Tom hits home turf for the 2024 Brighton Half Marathon and takes out the Nike Alphafly 3 to see if it delivers the goods for 13.1 miles.
In 2023, Tom got his half marathon PB at the race with a 1.22.20 wearing the Saucony Endorphin Elite. With Boston looming, he’s looking for a new PB, but , when you’re racing on the coast you’re at the whim of the weather – which wasn’t looking good for the day.
Big thanks to The Sussex Beacon for inviting us down to take part in the race. If you want to find out more about the work the charity does for those living with HIV, click here:
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JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:45 – The Brighton Half Marathon 2024
06:24 – The Nike Alphafly 3
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Hey time other ancestors I'm in Brighton Today where I live uh doing the Brighton Half marathon uh I'm going to be testing Out the alply 3s today uh to find out if I'm going to be using those for uh Boston uh this is basically first time I've done a longdistance race in them so Uh hopefully it's going to go well it's A bit windy uh it's not raining yet I Think the rain's going to hold on till This afternoon um so yeah big thanks to Tok speakin for inviting me down to do This uh it's a great race I do it every Year um and it's bit of a mixed bag Depending on what the weather's like uh So right I'm going to go to the start Line and start the race and then report Back in a Bit Right then I am back now from the Brighton half marathon and uh it was a Tough one the coastal races that happen On the south coast are at the whim of The weather uh and sometimes I've done Bright and half marathon where it's been Absolutely perfect last year I did it And I got my PB of 1 hour 22 uh and the Weather was absolutely fantastic there Were no issues at all uh and it's Actually a pretty fast Marathon if it if The conditions work really well there is A bit of a hill at the start uh which Can be a bit tricky but you also get a Really long downhill once you've done it
So it's actually not too bad it's it Happens at the point of the race where You've got a lot of energy so it's easy To tackle at that point it's much better Having it there than at the end of the Race because that would be a big problem Um so I've done the Bri half marathon Probably I think five times now and each One has been different I've done one in A storm where I lost about 10 minutes of My uh the time that I was expecting I've Done it in perfect conditions like last Year and sometimes it's just really Really windy today was a windy one and Uh you really did notice it the first Half of the race um goes out toward Towards the east side of um Brighton Which is up a bit of a hill um and that Wasn't too bad I think the wind uh Hadn't picked up by that point uh but There was a little bit of wind and it Really helped when you came back off of Uh that um easterly bit of the route so There's a really nice section where you Could really pick up the pace um and you Felt like you were doing really well uh My first 5k uh was probably uh about I Think it was about 19 minutes and my Second one was almost close close to 19 Minutes the uh second half of the race Which is when you go out uh to the west Of um Brighton the wind's fine when You're going out because it's you get a Little bit of a Tailwind but as soon as
You turn around for the last 5K you're Going straight into the wind um and it's Not easy I've done that race before when The same thing has happened so you're Basically running along the seafront uh For 5 kilom all the way to the finish in Wind and it really did take its toll on My time I was trying to hit 4 minute All the way but as soon as I got into The last 5K section it dropped to like 425 430 minute km really struggled with It and I just didn't have the energy Left to really push through it um so the My PB at that race is 1 hour 22 uh what I wanted today was around 124 I'm not as Fit as I was when I did the 122 um and I'm halfway through marathon training so Hopefully I'll be fitted by the end of Marathon training and I can get closer Or beat my current PB at the moment I'm Not quite there yet so I wanted 124 I Was on for sub 124 up until the point Where uh I turned around on that 5K Section and I lost about 2 minutes from Uh from my uh time based on that win so I ended up with 1 hour 25 uh 59 I think something like that um And it was a really tough rate I really Struggled with it um I'm definitely I'm Probably tired from doing lots of Marathon training but also I don't think I'm as fit as I was uh this time last Year um after training for um Chicago Which I did train quite hard for so it's
A really nice race the crowds are Fantastic uh if you've ever been down to Brighton uh it seems to draw in a lot of People who just want to come down to the SE Seaside and um watch the race and Enjoy it uh even today when it was Really not very nice conditions it was Absolutely rammed there were just crowds And crowds of people cheering so it's a Really nice race to do I think there's Around 8,000 people that do it maybe More but it is is a really large scale Feeling event um and it just really Pulls in all the people from the local Area it's one of those big races that All the local towns people coming from London to do it because it's such a a Big enjoyable race to do so if you're Looking for a half marathon to do uh and You want something that is really quite A nice location to do it you get to see Some really nice sites obviously you're Running along uh the coast but you get To see a little bit of the countryside Um outside of the main area of Brighton Get to see the marina um and you also Goes through some of the main streets of The town as well so you can see some of The little parks and things that that You have in Brighton but overall um Really good event it's just really Nicely organized um and well worth doing If you're looking for a big um spring Half marathon especially if you're doing
