Discontinued · road · Tempo / Race day · $200
NB's first carbon trainer-racer hybrid — RC Elite's training twin.
Built for tempo, race day, at a target pace of 6:00–8:30 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v3.
New Balance tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 32 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. 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 tall 10 mm drop tips weight forward off the heel, which usually suits heel strikers and calves that dislike low-drop shoes. 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 $0.80 per mile at $200.
For the foams and plates New Balance uses across its line, read the New Balance brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
255 g / 9.0 oz
20 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
32 mm
4 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
10 mm
4 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$200
40 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~250 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the New Balance line it is lighter than the brand's median (278 g / 9.8 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Adidas Adizero Boston 13(2024)
255 g / 9.0 oz · 36 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $160
Rod-stiffened tempo trainer with a firm, purposeful ride.
Puma Deviate Nitro 3(2024)
269 g / 9.5 oz · 39 mm · 10 mm drop · Carbon · $160
Carbon-plated super trainer with genuine daily-mileage durability.
Skechers Aero Spark
275 g / 9.7 oz · 36 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $135
Firm, snappy carbon H-plate shoe for 5K–10K speedwork.
On Cloudboom Echo 3
225 g / 7.9 oz · 37 mm · 9 mm drop · Carbon · $290
Carbon marathon racer with a rockered, aggressive toe-off.