(Photo: Jennifer Karady)

The Best Bet
Originally released in 1988, the Adidas ZX8000 was once considered among the most technical of running shoes because of its patented torsion arch system. Compared with today’s cutting-edge computerized shoes, the ZX8000 is practically analog, and it’s unlikely you’ll see it on any of this week’s marathon runners. But it’s been embraced by sneaker fetishists, thanks to pairs like these ($110 at Classic Kicks, 298 Elizabeth St., nr. Houston St.; 212-979-9514), reissued as part of Adidas’s Oddity series–and for ambitious marathon watchers, it’s plenty comfortable.