Testers Tom and Mike headed to Manchester to take on the 2024 edition of the Manchester Half Marathon and they were of course taking the opportunity to put some kit to the test.
On the feet, the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3, Puma’s upgraded carbon racing shoe that’s been one of our favourite new racing shoes of 2024. On the wrist, Mike strapped on the Apple Watch Series 10 and the Watch Ultra 2 to find out if you can save yourself some money and get a race-ready smartwatch with the new Series 10.
Hit the play button to find out how the team got on with the testing, plus get some thoughts on the race and whether this is one you need to sign up for next year.
(Thanks to Puma for providing race entry to the 2024 Manchester Half. We were not paid to do produce this video or asked to run in the Deviate Nitro Elite 3.)
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:43 – Manchester Half 2024 – The Race Review
03:54 – Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3 race test
07:02 – Apple Watch Series 10 vs Apple Watch Ultra 2 race test
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Hey this is Mike and Tom we are here in A reasonbly kind of Sunny Manchester um We are here to do the Manchester half uh Which we' just done we've just done and Uh which we've done with Puma we have Been testing a bunch of different kits Uh we've got shoes wise a puma deviate Nitro Elite three um I've also been Testing the Apple Watch series 10 Against the new Apple watch Ultra to and It's kind of Black Edition as well too Um we're going to tell you how we got on How the shoes are faed for us uh uh let You know how we found the Manchester Half no that's going to get in the warm Yeah right Manchester half done we are Feeling a little bit better got out got Out of the chill uh and ready to kind of Debrief uh on the Manchester half so Maybe we'll talk about the race first Tom your first Manchester half how did You find it's my first ever race in Manchester I actually used to live in Manchester but long before I started Running um so I wasn't quite sure what To expect I've heard people talking About really cold races really wet windy Races but today was absolutely perfect It was uh probably about 10° hardly any Wind uh course was one of my favorite Half marathon courses it was pretty flat There's there's a few little Hills but They're not really anything to worry About and you do get a little nice
Downhill afterwards Um and the roads are really wide Reminded me of like Spanish races where You know you don't have to worry about Little funneling sections it's just you Get loads of extra loads of space to run So really really enjoyed it thought it Was a really nice race Crowds Are you Know it's half marathon in Manchester They're not massive so if you if you com To do the race because you want crowds Lining every street you won't get that Here because it's you know it's not that Busy um but everything else organization Was fine uh had no issues at start had No issues at finish uh plenty of water For a half Marathon uh you know we're in Manchester Yeah just wanted to show off the tram System um yeah so yeah all in all for me Thought it was an absolutely great day Out really enjoyed it great organization And uh very pleased with my time yeah I Mean this is the second time I've done Manchester half I did it uh last year And um yeah I I agree with Tom I think Uh I think first and foremost it's a Nice quick course uh and as we kind of Spoke after just a couple of slightly Elevated bits But ultimately like you Said like you know you're rewarded with Those kind of quite immediate downhill Bits and it's nice quick conditions yeah It was
Definitely still cold but definitely not As chilly as the last time I did it but I think ultimately you know it's kind of The conditions you want to be in you Know we want to have a good go um and I Was pretty happy with my time given very Limited training uh I did 129 uh which was quicker than the last Timeis yeah it was quicker than the last Time I did it so very happy with that Tom how did you get on with your debut Manchester half my debut Manchester well I haven't raced properly for a good I Think must be five or six months um Since like the Boston London Fiasco um So and I have started training for Valencia about 3 four weeks ago so Didn't know what to expect if I'd got 135 I wouldn't have been surprised I got 125 um but I felt pretty comfortable During it I think I could probably get a One two three if I wanted to at the Moment so that bod's very well for my um PB attempt in in Valencia um because When I've been training doing the Training runs to and running at my Valencia Pace I've been thinking Christ I cannot there's no way I can run this Pace but today I ran that pace so um so Yeah feeling pretty good pretty pretty Pleased with that yeah so I think we're Pretty happy in terms of how the races When next will get into that all Important kit that we were
