The marathon racing shoes from both New Balance and Saucony have improved vastly in the last year and are some of the fastest and most fun running shoes on the market right now.
We have tested both shoes and have loved them. But to get a better idea of what the differences are, we took them out on the track to see which you should consider for your next race.
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If you take a closer look at these two marathon race shoes, then you will see some big differences. Yes, they both have a carbon plate, and they a meant for faster days, but there are differences that make quite an impact on the overall sensation of running in them.
Not only do they have different foams, but they also have quite a different midsole construction. And while the Endorphin Pro 3 seems to go all in on lightweight, the SuperComp Elite v3 seems to think about comfort as well.
Saucony Endorphin Pro 3
Let's start off with the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3. It is a speed monster and is purely made to be faster and more responsive than last year's model. Saucony has tweaked the PWRRUN PB foam to be even lighter and bouncier, and the beaded construction makes it feel quite different from the softer FuelCell foam from New Balance.
The upper is made to be as light as possible. Saucony has even put holes in the tongue to cut all the unwanted fabric that they can in order to make this shoe as competitive as possible. The keywords here are minimalism and breathability.
If you look at the stack height the differences are also there. With an 8mm drop and about 20g less weight on your foot, you will have a shoe that feels slightly faster and pushes you a bit more forward with that great Speedroll technology.
New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v3
Where the Saucony Endorphine Pro 3 focuses on minimizing weight, the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v3 focuses on speed, comfort, and bounciness. They are both fast shoes, but the New Balance running shoe is noticeably softer because of the extra stack of FuelCell in the forefoot, which gives a bit more comfort, but can make it a tiny bit slower (we haven't done a real scientific comparison here, this is just our gut feeling.)
The upper is also wildly different. It is still lightweight, but where the Endorphin Pro 3 is just a honeycomb-patterned mesh, the Super Comp Elite v3 has a more structured mesh around the foot and a flexible tongue for comfort. This makes the New Balance a treat to have on your foot.
So overall the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v3 is a blazingly fast shoe that is perfect if you want a bit more comfort during your next race.
Which one should you choose?
So even though you might think they are close to the same I would argue that these two running shoes have two different purposes. If you want a running shoe that is as fast and as light as possible, then you have to go for the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3. But if you on the other hand want to sacrifice a tiny bit of speed and get more comfort for those longer runs, then you need to try out the New Balance SuperComp Elite v3.
Anyway which way you go, you will get a blazingly fast, lightweight racing shoe that will make you smile every time you put it on.
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