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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE: Nike RN Distance 2 Review}} The Nike RN Distance 2 is not a bad shoe, and I expected to like it, but it had too many flaws. I dislike the booty style upper, th..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE: Nike RN Distance 2 Review}}
The Nike RN Distance 2 is not a bad shoe, and I expected to like it, but it had too many flaws. I dislike the booty style upper, the midsole that picks up stones like it's hungry for them, and a general lack of balance that leaves the shoe feeling dead underfoot. I rated it "Worth Considering", though I nearly ended up rating it "not recommended." {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Nike RN Distance 2-top.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 top
File:Nike RN Distance 2-outside.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 outside
File:Nike RN Distance 2-bottom.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 bottom
File:Nike RN Distance 2-inside.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The RN Distance is reasonably well cushioned, with a good cushioning-to-weight ratio. The cushioning is not remarkable, but it's better than most shoes. It doesn't have the bounce of shoes with TPU foam, and by comparison it feels a little dead underfoot. I found the structure of the midsole (see below) did leave me feeling like in the cushioning was a little uneven. Worse, as the sole picks up small stones, the effective cushioning gets degraded quite badly.
* {{H:drop}}. The 4mm of drop is slightly more than I think is ideal, and I seemed to notice the drop more than I'd have expected. It never caused me a problem and is close enough to zero drop for me, but I'd have preferred it to be slightly flatter.
* {{H:structure}}. The RN Distance doesn't have multiple densities of foam, but the medial (inside) side of the heel is quite built-up, acting as something of a medial post. I found this intrusive and annoying, and it was made worse by the tendency for bigger stones to get caught just under that area.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The RN Distance is nicely flexible, though perhaps not quite as flexible as you might expect given the various deep cuts into the midsole foam. The RN Distance flexes naturally, unlike some shoes that tend to want to bend at a specific point.
* {{H:outsole}}. There is no hard rubber outsole at all, just exposed midsole foam. This seems to hold up reasonably well, but I found it offered very little grip in some situations. It seemed to do okay on asphalt, even when it's wet, but other conditions, such as damp wooden boards on my local bridges were a little scary in the RN Distance.
* {{H:shape}}. The shoe is does not match the shape of the human foot, so it's worth considering [[Shoe Modifications| cutting open the toe box for comfort]]. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is a nearly seamless booty, with just one seem unobtrusively near the heel. There is an overlay to support the laces, and provide some rigidity. I'm not a big fan of this approach to running shoes, as they are a little harder to get on and off, and seem to offer no real advantages. One noteworthy problem is that the cut away for your ankle bone is rather high, and I found it rubbed very slightly. It can cause any blisters, but I could see it causing some runners problems. The upper is reasonably padded throughout, and quite flexible in the forefoot. There's a moderate amount of padding around the ankle opening.
* {{H:tongue}}. The RN Distance has a booty upper, so there's no traditional tongue. The area below the laces is reasonably well padded.
* {{H:lacing}}. The round laces worked better than I expected, and they never came undone on me.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. There is no [[Heel Counter]], and the upper is just stiff enough to keep its shape when not being worn.
{{FastBlr|Nike/Zealot-6-952|952|Nike RN Distance 2}}
=Update After 100 Miles=
Normally I wouldn't give an update until at least 200 miles, but I've really had enough of the shoe after just 100 miles. There's multiple factors behind my decision to give up on this shoe. I'm finding that as it picks up stones, the stones stretch the holes in the midsole, making it more and more likely to pick up future stones. Getting the stones out of the shoe is much tougher than any other shoe I've had, and you really need a screwdriver to pry them out. The raised midsole that forms a medial post is also annoying to me, and contributes to the sense that the shoe is a little dead underfoot. There is a surprisingly little in the way of signs of wear on the exposed midsole, and the upper looks new (except where I've cut the toe box open of course.)
