Saucony Endorphin Elite 3

The Saucony Endorphin Elite 3 is a marathon race shoe with a soft and bouncy ride. At $290, it competes with models like the Hoka Cielo X1 3.0 ($275) and New Balance SC Elite v5 ($265). The OG Endorphin Elite was one of our favorite race shoes, featuring a slightly firm but responsive PWRRUN HG (PEBA) foam and very aggressive rocker geometry. With version 2, Saucony went in a completely different direction, introducing their new TPEE IncrediRun foam, which was very soft and bouncy. While it was a very fun shoe, the main critiques were instability from the soft foam and a lack of snap or bite for true demon-time speed. In the new version, Saucony attempted to address the stability issue by widening the entire base of the shoe and removing the cutout. This has resulted in a weight increase of about 20 grams in our men’s size 10.5, making it significantly heavier than the most competitive racers on the market. The upper has been improved with a better lacing system and a gusseted tongue, replacing the floppy one-piece upper found in the v2. It’s very reminiscent of the comfortable, soft, and dialed-in upper on the Endorphin Pro 4. The step-in feel is excellent thanks to the softness of the IncrediRun foam. It still runs a tad short, so if you had to go up a half size in the v2, you may want to do the same here. Out on the run, the shoe felt comfortable, and the foam was protective, soft, and insanely bouncy. The changes Saucony made have slightly improved the stability, but if you have meaningful stability needs, this is not the shoe for you. On our first run, we had no trouble getting down to marathon pace, but this isn’t the fastest or most aggressive shoe on the market. However, if you’re looking for fun and comfort in your race shoe—or a great long-run option—the Endorphin Elite 3 is a fantastic choice.