why do i hate mizuno

Mizuno sucks. BIG TIME.

yup. you read that right. why?

point #1: they are not a mainstream brand.

mainstream in a sense that they don't even have well-known product endorsers unlike other sports brands around the world. i mean, how can they expect their products to sell like pancakes if they're like that diba?

point #2: they do not promote much of themselves.

not much print ads if you'd ask me. i work in a magazine publishing company and i don't see much of their products splashed all over our magazines. i don't see them having television ads too. not even in the newspapers does mizuno have anything that will lead people to buy their products.

point #3: the products are not that "fashionable."

as compared to other "mainstream" brands, you won't see your regular juans and marias wearing mizunos together with their jeans to the office. you don't see them usually wearing mizunos when they go around the malls, walking, shopping, chilling out. nope. no mizuno-wearing juans and marias at the mall. (if there are, sobrang limited lang, unlike the other brands).

3 points against mizuno. seems legit to me, right?

but you know what my current brand of shoes are?

yup, you got it right.

i have 3 pairs already in less than 1 year of running.

wave inspire 4 (my first mizuno running shoes)

wave elixir 4 (my first "race day" shoes)

wave inspire 6 (replaces my old and tattered inspire 4)

so if mizuno sucks big time, then why do i have these 3 pairs of shoes (and hopefully more)?

mizuno might not be "mainstream" in the sense that they do not have mainstream "celebrity" endorsers because they don't need it. i personally believe that if a product is worth buying, one does not have to spend much money by paying endorsers. in my honest opinion, mizuno does not need A LOT of celebrities to endorse them because the users themselves are the ones promoting the products to other people. read my lips: WORD-OF-MOUTH marketing.

which i guess is really their bread and butter if you'd ask me.

the other brands are paying a lot of bigtime athletes (some even controversial at times) just to wear their products. but for mizuno, you'd pay pa just to wear their products (shempre, i don' t have the start power/ status as compared to these people ):

mizuno endorsers:idol leo oracion

coach ige lopez

si leo oracion lang at si coach ige lopez talaga ang "legit" endorsers ng mizuno dito.

takbo.ph mizuno runners

mizuno does not have much advertisements or promotional materials to further boost themselves. promotions for mizuno had been mostly word-of-mouth marketing from satisfied customers. in short, first hand narration from first hand users of their products.

even i was a skeptic at the start but eventually realized that it is indeed a good brand. shempre when you start at something, you'd ideally, ask those who have been into running para to get an idea diba, and for some weird reason, Mizuno came out often from normal people (like you and me). since it's easier to believe what people you resemble the most (in lifestyle, normalcy, etc) you'd think that "maybe what they're saying might have some sense, so why not try what they're 'endorsing' diba?"

so first stop was to check what shoe model does mizuno have that would fit my shoe type category. based on my own research, i should be needing a stability-motion control type of shoes as i do overpronate a bit. but, despite this over-pronation, i would still want a lighter shoe that would provide me with the right balance of support, AND cushioning. upon several mall-hopping sessions, i went to mizuno BHS to have my gait analyzed and eventually purchased my first ever first wave inspire shoes.

at that point, i didn't actually think of the weight YET. it was a choice between the inspire and the nirvana which, both were what my feet needs. it also boiled down to which shoe would fit my budget. good thing i chose the inspire because the nirvana, despite it being well cushioned, it also has more support which i do believe might hinder me from enjoying my runs etc. (see, the people in mizuno stores actually know what they're selling! hahaha).

other than getting the pair that suited my needs and wants, i also joined the second batch of Mizuno Run Club Clinic which main goal was to train the Mizuno runners for the Mizuno Infinity Run 2009 (which eventually became the Mizuno Infinity Run Time Trials).

the boys from takbo.ph from MRC Season2 after the graduation

by attending the 2nd batch of Mizuno Run Club Clinic/Sessions, great improvements were seen from my performance. i had better run posture, better and a bit faster feet turnover (thanks to Coach Ige's drill sessions) and my legs grew stronger (and shempre i became leaner). during the actual 15K race, i was just behind The Bull Runner by 2-3 mins ata (and to think she's been running way longer than me ha). Galing diba?