[[File: RN Distance-100 miles 1.jpg|center|thumb|300px| The buildup of stones after a long run. You can see some slight signs of wear in the midsole as well.]]
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
The Nike RN Distance 2 is not a bad shoe, and I expected to like it, but it had too many flaws. I dislike the booty style upper, the midsole that picks up stones like it's hungry for them, and a general lack of balance that leaves the shoe feeling dead underfoot. I rated it "Worth Considering", though I nearly ended up rating it "not recommended." {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Nike RN Distance 2-top.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 top
File:Nike RN Distance 2-outside.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 outside
File:Nike RN Distance 2-bottom.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 bottom
File:Nike RN Distance 2-inside.jpg|Nike RN Distance 2 inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The RN Distance is reasonably well cushioned, with a good cushioning-to-weight ratio. The cushioning is not remarkable, but it's better than most shoes. It doesn't have the bounce of shoes with TPU foam, and by comparison it feels a little dead underfoot. I found the structure of the midsole (see below) did leave me feeling like in the cushioning was a little uneven. Worse, as the sole picks up small stones, the effective cushioning gets degraded quite badly.
* {{H:drop}}. The 4mm of drop is slightly more than I think is ideal, and I seemed to notice the drop more than I'd have expected. It never caused me a problem and is close enough to zero drop for me, but I'd have preferred it to be slightly flatter.
* {{H:structure}}. The RN Distance doesn't have multiple densities of foam, but the medial (inside) side of the heel is quite built-up, acting as something of a medial post. I found this intrusive and annoying, and it was made worse by the tendency for bigger stones to get caught just under that area.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The RN Distance is nicely flexible, though perhaps not quite as flexible as you might expect given the various deep cuts into the midsole foam. The RN Distance flexes naturally, unlike some shoes that tend to want to bend at a specific point.
* {{H:outsole}}. There is no hard rubber outsole at all, just exposed midsole foam. This seems to hold up reasonably well, but I found it offered very little grip in some situations. It seemed to do okay on asphalt, even when it's wet, but other conditions, such as damp wooden boards on my local bridges were a little scary in the RN Distance.
* {{H:shape}}. The shoe is does not match the shape of the human foot, so it's worth considering [[Shoe Modifications| cutting open the toe box for comfort]]. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is a nearly seamless booty, with just one seem unobtrusively near the heel. There is an overlay to support the laces, and provide some rigidity. I'm not a big fan of this approach to running shoes, as they are a little harder to get on and off, and seem to offer no real advantages. One noteworthy problem is that the cut away for your ankle bone is rather high, and I found it rubbed very slightly. It can cause any blisters, but I could see it causing some runners problems. The upper is reasonably padded throughout, and quite flexible in the forefoot. There's a moderate amount of padding around the ankle opening.
* {{H:tongue}}. The RN Distance has a booty upper, so there's no traditional tongue. The area below the laces is reasonably well padded.
* {{H:lacing}}. The round laces worked better than I expected, and they never came undone on me.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. There is no [[Heel Counter]], and the upper is just stiff enough to keep its shape when not being worn.
{{FastBlr|Nike/Zealot-6-952|952|Nike RN Distance 2}}
=Update After 100 Miles=
Normally I wouldn't give an update until at least 200 miles, but I've really had enough of the shoe after just 100 miles. There's multiple factors behind my decision to give up on this shoe. I'm finding that as it picks up stones, the stones stretch the holes in the midsole, making it more and more likely to pick up future stones. Getting the stones out of the shoe is much tougher than any other shoe I've had, and you really need a screwdriver to pry them out. The raised midsole that forms a medial post is also annoying to me, and contributes to the sense that the shoe is a little dead underfoot. There is a surprisingly little in the way of signs of wear on the exposed midsole, and the upper looks new (except where I've cut the toe box open of course.)
[[File: RN Distance-100 miles 1.jpg|center|thumb|300px| The buildup of stones after a long run. You can see some slight signs of wear in the midsole as well.]]
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}