By Kieran Alger   The Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 is Saucony’s top-tier carbon racer, designed for your fastest efforts in training and racing. The original Elite divided opinion. Some found it fast but too firm for longer races. Others enjoyed the consistent energetic ride. But you can forget everything you ‘ve read or heard about the […]

By Paul Freary       With the Hyperion Elite 3, Brooks had an okay racing shoe. Well, it felt ok for up to around 5k. The nitrogen-injected foam had a little ‘bounce’ but nothing like that of PEBA-based competitors that returned that bounce mile after mile.The Elite 3 reminded me perhaps of racing shoes I […]

By Paul Freary   Lighter than before, the Cielo X1 2.0 could quite as easily be a new shoe to the brand’s lineup such are the differences over the previous model.The 2.0 retains the name and some of the geometry of the first shoe, but here it’s been on a rather extreme diet, lost weight and […]

By Paul Freary   The Saucony Ride 18 returns with some minor updates over the previous model, but all are positive and make the shoe fit, feel and ride even better.From top to bottom, we see tweaks in the upper, midsole and outsole to the brand’s popular mid-range daily neutral trainer.If you click, or buy from, […]

By Paul Freary   The popular daily trainer from New Balance, the 880 sees an update for 2025, which gives it more cushioning for an even smoother and softer ride.Always one of the brand’s more popular neutral cushioned models, the 880 is perhaps seen as the great value option for those who want a no-nonsense trainer […]

By Paul Freary  The Saucony Guide 17 became a very popular support category running shoe, with its unintrusive support working very well in controlling pronation.The good news is that the Guide 18 remains largely unchanged and provides the same level of cushioning and control. As a bonus, for UK buyers, the price has been reduced […]

By Kieran Alger    The Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 and the more recent New Balance SC Trainer V3 are two super trainers built to tackle similar runs. But they take very different approaches to deliver that performance. One has a big-stacked, bouncy midsole and carbon plate, the other a lower-stack of more responsive foam with a […]

By Paul Freary  The HOKA Bondi 9 is a fan favourite for HOKA fans. One of the original ‘max-cushioned’ running shoes and now, this, the ninth version, sees that deep stack of cushioning increased even further and replaced with a new, supercritical-EVA foam.The original ‘marshmallow’ ride has gradually transitioned towards a more versatile, smoother feel […]

By Paul Freary  Always ASICS’ range-topping neutral cushioned running shoe, the Latest edition of the GEL-NIMBUS is the 27th in the line and offers the highest stack and highest amount of cushioning ever!In this new update, the level of cushioning is up, yet the weight remains the same as the GEL-NIMBUS 26.We also see revisions […]

By Paul Freary ASICS design philosophy respects the Japanese principle of ‘kaizen’, continuous improvement, and so, with the Novablast 5, they have tried to reflect this principle.The shoe has developed from top to bottom with a new foam for the midsole and upper design.If you click, or buy from, links on this page, we may receive […]