so after the race, shempre i had to make yabang that i grew faster and stronger because of the Mizuno Run Clinic, etc, and a lot were asking me how do they get to join that. simple put, go to the clinic on Thursdays, and make sure you have your Mizuno shoes with you. simple noh? Pero then kasi, you really had to have a Mizuno pair or else, they wouldn't let you join the sessions, etc. (medyo bossy/siga pa before kasi yung nag handle before, kaya ayun.) little did we know that we would fall in love with this brand even more, (more than physical attraction ah).

and i was able to "enlighten" a fellow runner-blogger who was a swoosh diehard with regards to using a mizuno.

also, a lot of people were impressed with my time improvement when i joined the mizuno run clinic batch 2, to the point that even i was able to convince a lot of friends to eventually join the mizuno run club batch 3 and try out mizuno shoes. even those who were not mizuno fans even joined the mizuno run club sessions, even if they didn't wear mizunos. at the start, these fellow runners were just happy to join the free running clinic from mizuno, and from there, they would eventually buy their mizunos :) (sometimes they don't just buy 1 pair, but 2!)

season 2 graduates

season 3 graduates

batch 3 was supposedly to give enough training for participants to get faster, and stronger to beat their own time in the Mizuno Infinity Run 2010 this coming April 11, 2010. Actually it was initially scheduled for 01.10.10 (a better marketing gig actually, easier date to remember pati!) but things happened for a reason, so there. so instead of having the race on one ten ten, the Infinity Run Expo was held instead. it was also during this event that a lot of my non-mizuno running buddies were able to secure for themselves a pair of mizuno running shoes. a friend was even to get her dream shoes for free!

i don't actually believe that mizuno users find their mizunos "unfashionable." in all honestly, most of the mizuno shoes have kick-ass designs and colors that one would want to buy these for the sake of porma.

(and take note! these are not sneakers ah, these are hardcore running shoes!) take for example these shoes:

mizuno wave precision 10
angas-looking, spaceship-like color of the wave precision, i guess inspired by lady gaga

mizuno wave musha 2
a redesigned musha, mukhang minimal change sa layout
(instead of yung hati ng eyelets are 4-2 sa 1st one, now its 3-3) nice looking shoes too!
pero the colors made it look more like a sneaker than a kick-ass stab racing flats.

mizuno wave musha
one fine racing flats if you'd ask me. pero i still am not YET worthy of such shoes. first, hindi pa ako ganon kabilis.second, i'm not yet that light for this type of shoes, baka ma injure pa ako :( pero its one of my dream shoes from mizuno, the other one is the ronins2 na yellow. if i do eventually get to have one like this after it lived its racing lifespan, this one's going to be a firey-hot sneaks.

mizuno wave ronin 2
hot looking shoes for fast neutral runners.
this one is more kick-ass looking than the orange one if you'd ask me.
i saw someone sa Bataan Death March season 2 wearing this one at one point.
talk about kicking ass!

these shoes are fashionably kick-ass that can be work well with jeans. but why do we rarely see mizuno users wear these? maybe because they realize the importance of resting your running shoes to ensure proper sole foam recovery (or what technical term you might call it). i do believe that those who'd prefer to buy, and use mizunos know the importance of taking care of their running shoes.

do i hate mizuno?

i hate them so much to the point that i there are no other brand i would 'endorse and recommend' to my friends when they ask me what's a nice brand of running shoes.

on second thought, the three points i raised are also the reason why i love my mizunos. they are not mainstream to the point that i feel "unique" and elite in my own little ways. they do not promote much of themselves, not making "buhat their own bangko" thus letting their products speak for themselves through the normal people who'd give good reviews and feedbacks from their mizunos. they are not "fashionable" in the sense that they are not used in everyday chores are they are reserved for serious runs :)

yup. mizuno.

i love :)


but just like in any relationship, one still has to find their perfect match, "The ONE".

for some it might not be their cup of tea, but i do believe mizuno is the ONE for me.

it has given me confidence in my runs, both trainings and races as well. my mizunos have been there for me during my ups and downs (even my literal down time when i tripped while doing my recovery run after my first full mary hahaha).

mizuno.

PS: oh yeah, one more thing i hate about mizuno.

THEY DON'T HAVE TRAIL SHOES
HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES YET!

i've had my share of mizuno road shoes and they've done pretty well, i guess it's time to check how well their trail shoes would fare.mizuno wave ascend 4

mizuno wave cabrakan

dear mizuno philippines, will they be here in time for TNF Baguio? or Men's Health All -Terrain Race by May? :) please? :D