A marathon in maybe March or April Because it's nicely positioned so that You can do that and test your training For me I was basically using it to test Where I was at for Boston Marathon which I'm doing in uh April uh I think I'm a Bit behind where I should be at the Moment so I wasn't massively pleased With with my time today but with the Wind and everything I'll take it I'm Going to do another half marathon in a Few weeks as well to see if uh on a Flapped course uh in better conditions I've actually can pull pull it back a Bit hopefully get under uh get sub 123 okay so the um shoe I was testing Was the Nike alphafly 3 I have used this for a few runs so far But I haven't raced in it I've done a Park run in it um and at the moment I'm Trying to decide what shoe to use for Boston I haven't got the socc Endorphin Pro 4s yet I should be getting those Pretty soon um the Ally 3 is a funny one Because I'm a massive fan of the ali1 I'd probably put the ali1 and the soc Indorfin Pro 3 almost identical for me When it comes to long-distance racing um I think those shoes are both really Comfortable I like the level of Bounce And squish that you get in both of those Shoes And the AL one I just think is really Noticeably fast it just feels really
Bouncy uh and works really well for my Running style I I it's one of my Favorite ever car plate shoes um and I Still use it all the time for various Training runs and part runs and all Those sorts of things so the Ally 3 um I Know Nick is a big fan of the Ally 3 um And I do like it with first uh well all The runs that I've done in it up until This race I have enjoyed wearing it I Think it's definitely a fast Um and this was the first time I've done A half marathon in it to be honest I Prefer the Ally one um I just think this Is a bit more subtle um you don't get The same feeling of Squish and bounce That uh that I get from the alphafly one Uh and it doesn't feel as noticeably um Uh propulsive as the Ally one I I feel Like the the plate and the foam uh in The the original really do make you sort Of move nicely forward with a nice fast Fast flowing motion um I think the Ally 3 is a bit more subtle uh and I didn't Really notice it in the same way that I Noticed the Ally 1 when I put the Ally One on I know I'm going to run fast I I Feel like I want to run fast uh and it It just makes me want to pick up the Pace uh and in a really nice and Enjoyable way uh the Ally 3 I don't Really get that from it um it is Definitely a fast shoe it feels to me a Bit more like the vaporfly 2 um or
Vaporfly 3 to me it's is a little bit More subtle it doesn't feel like it has As much bounce in it and I don't really Notice it on my feet when um I was out Running today over that distance I Always notice the Ally one when it's on My feet it definitely feels like a shoe That is doing a lot um whereas I think The outfly 3 is just not as um as Noticeable as the outfly one so for me I Think I'm still going to stick with the Outfly one as my my favorite of the AL Flies I haven't tried the outfly 2 I do Need to pick up a pair of Ally 2os Because Nick has told me that it's very Bounty um which is what I like about the Alfl one um so I think it is a good shoe I definitely think it's a fast shoe and Um uh it's it's definitely one of the Top tier carbon plate Racers out there But I just don't it it's not the right Um feel for me that I get from the Ally One so um hopefully the Sak endorphin Pro 4 is going to be uh a shoe that I Really really like and I want to use for Boston because at the moment I don't Think I want to use the alphafly 3 I'm Probably more likely to use the AL one Than the three if I'm going to go and Try and get a fast time uh in Boston um Other things I'd say about the shoes I Did find it very comfortable I think the Upper really really nice over that Distance I didn't have any problems at
All with it uh it locks down night Nicely um once you bled it it just feels Really secure but not too tight um it's Quite comfortable uh there's plenty of Padding around it and overall um it is a Fantastic really really enjoyable Rao Just for me it it's missing something Which is that bouns and um energy return That I think uh I get from the alphafly One over the alphafly 3 uh so yeah so um I'll be using this for hopefully a 10K Soon uh and seeing how it feels over That distance um but for now I just Don't think it's got what it takes uh From my style of running when it comes To Marathon distance and Half Marathon Distance that's it from me thanks a lot For watching this uh race test of the Nike alphafly 3 at Brighton half Marathon massive thanks to the Sussex Beacon who invited me down to take part In the race if you want to find out more About the cic beacon I'll put a link in The caption below it's a charity that uh Helps support people living with HIV so Well worth um supporting if you can and Don't forget we've got loads of videos Coming up over the next few weeks lots Of them on uh Super Shoes because we've Been testing loads of those recently and If you go into the caption you can also Find a link to our podcast which comes Out at the end of each month and the February one is going to be about if
It's not up already um Marathon kit Training all those sorts of things so a Lot of you are probably doing marathons At the moment uh so we had a chat about The advice that we would give in when it Comes to kits and shoes and training and Fueling and all those sorts of things Right thanks a lot for watching catch You next Time
