Saucony Endorphin Pro

Never had a chance to try a carbon plated running shoe before. Somehow, I was never able to find the right fit. The shoe was either too tight a the toe box, the uppers are too stiff or my wife was with me and started giving the death stare. The kind of stare that made every shoe in the shop somehow not fit very well on my feet.

But this time, I was alone at RunningLab Marina Square. No death stares, toe box fitted comfortably, uppers were knitted and soft…did I mention that there were no death stares?

I finally purchased my first carbon plated running shoe. Now to put it to the test.

I was told that they work best for speed work and tempo runs. I took it on two 12km runs and four track/tempo sessions totally 64km with some interesting revelations.

Wallet Magnet

Light for a full S-Curve carbon plated shoe – 213g
Definitely use it for track and tempo runs only
Only at high cadence and speeds to you feel the carbon plate pushing you off
Looking at my run data, I felt the full effect of the carbon plate pushing off at 195 cadence and a pace of 3:45min/km, which of course I could barely hold on to for 1km.
Comfortable if running on soft track compared to cement or bitumen road. The again, everything feels more comfortable on soft track. But the carbon plate does give better bounce and push off.
Upper knit is comfortable and it fits to size

Throwing Money

It is seriously only for fast runners. I am not able to enjoy the full benefits of it
I liken this to a disc wheel. The aero benefit comes at speeds of 36km/hr and above. Anything less then it is only a heavy piece of wheel you would need to drag around. Same goes for carbon plated shoes. Only at faster speeds and cadence would you enjoy the benefits.
If you are not able to sustain high cadence or pace for long periods of time like me, then it may just be good for shorter, tempo runs.
As you get tired and slow down, which happens to me a lot, it does not seem to give a lot of support and the shoe feels like it is slapping the ground.

PRICE

$299 (Try Queensway Shopping Centre for some discounts)

WHERE TO BUY

Most online stores, RunningLab Stores, Queensway Shopping Centre

FINAL SAY

This is a tough one. I would probably use it for track sessions, 5km park runs, maybe a sprint multi-event.
Definitely use it on softer track
Based on my running speed and cadence, this would not be part of my arsenal for race day
In terms of gains, I feel it is marginal. I compared my times on this shoe and on my other non carbon plated shoes, I go faster on my non carbon plated shoes.

All products were purchased and none were sponsored

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Saucony Endorphin Pro

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