Testing so we're going to get into the Kit that we tested now the big one Obviously are was the shoe so we're both Wearing the pumier DV8 Nitro Elite 3 um I actually ran uh last time I ran Manchester half I ran in the DBA Nitro Elite 2 really liked it I think my Overriding feeling was it was just Missing a little something in terms of Pop and now I have done a fair amount of Running I've raced shorter distances in The DV n Elite 3 I really liked at that Distance it didn't L it had that kind of Lovely kind of you know responsive Feeling you want from a kind of carb Racing shoe it's lovely and light and it Just rolls through really nicely and I I Felt like it was very very consistent And I felt very controlled in that shoe And yeah I feel like it is for me it's Up there with those kind of top tier Shoes for me and it's a massive upgrades Um from the previous shoe how did you Find it Tom loved it so I've I've only Done uh I've done quite a few sessions In the um the three but I've not racing I did one racing at 10K earlier in the Year when I wasn't very fit uh and I Enjoyed it then I thought it was really Good uh Comparable complex Sho of some of the Best ones out there I've raced in the Previous version before and what I found About those versions is that they were
Fine they were responsive but they Didn't have a lot of Bounce or they Didn't feel like a modern carbon plate Shoe to me this one does it feels like You're really getting a lot of Efficiency gains feels like you're Bouncing along a bit it definitely feels That you get a little bounce in Combination with that carbon carbon Plate um and yeah it felt absolutely Great today I think it's a shoe that if You were looking at top tier carbon Plate races now and thinking right I'm Going to buy one for my Marathon my half Marathon previously I wouldn't have put In the Puma DV DV8 Elite one and two but Now I would I think it's definitely a Good option there I think a lot of People going to like it and it just felt Great for me today it felt like um I Could maintain a really nice Pace it Felt like the shoe was helping me uh and Yeah it's uh a success a successful run In in the shoe for me how does it Compared to the other shoes that you Would typically say if I'm doing this Race this is the shoe that I would Probably be using if I wasn't using the DB Nitro Elite 3 today so my racing Generally comes down to um the alphafly One uh I have used a three quite a bit Recently not a big fan of that one uh The vaporfly 2 three again I'm not a Massive fan of vaporfly 3 so I think it
For me oh and the A6 met speed Sky Paris They would be like the shoes that I Would pick if I was going to do you know A race or the S and Dophin Pro 3 Obviously since I talk about that all The time uh now I think I I don't think There was any noticeable difference Between me running in this shoe and Those shoes now I think um if I was I'm Doing Valencia I'm trying to pick which Shoe to go for this could be one of them Now I'd be happy to raise in the shoe And think it is going to give me as much Benefit as the other shoes as well so I Yeah I think it definitely right up There at the moment I would liken it Probably to something like the vfly 2 The feel of it uh it's not as big as Like the alphafly uh one it's alply 3 is Probably a little bit more similar but I I' class it as something like the vapa Fly to I think so gling endorsement I Think from both of us at the half Mountain distance for the pummer DV8 Nitro [Music] Three uh in terms of other kits I Actually had the uh Apple Watch series 10 on and I also had the Apple watch Ultra 2 the kind of Jet Black Version Obviously not hugely different from the Previous Ultra 2 from a kind of features Point of view I think kind of what I'd Expected to see um I kind of had them on
Fully charged in the morning saw a Little bit more of a battery drop off With the series 10 compared to the ultra 2 which I had actually paired to heart Rate mon I'll get into a bit of a more Of a detail and throw some kind of Screens in terms of how the tracks kind Of matched up for that I think in terms Of you know matching up with the markers On the course I did it generally was Pretty fun at the beginning I think There was a little bit of a lag with the Series 10 which is kind of what I Expected to see but it wasn't massively Off but definitely felt like the ultra 2 Kind of nailed or was closer to that Kind of um distance for me and battery Life yeah was you know as I expect to See a little bit more of a drop off than The series 10 um so yeah I mean obiously We're going to be doing a full review of The series 10 um which will be coming up So this will kind of factor in more of This testing and the testing that myself Karen and Nick have been doing and it Feels like from a smart watchat point of View it's was you know pretty solid Overall I'm back he's back after I've Talked a little bit about Apple and I'll Talk about them a bit more in another Video but uh yeah that was our take on The Manchester half my second one Tom's Debut one thanks to for giving us the Spot in the race um and I think yeah I
Think it's fair to say we're pretty Happy with how the shoes performed and How the race was overall
