Run with the speed of Lyte.
Weighing in at a “skimpy” 9.9 ounces, it’s the Asics Gel-Lyte. 9.9 ounces may not seem light by today’s standards, but at the time it was a very light shoe. Check out the ad for more.
This was a pretty popular lightweight trainer at the time, so if you remember wearing these, let us hear your stories.
Absolutely LOVED these shoes. They were my first proper running shoes and cried when they replaced the design with the Lyte II. Wore them until my big toes stuck through the soft noses and I could no longer repair them! Everything was perfect; the black/white/neon orange colour, weight and the fit.
I ran through about 3 pairs of these before moving on to the Lyte II. I recall they were only available for about 2 years before they were replaced, but I may be wrong. Both the Lyte and Lyte II were better than anything I’ve ever had since then. The Lyte II model was basically the same but with a royal blue where the black suede is on the original Lyte, but the original Lyte seemed to last a little longer than the Lyte II. Fit was identical between them, but if I had the choice I’d get the original Lyte over the Lyte II for the better longevity. The Lyte III changed the overall design so much that I just couldn’t stand wearing them (split tongue IIRC and just a different feel to the fit). I remember buying a bunch of the Lyte II on clearance when I found the Lyte III had been changed so much, but eventually ran through them all. By the time I ran out, I went through about 8 pairs of the Lytes and Lyte II’s and won 3 high school varsity Cross Country state championships in a row (’89,’90,’91) on a team where about half the runners wore these shoes (and the subsequent Lyte II).
I read an article purporting that Nike dominated the market back then, but I recall that most of the serious competitors I knew generally wore Asics or NB, with Nike in the minority among the better amateur runners. The original Lyte and Lyte II were extremely popular trainers. While not as light as some of the products out there today, they were as light as I feel was practical for a durable shoe. Today, the shoes may be lighter but they really don’t last anywhere near as long.