In the few road races since it debuted (given the global pandemic), I think the RC Elite was the most common non-Nike variant on the starting line. Michael: One of the latecomers to the plated-shoe races, the New Balance FuelCell RC Elite made itself a fan-favorite. Most importantly, it’s purple with beautiful mismatched pink and orange outsoles! Let’s see if the RC elite 2 is as fun to run in as it is colorful. The highest stack height road shoe I’d had previously was the endorphin pro at 33mm heel 25mm forefoot, so this was a drastic increase over my next tallest shoe. The midsole of this shoe looks huge and it feels dramatically propulsive and cushioned. Let’s see if the RC Elite 2 lives up to my expectations!Īdam: With the RC Elite 2, New Balance has taken the cushion and propulsion right up to the legal (IAAF) limit of stack height. I loved training in the Fuel Cell Rebel 2, soon to be released, and the addition of a carbon plate to such a fun shoe sounded like a dream. The RC Elite 2 seems to take the Fuel Cell line above and beyond. Having run hundreds of miles in the Nike Next%, including a 100k time trial and my recent Chicago Lakefront FKT (37 miles), I have been eager to find the next carbon plated shoe that can compete with the comfort of the Next%. Jamie : Without having the opportunity to try out the RC Elite 1, I was super excited to test out this second version. It is truly modern and exciting-let’s get into details. The midsole is the same super soft, supercritical and autoclaved EVA/TPU blend FuelCell formula as the first version and thus with more stack and less drop, v2 has a dramatically softer underfoot feel. It sees the addition of about nine millimeters of stack height to the forefoot and seven to the heel, now nearly reaching the legal limit with 39mm at the heel. The RC Elite v2 takes the shoe to the next level. It is fast and fun at shorter distances as well. I really enjoyed the RC Elite 1-I raced the virtual NYC marathon in it and felt relaxed, smooth, and comfortable while running at a solid pace despite being undertrained. For a carbon-plated distance racer, it had a relatively firm forefoot and with just a 32mm/22mm stack height, was far from the 40mm legal limit and only just into the max cushion category. It was a fairly classic modern design with a lightweight, soft, bouncy midsole and propulsive character. The first version, released in summer 2020, was highly anticipated and took months to become available. Jacob: The RC Elite is New Balance’s top of the line carbon-plated racing shoe. Article by Jacob Brady, Jamie Hershfang, Adam Glueck, Michael Ellenberger, Joost de Raeymaeker, Peter Stuart, Derek Li, Sally Reiley
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