The shoe
A little bit of background on this shoe – a few years ago, the Nike team noticed that the majority of women logging their first workout on the Nike Run Club app were averaging a 13-minute mile (that’s equivalent to roughly an 8-minute km, or a 40-minute 5K). The data showed that these women weren’t running non-stop from the start of their run to the finish. Instead, they were fluctuating between walking, jogging and running – stopping and starting. This shoe is aimed at those women: women who perhaps don’t classify themselves as a ‘runner’ but want to experience the benefits of getting outside and placing one foot in front of the other.
According to Dominique Debnam, Senior Director of Fitness and Women's Footwear at Nike, the Motiva targets three key features: comfort, a rocker geometry (more on this later) and fit.
What is the Motiva like to run in?
The first thing to point out about the Motiva – and perhaps this is obvious from the picture – is that the sole of this shoe is not flat. It has an exaggerated curved shape with an undulating wavey outsole pattern. When you step into these shoes, they do feel a little unstable, since you’re essentially balancing on the middle part of your foot. In fact, walking in them can feel a little odd to begin with too.
The theory behind this design is that those who tend to run at a slower pace are more likely to strike the ground heel first. So the exaggerated rocker helps to roll your foot forward to push back off for your next step.
Since the rocker is so exaggerated we found it super noticeable when running – you do really feel the shoe rolling you forward. We can’t really imagine ourselves wanting to spend too long walking around in it.
Not only does the Motiva have an exaggerated rocker geometry, but this shoe also has a lot of cushioning underfoot. In fact, there’s an impressive 12mm heel-to-toe offset. But all this extra cushioning does mean the shoe feels a little more on the heavy side – and when our legs started to fatigue towards the end of our run, we did find it harder to pick the legs up.
| Type | Cushioned |
|---|---|
| Sizes | UK2.5-UK.95 (W) |
| Colour | jordan sneakers kids south africa |
| Offset | 12mm |
| Weight | 253.6 g (W8) |
How does the Motiva fit?
Fit-wise, this is quite a wide-fitting shoe and has a (deliberately) widened forefoot, arch and toe box, based on testers telling Nike that a narrow shoe is not their preferred fit. There’s an internal half bootie (the tongue is connected to the sides of the shoe), so it does have a sock-like fit. However, be warned: it is warm. After 7k the knit upper was damp to the touch – and we weren’t even wearing particularly thick socks – so it definitely loses marks for breathability.
RW verdict
Overall, this isn’t really a shoe we would recommend for keen 5k, 10k, half marathon or marathon runners – but they aren’t the target market here.
If you’re brand new to running, and you can’t really run for more than 3 minutes at a time – or you’re just starting Couch to 5K – this is the sort of shoe you’d perhaps consider. But then again, for £99.95, there are other shoes on the market we’d recommend ahead of this. (In fact, Debnam told RW that if you've got the Pegasus or the Invincible, 'continue to wear that'... the Motiva adds to the experience for someone who wants to have a slower movement')
nike sb purple lobster raffle.
