Discontinued · road · Daily / Long run / Recovery · $130
Earlier generation of the Saucony Endorphin Shift line, kept for replacement lookups.
Built for daily, long run, recovery, at a target pace of 9:00–12:00 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Saucony Endorphin Shift 4.
Saucony tuned this midsole very soft (5/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is modest, so the ride feels protective and damp rather than springy. 39 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 muted at 1/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A 6 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is moderate — enough curve to smooth the roll-through without dictating your footstrike. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It offers real guidance through the gait cycle — useful for runners whose form collapses when tired.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 500 miles from the outsole, about $0.26 per mile at $130.
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
312 g / 11.0 oz
37 g heavier than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
39 mm
3 mm taller than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
6 mm
Level with the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$130
30 cheaper than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
1 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
5 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~500 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Saucony line it is heavier 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.
Hoka Gaviota 5
310 g / 10.9 oz · 36 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $175
Hoka's maximal stability shoe: heavy, plush and firmly guided.
New Balance Fresh Foam X Vongo v6
303 g / 10.7 oz · 38 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $165
Stability daily trainer using a guidance film instead of a hard post.
Brooks Ghost Max 3
306 g / 10.8 oz · 39 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $150
Plush, roomy max-cushion trainer with the GlideRoll rocker.
Hoka Gaviota 6
283 g / 10.0 oz · 39 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $175
Maximal stability: wide J-Frame base with plush, slow cushioning.