The Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 is Insane—Our Thoughts After the First Run

This is a first-run review of the Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3. We will be posting some first run reviews in addition to the YouTube videos, follow-up articles about how the shoes hold up over the miles, as well as different perspectives from Supwell team members.

Race Day

Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3

Marathon race shoe designed for speed and lab tested to be more efficient than anything else on the market

Price

$300

Plated?

Yes

Foam

ATPU

Weight (oz)

6.0

Drop (mm)

8

Support

Neutral

see details

Statistics

• Weight in a Men’s Size 9: 170 grams
• Weight in the Men’s Size 10.5 that we tested: 189 grams
• Stack Height: 39.0mm in the heel and 31.0mm in the forefoot
• Heel to Toe Drop: 8.00mm
• Midsole: new formulation of NITROFOAM Elite, Puma’s A-TPU racing foam
• Plate: full-length carbon fiber PWRPLATE with a cantilever design

Background

Puma has two distinct race shoe lines: the Fast-R Nitro Elite and the Deviate NitroElite series. The Fast-R line has previously featured some pretty wild geometry and plate positioning, along with a decoupled heel and forefoot. However, it also came with extra weight—about 50–60 grams heavier than its competitors—which made it a less viable race-day option, even for Puma’s elite athletes. On the other hand, the Deviate series has been Puma’s more serious marathon race-day shoe and the go-to choice for most of their pros. In fact, the Puma DeviateNitro Elite 3 has also been well received by hobby joggers, thanks to its reasonable stability and comfort, its more traditional-feeling rocker and geometry, and its A-TPU foam that hits the Goldilocks zone—not too firm, not too soft.

Fit / Feel

It fits true to size and is quite comfortable upon step-in. We did not experience any hotspots, discomfort, or lace bite. The tongue is basically non-existent, but once the shoe was laced-up, this was not a problem.

First Impressions and Ride

The Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 is Puma’s newest marathon racing shoe. Priced at $300, it competes with the Nike Alphafly 3 ($285) and ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris ($250). However, Puma claims the Fast-R 3 is in a league of its own, citing a 3.15–3.62% improvement in running economy over its predecessor, the Fast-R 2, the Alphafly 3, and Adidas Pro Evo 1 ($500). Here is a link to the published study if you want to read it in its entirety. Notably, of the 15 participants (11 male; 4 female) tested, everyone was more efficient in the Fast-R 3 than in the other models.

This seems promising, but it is just lab data, and races are not run on treadmills with silicone face masks and hooked up to a metabolic cart. Nonetheless, the data suggests that a 3-hour marathoner—even on the lower end of the benefit spectrum at 3.15% (a “non-responder”—could shave off around 4 minutes and 34 seconds from their marathon time in the Fast-R 3. That said, Puma’s independent testing was limited to two 5-minute intervals in each of the four shoes, paced according to the subject’s recent 5K race results. So, not only did the runners in this study not run at “marathon pace,” but they also ran no longer than 5minutes at a time in each shoe.

Race Day

Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris

Aggressive and lightweight racing shoe for fast PR attempts. More aggressive feel than Edge Paris

Price

$250

Plated?

Yes

Foam

PEBA

Weight (oz)

6.4

Drop (mm)

5

Support

Neutral

see details

Subjects in the study had prolonged ground contact times (and braking/propelling impulses)in the Fast-R 3 compared to the Alphafly 3 and Pro Evo 1. This also translated to a lower cadence in the Fast-R 3 relative to the Pro Evo 1. Interestingly, the researchers found no significant differences in movement patterns (e.g.,cadence, stride length, contact time) between the two Fast-R models, despite the Fast-R 3 having superior economy benefits. The researchers speculate that the 82-gram reduction in weight in the R-3 accounts for approximately 0.80% of the economy gains (based on the 1% per 100 grams rule), and that the remaining 2.3% comes from improvements in carbon plate stiffness, foam compounds, and geometry. They also noted that the carbon plate in the R-3 is less rigid—showing lower bending and compression stiffness—than in the other three models.

So that’s what the data says, but how did the Fast-R 3 hold up to some real mileage at Supwell HQ? Well, the Fast-R 3 is a one-note kind of shoe. At easy, warm-up paces, the Fast-R 3 felt: miserable, atrocious, terrible, awkward, uncomfortable, clunky, and not enjoyable whatsoever. But at fast paces? The Fast-R 3 felt like an F1 race car — all gas, no brakes. After initial testing, it has officially dethroned the Nike Alphafly 3 as our best "demon time"race shoe. It truly lives up to the hype — and then some. The Fast-R 3 is the kind of shoe where you look at your watch, shocked to see paces you’ve never hit before.

The Fast-R 3 seems to reward a powerful, loping stride — translating all of that stored momentum into the next phase of the gait cycle. Our only concern for this shoe is how punishing it felt at jogging paces. With how aggressive the Fast-R 3 felt, is it a viable option to take for the marathon distance? Do the efficiency benefits only emerge at 5K paces and below? Where is the crossover point between miserable and “demon time?” The Fast-R 3 is the fastest racing shoe that we’ve ever tested (aside from the Nike Streakfly 2) and is indeed in a league of its own in terms of aggression.

Race Day

Nike Streakfly 2

Aggressive short-distance racing shoe with a direct and nimble ride

Price

$180

Plated?

Yes

Foam

PEBA

Weight (oz)

4.5

Drop (mm)

4

Support

Neutral

see details

Bottom Line

Believe the hype—the Puma Fast-R 3 is an incredible shoe and marks a substantial leap forward in performance running shoe innovation.

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