In production · road · Race day / Tempo · $170
Short-distance racer: featherweight, low and honest for 5K–10K.
Built for race day, tempo, at a target pace of 5:15–7:00 /mi on road.
The midsole is ZoomX, tuned balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 27 mm of heel stack keeps you low and connected, with more ground feel than most current trainers. 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 low 4 mm drop encourages a midfoot landing and keeps the ankle working through a fuller range. 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 is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is narrow and performance-oriented; wide-footed runners should try before buying. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 250 miles from the outsole, about $0.68 per mile at $170.
For the foams and plates Nike uses across its line, read the Nike brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
144 g / 5.1 oz
131 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
27 mm
9 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
4 mm
2 mm lower than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$170
10 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 Nike line it is lighter than the brand's median (295 g / 10.4 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Saucony Sinister
139 g / 4.9 oz · 25 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $180
Short-course carbon racer for 5K to half-marathon speed.
New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Pacer v3
190 g / 6.7 oz · 32 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $180
Short-course carbon racer for 5K to half marathon.
Adidas Adizero Takumi Sen 10(2024)
196 g / 6.9 oz · 33 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $180
Firm, brutal 5K–10K racer. All snap, no lounging.
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
139 g / 4.9 oz · 39 mm · 3 mm drop · Carbon · $510
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3: 39 mm heel stack, 3 mm drop, 99 g — specs from independent lab testing.