The New Kind Of Stability Shoe: Mizuno Wave Prophecy

The influence of the minimalistic running movement has fundamentally changed the way we look at running shoes. Instead of altering the way the foot moves side to side, the new generation of shoes affect how the foot moves heel to toe.

The Wave Prophecy certainly poses some degree of traditional pronation stability, but instead of side-to-side “motion control,” the Prophecy is based on controlling how the foot rolls from heel strike to toe-off.

It is a shoe designed for a heel striker, not just a pronator.

Studies have shown that pronation might not be the cause of injury and, in some cases, pronation has even been linked to reduced rates of injury.

This major flaw in the “common knowledge” that pronation supposedly causes injury implies that the key to healthy running is not shoes with massive medial posting.

So, rather than designing shoes to influence how the foot moves side to side after striking the ground, many shoe makers are now altering their designs to affect how the foot strikes the ground and how it moves from back to front once on the ground.

Many shoes are now designed with a lower height differential between the heel and the toe to facilitate mid- and forefoot striking, which is great for that style of runner. But many runners do not strike their forefoot. After the heel hits the pavement, a heel-striker’s forefoot tends to slap the ground abruptly.

The Wave Prophecy helps control the fore-aft movement from heel strike to toe-off. As a result, it takes an otherwise abrupt heel-striking stride and dramatically smooths the transition from heel strike to toe-off.

Click on the photos in the gallery to learn about what makes the Wave Prophecy’s ride experience unique, from heel contact to toe-off, as well as fill you in on the fit and some of the other details.