At £160, the Kiprun KD900X LD is one of the cheapest carbon race shoes you’ll find. It’s designed for speed and racing. It was created in just 8 months. (That’s fast for shoe dev by the way). But is it any good over the marathon distance. There’s only one way to find out. So Run Tester Kieran put it through solo 26.2 to test it’s marathon credentials. Hit play for our Kiprun KD900X LD marathon test.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:19 – Quick Shoe Details
0:42 – After 5 miles
2:02 – After marathon pace block
4:03 – Post marathon impressions
6:36 – Verdict
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Hey people welcome to the run test it's Kieran here so is the kiprun kd900 X Affordable carbon Rao any good for a Marathon distance now you might be Spotting a theme here but there's only One way I think that you could really Find out and that is to go and run a Marathon so it's Saturday morning it's Halfast eight that's exactly what I'm Going to go and do let's go take a Look So then I'm 5 miles in and here is the Plan for today I'm going to do 6 and 1 Half easyish and then I'm going to do 13 Mil at my target marathon pace which is Going to be around 6 40 minute miles We'll see how we get on with that and Then I'm going to drop back to doing 6 And 1 half easy in the shoes so far Out of the house good on foot Comfort Overall they're holding well they fit Well there's no kind of weirdness or Discomfort with the shoes like instant Step in is really good so far so those First five miles have felt you know nice From an on foot field point of you early Doors sort of running fairly sort of Steady one thing I sort of feel already Is there's not as much punch as you'll Get from other carbon shoes and Certainly not the energy of like a aex Met speed Paris there is Sun pop here Under the I'm looking forward to seeing what
Happens when I really start to kick up If they give more back but it hasn't got That real kind of bouncing energy that You might get from some carbon shoes so [Music] Far [Music] So then that is the marathon pace block Done that was quite hurty but I think I Hit quite a lot of the paces maybe not Every single mile but a good amount of Effort there heart rate nice and and Well nice and high where it should be For that to get the training effect Anyway how did the shoes feel well now We 5 miles to go I'm back to kind of Plooding during that kind of marathon Pace effort they felt how they I thought They were going to feel they're not the Liveliest carbon shoe there is a little Bit of you I return there's a little bit Of energy Under Foot I think you're Going to have to really want to be up on Your mid to four foot to get the most Out of the shoes there that kind of run Probably quite narrow compared to some Of the other big carbon races and they Ran pretty well I mean I didn't feel Like I was getting as much back as you Might get from an alpha fly from a Better speed Paris so yeah I definitely Put these in the bracket of almost like A Tempo shoe or like a super trainer Rather than an allout carbon Racer the
Other thing I have noticed I only just Looked down just now and one of my Ankles is bleeding on the outside on the Left foot there's been a bit of rubbing There I kind of ignored it which is Always a mistake and I just looked down And it's bleeding and on my left foot Under my left foot 4 foot to midf foot Kind of striking right under the ball of The foot feels like there's a bit too Much road coming up from these shoes There's not quite as much protection as I would like it's only happening from One side but I think that might be a Consideration later on into the marathon It's not so bad now that I'm moving Slower actually where I'm landing a bit Further back on my heels and it's Spreading a bit of the pressure but when I was moving at marathon pace up on my Toes I really felt just bit too much of The road coming through at one point I Was wondering whether or not I was going To be able to carry on but anyway I've Now got four miles to go and uh I'm Going to go get it Done [Music] So Marathon test is done took me about 3 And a half hours last six miles were Okay had a few stops bumped into a few People I knew so took it nice and easy And the one thing I will say about these Shoes in the last six miles where you
