Kit & Gear

REVIEW: Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

It's speed over everything when you lace up the new Saucony Endorphin Pro 3. Designed with a carbon-fibre plate and an even thicker stack of PWRRUN PB foam cushioning, you get more pop underfoot for the ultimate go-fast experience.

Oli Lum has been busy putting the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 to the test. Check out his review below;

I must admit that I was sceptical when I first laced up Saucony’s Endorphin Pro 3. They were the first pair of Saucony shoes I’d ever tried and they fall into the carbon racer category alongside one of the best shoes I’ve ever worn; Nike’s Alphafly Next%. In terms of what this shoe aims to do, Saucony have made it very clear, “it’s speed over everything”.

Naturally, we in the running community have come to compare every carbon racer released with Nike’s most popular iteration, the Vaporlfy Next%, that has almost become the ‘gold standard’ for road racing shoes.

Despite my early scepticism, I was pleasantly surprised when I ran my first steps in the Endorphin Pro 3. The shoe felt very natural and, whilst I could feel some propulsion from the S-Curved carbon-fibre plate, it didn’t feel a million miles away from a more traditional running shoe. This sensation is something I really value in a shoe and, since the introduction of carbon-plated racers, this hasn’t always been easy to come by.

Pictured: Athletes in action, all wearing the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 at the recent Saucony x Podium 5k event, hosted by Sportsshoes

Another thing I noticed was how quiet the shoe was compared to other racing flats, perhaps due to what Saucony term, SPEEDROLL technology. Here, the shape of the midsole ensures a really smooth ride; all the way from landing to toe off. The upper of the shoe divides my opinion somewhat, although it probably shouldn’t. With the shoe in hand, it feels relatively basic and nowhere near as premium as Nike’s AtomKnit or Asics’ Jacquard Mesh. However, this isn’t something I noticed whilst running in the shoes. In fact, the mesh upper on the Endorphin Pro 3 felt extremely lightweight, breathable and secure; what more can you really ask for?

With regards to the outsole, I had no complaints whatsoever. I’ve tested the shoes on the track and the road, in both windy and dry conditions, and I had no issues with grip. One thing I can’t really comment on is the outsole durability; I simply haven’t put enough miles in the shoe yet.

Overall, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by my first exploit into the world of Saucony and this shoe is definitely going to remain in my rotation. Whilst I don’t think I’d opt for the Endorphin Pro 3’s when toeing the start line of a race, in favour of Asics’ MetaSpeed over 5K and 10K, and Nike’s Alphafly over the Half-Marathon, I will be putting in lots more training miles in these shoes. They sit somewhere between my aforementioned choices of race shoes; less aggressive than the MetaSpeed and not as bulky as the Alphafly, despite their max stack height.

As a result, I feel that the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 offer me enough protection and speed for high volume workouts on the road, such as tempo runs and threshold intervals, whilst also maintaining that natural feeling that I discussed earlier.

Oli Lum is the Co-Host of The Sunday Plodcast, the show that gives you a weekly insight into the lives of top distance runners and coaches.

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SHOP SAUCONY ENDORPHIN PRO 3 ROAD RUNNING SHOES HERE  

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