The adidas Tempo 9s made it to 300 miles.

A 300 mile review on a pair of shoes???

Holy crap…I couldn’t remember the last time that I had a pair of shoes make it to 300 miles. When I looked, it was a pair of Hoka Clifton 1 (Blue), back in 2015 and they were toast at that point.

Which makes the adidas Tempo 9s getting to 300 miles, still being shoes I enjoy running in and me wanting to write about them – even more impressive!

The short version is:

I can run in Tempo 9s comfortably, I don’t don’t get mysterious pains or blisters from the shoes and when I reach for the Tempo 9s I have no doubts about how they are going to perform…

Well.

Which in my experience are the only things that really matter when it comes to my running shoes.

Long Version

I am going to go with good/bad and call it a day.

Good

Comfortable – I can run fast, slow and any speed or distance that I do without worrying about how the shoes feel during the run. There are no hotspots or funky things that hurt my feet.

Weight – The Tempo 9s came in at:

Which right around where I would like my primary daily trainers to be.

Quiet – For shoes with a full rubber outsole they run very smoothly and quietly. Not GRR2 quiet, but quiet enough that people who are not paying attention are startled when I go by.

Fit – the size 8.5 US fits my size 8.0 Hobbit like feet about as well as any shoe has in a while. The toe box doesn’t bother and I haven’t had any issues with heel slippage. Although I don’t think I would attempt to go sockless in them, the interior feels a little rough in places, but with socks on – there are no problems.

Although, I can’t wear my Smart Wool, winter weight wool socks with them, but since I don’t usually run outside in stoopid weather or temps as often now, it really is not an issue. Besides I have other shoes for that.

Long wearing multi-purpose outsole – At the 300 mile mark there is very little wear on the outsole. I like the outsole design since it give a lot of grip in a variety of conditions and I don’t hesitate to take them on dry moderate trails or even down-back on the dirt road in snow or rain.

Boost Midsole – I love the feel of Boost midsoles, it just works well for me and how I run. An added feature is that Boost shoes do not seem affected by the temperature variations. Not that I get any up heah in Maine.

Bad

Tongue – it is a little thin and if I cinch down too much when tying the shoes I can feel the lace bite through the tongue. However, it has not been a problem when I am paying attention to how I am tying my shoes. 🙂

Colorway – No real Harold colorways in the Tempo 9s. My blue/white ones are mud splatter magnets and require more cleaning than other colors would to keep looking decent. They are more of a grayish tone than white now, but that does not effect how they they perform for me. However, since they run so well, I ain’t gonna sweat the lack of bright colors.

Laces – I didn’t like the extra long laces and changed them out.

Heel Pull-Tab – Why???

The reality is that

That is it, not a whole lot that I don’t like about the Tempo 9s.

The Tempo 9s just feel right on my feet. It is not an overly complex running shoe, it has a simple, but classic design, uses the Boost midsole that I love, has a multi-purpose, long lasting outsole that allows me to run most anywhere with them and the bottom-line is that they are comfortable for me to run in.

Will I buy them again, is the big question that seems to answer so many questions?

The answer: I have two more pair waiting for when my first pair of Tempo 9s finally wear out that I just gotta grab the one on top and start running in them next.

The big question will be – how many miles will my first pair of Tempo 9s get before I retire them. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be a bigger number than I am used to. Although I do think that once the snow is gone, I will retire them to other duties.

Good shoes to say the least.