3.0 v5	21mm	17mm	4mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Free 4.0 flyknit	24mm	18mm	6mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Free 4.0 Flyknit	20mm	14mm	6mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Free 4.0 v2	22mm	16mm	6mm	~~Image via Amazon
'Nike Free 5.0 ''14 '	21mm	14mm	7mm
'Nike Free 5.0 ''15 '	23mm	15mm	8mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Free Run+	25mm	18mm	7mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Lunar Spider	22mm	16mm	6mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike LunarEclipse (Nike Lunar Eclipse)	30mm	18mm	12mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike LunarElite (Nike Lunar Elite)	31mm	20mm	11mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Lunarfly (Nike Lunar Fly)	29mm	19mm	10mm	~~Image via Amazon~~~~I bought a pair of these also. These have been my main running shoe for a while. The heel feels giant but it is still possible to run with a forefoot strike with these shoes. I have to admit that the cushioning feels nice and the shoe is more comfortable to run in than my Nike Frees or my Nike Lunar Racer/Vengeance.
Nike Lunarglide (Nike Lunar Glide)	30mm	18mm	12mm	~~has more pronation support~~~~Image via Amazon
Nike Lunarswift (Nike Lunar Swift)	26mm	16mm	10mm	~~has more pronation support (which I did not want)~~Image via Amazon
'Nike Men''s Lunarspeed Lite+'	28mm	18mm	10mm	~~Image via Amazon
Nike Zoom Elite+ 6	27mm	18mm	9mm	~~ (traditional running shoe for reference)~~~~Image via Amazon
Nike Zoom Elite+ 7	25mm	18mm	7mm	~~ (traditional running shoe for reference)~~~~Image via Amazon
Nike Zoom Elite+ 8	27mm	19mm	8mm	~~(traditional running shoe for reference)~~~~Image via Amazon
Nike Tanjun	?	?	?
Nike Revolution 5 FlyEase	24.5mm	14.5mm	10mm
Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 38	?	?	10mm
Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2	?	?	8mm