The ASICS Gel-Nimbus 16 were my first pair of 'proper' running shoes. I liked them so much I bought two pairs.
Long after most places had stopped stocking them I spent hours scouring the darkest corners of the internet to find a second pair. After encountering more than a few fake listings, I took the risk on a random Spanish sports retailer and - with several delayed shipment notifications keeping me on my toes - eventually they arrived.
I liked them so much that if I were Victor Kiam I would have bought the company.
Not the prettiest
You can't say they're beautiful. You can say they're ugly. What a colour scheme, and overly busy. But this is a good case of not judging a book by its cover.
I've become quite attached to them. This fine pair have done, to my reckoning, at least 1,000 miles and more likely closer to 1,500. So, considerably more than the 500 miles rule marketing departments are keen to parrot. They did my first ever half marathon, and most of my lunchtime runs for two and a half years. The sole has held up well, and it's only the holes in the upper which have finally forced my hand. They have earned a Viking burial.
The holy Nimbus 16
So farewell and adieu you fair Nimbus trainees - and to make it up to any sea shanty fans for this bastardisation, here's the legendary Robert Shaw, singing the real lyrics: