In production · road · Race day · $225
The approachable carbon racer: stable, smooth and forgiving at marathon effort.
Built for race day, at a target pace of 5:15–7:30 /mi on road.
The midsole is PWRRUN, tuned soft (4/5 on our cushioning scale). The foam is highly resilient — it gives energy back rather than swallowing it, which is what makes the shoe feel eager when you push. At 40 mm of heel stack this sits in max-cushion territory; legs stay fresher on long efforts, but the platform is tall. Combined, the ride reads as explosive at 5/5 responsiveness.
A full-length carbon plate stiffens the forefoot and works with the foam as a lever: it smooths the transition off the toes and cuts the effort of holding fast paces. It also asks for speed — at easy paces a carbon plate feels stiff and does little for you, and it is the main reason super-shoes wear out sooner than trainers.
A 8 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is aggressive: the sole is curved and stiff enough to tip you into the next stride on its own, which saves the calf on long runs but feels strange when you slow right down. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 250 miles from the outsole, about $0.90 per mile at $225.
For the foams and plates Saucony uses across its line, read the Saucony brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
218 g / 7.7 oz
57 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
40 mm
4 mm taller than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
8 mm
2 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$225
65 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
4 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~250 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Saucony line it is lighter than the brand's median (269 g / 9.5 oz) and sits taller than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3
209 g / 7.4 oz · 40 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $250
One of the lightest marathon racers made — light enough to feel unfair.
Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB(2023)
207 g / 7.3 oz · 40 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $250
Brooks' marathon weapon: nitrogen-infused foam and a full carbon plate.
Saucony Endorphin Pro 5
206 g / 7.3 oz · 40 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $250
Carbon marathon racer with SPEEDROLL rocker geometry.
Tracksmith Eliot Racer(2025)
218 g / 7.7 oz · 38 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $280
Carbon-plated racer with a free-floating drop-in supercritical midsole and an understated silhouette.