Introduction
For much of my life, I ran for two reasons: 1) I was a soccer player so I ran to stay match fit or, 2) I was staying in shape as I got older.
I really didn’t get too serious about running until I moved to Arizona just over 2 years ago. After leaving the frigid midwest and Chicago city-life in the past, I quickly realized running in a suburban neighborhood in good weather made running much more enjoyable.
After living in Arizona for a year, I connected with a local running group, which has only increased my interest (and miles) in the activity. The running group is based out of a local running store in my area and naturally, I have learned the basics of different running shoes and brands.
I have had the pleasure of demoing many shoes through the local store, and when I started road running more regularly a handful of years ago, I would have never believed that my future self would be rating running shoes in my spare time. But here we are. This review is about a pair of shoes I recently purchased: the Saucony Endorphin Shift 3.
Review
I have been running in a couple of Saucony’s every day training shoes (Ride 16s and Guide 16s) for the better part of a year. So when I saw a pair of the Endorphin Shift 3s on sale, I knew I had to jump at the chance to try another pair from the brand that I have recently enjoyed so much.
First, the Endorphin Shift 3 is pretty light (9.4 oz) for a maximum cushion running/recovery shoe. This was my first time purchasing a cushioned running shoe, and let me tell you, its incredible.
The running store employee that completed the transaction at my time of purchase loves this shoe. And now I know why. Immediately after starting my first run I could feel the soft, cushioned sole welcome me as each foot landed on the ground.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe how comfortable each stride felt so quickly into my run. The store employee told me it would take about 20 miles to break the shoes in and even though each step felt like walking on clouds, I can agree with him.
I have run in the shoes three times so far for a total of about 20 miles and the third run felt the best. The shoes felt cushioned, but responsive. The sole and foam felt a little bit more pliable and easier on my joints.
Historically, I almost exclusively run in everyday trainers so the step up to a maximum cushioned shoe was a night and day difference. I don’t run extremely long distances and usually keep my race distances to half marathons or shorter, but this shoe makes me rethink my long-held notion of not competing in a marathon. That is how good this shoe has felt during all three of my runs.
One of the other perks about the shoe is it’s quality. I have run in multiple Saucony shoes and both pairs have held up well. My first pair lasted me well over 300 miles before they became my daily dog walking shoes, and my second pair have lasted well over 200 miles and still feel great.
Although, I have only run three times in the Endorphin Shift 3 for approximately 20 miles, I don’t see any indication that these shoes won’t last 300+ miles. The only problem with this shoe is that Saucony has discontinued them. My local running store informed me of this as I was buying them off the sale rack. It dawned on me during the conversation that the shoes were on sale because the store was trying to clear its inventory.
I don’t have much experience with maximum cushioned shoes, and my Endorphin Shift 3 is still in it’s infancy, but this is a solid shoe. I rate this shoe a 9 out of 10. My early impression is that I love this shoe. I plan to start increasing my distance and really testing this shoe’s capacity on long runs in the near future. I will provide an update after I put a couple hundred miles on the shoe to see if they feel as good then as they do now.
Hopefully Saucony puts out another similar shoe because I really think this one is great. Even though its the end of the road for the EndorphinShift 3s, I’m sure my running journey will introduce me to other great maximum cushion shoes.
If you’re in the market for a new running shoe, buy these now before you can’t find them anymore. Stock is limited since they are discontinued but you can still find some on Amazon here!