Just need a bit of comfort they're not Overly sort of huge cushioned but I tell You what they are quite sort of Protective they do a good job there's a Good stability they're quite easy to run In when you're moving at a slower pace And that probably says a lot about how Aggressive they are when you're moving At a faster pace Which is to say they they don't have the Punch and that all out kind of you know Race energy that you might get from some Of the other carbon shoes and that could Be a good thing it could be a bad thing Depends what you're looking for in your Marathon if you need a shoe that's going To just sort of handle the miles well And look after you a bit later on into The race then these might do a good job There's a few caveats to that I've got a Bit of a cut ankle maybe that's the way That I've got these worn but the the Walls on the side under the ankle maybe A little bit High they've cut me on my Left foot start to feel a little bit Heel rubbing on the right foot right Towards the end in the final couple of Miles as well when I was rocking back a Bit further on my heels and then when You sort of think about how they Performed overall in the Run I'd say They've given me a pretty good Performance today you know they they're Okay when you're moving slower they're
Not that aggressive so they they handle Those slower faes well and when I kicked Up the pace yeah they weren't giving me Everything you might get from like a Metas speed Sky Paris or an alpha fly or Like a vapor Fly 2 or shoes like that They're not as sort of big stat kind of Big cushioners like a new balance SC Elite or some of those is not as popular As an Adios Pro 3 by any stretch yeah They just they give you a little bit and They take care of you I will say I had a Bit of ground coming up when I was Landing maybe a bit you know with a bit More intent a bit more kind of heavy on That for foot when I'm trying to strike And move through and engage the ground a Bit that's when I started to feel that Ground coming up through on the left Foot so yeah I don't know whether that's That foam has compressed a bit soon it Only happened on one shoe so the other One was fine so it's hard to Say but overall yeah I mean I'm I'm Going to do a little wrap back in the Office cuz I'm tired as ever after these Marathon tests but I think the Performance was okay I actually met Someone who might be running London in Them on the way and stop for a check Like how how you finding them and I was My vice was really I think they'll do a Job for you they're not going to be your First choice I don't think but when you
Factor in the price of the shoes I think Maybe I would pick this actually as a Really good kind of sort of training Shoe for sort of faster efforts and Tempo runs rather than a race shoe out And out and yeah I think they're Probably going to represent quite a good Value you you know pretty solid I've Running worse I've running Better so I'm back in the office a few Days after my Marathon test and here's My quick summary of whether the kiprun Kd900 xld is a good Marathon shoe now in The days since the run my carves have Been much tighter than I'd expect so Perhaps this comparatively lower drop You've gotten a carbon shoe in the Ki Run has made me work a little harder and The fact that you also probably need to Be running a bit more mid to four foot To get the best out of the shoe I feel Anyway that's how I run best in it That's how I ran the marathon in it my Blisters and heel cuts are still healing And that's a big negative for Me overall In terms of marathon experience though That might not happen to other Runners And I wouldn't write off this sho's Marathon potential as a result of that Not it doesn't I've had other shoes Where it hasn't happened to other people But factoring all of that in I think It's quite a simple equation here at the Price I would say this is a very capable
Carbon race shoe and training shoe that Gets a lot of things right and based on My 26.2 M experience I think it Definitely has Marathon potential there Are some caveats though it's not the Best Marathon shoe available it's not The best Marathon shoe I've tested and I Think you'll also have to enjoy quite a Narrow platform and a more direct Road Field to get the most out of the shoe Now if you're a big fan of those kind of Larger platform shoes like the Endorphin Pro 4 those kind of bigger wider style Carbon shoes this might not be your best Marathon bet it's another shoe that runs Best when you're attacking your run as Well but it's also kind of looked after Me in the slower miles so it does have Some protection if things go wrong in a Way some carbon shoes don't so I think It's a shoe you can train and race in And there's some good range here from The shoe it wouldn't be my first choice Marathon shoe but overall if you're Looking for a ratio on a budget this is Definitely a good bet so there you have It that's been my Marathon test of the Ki run Kd900 X pretty tired now um but yeah thank you Very much for watching hope it's been Useful as ever don't forget to sort of Like And subscribe ring that Bell to Hear about when more videos come up on
The channel we've got quite a lot of Really good content coming around some Of the really good launches that have Happened soon if you're interested in Marathon I'm going to pop a video on the Channel now that you should definitely Watch otherwise as ever thanks for Spending time hope it's been useful I'm Off to get some water and some food and Put my legs up and taper for Manchester But yeah happy running people
