When last I published a blog, seemingly ages ago, I was searching for replacement runners for my Saucony Mirage 5’s…RIP fantastic shoes.
To refresh our memory I was looking for a tempo run/long distance shoe with a 4-8mm drop and neutral to mild pronation support. After much research I ventured out one fine afternoon and tried on a number of shoes to try to narrow my choice down.
- Saucony Ride 9 – First shoe that I tried on, felt great, snug and responsive but stiffer than I normally wear. Has a 8mm drop and was the second cheapist shoe that I tried
- New Balance 880 v6 – Felt great as well, more cushioned and my ankle was wrapped by the collar, however my foot seemed to move around during my short test runs, also a 10mm drop
- Nike Pegasus 33 – Too narrow across the whole foot
- Brooks Ghost 9 – The best feeling sole hands down when I ran in them but they were too narrow in the forefoot…so sad!
- Mizuno Wave Rider 19 – Good fit but it was the most stiff of the bunch due to their construction.
- New Balance Vazee Pace 2 – I tried these on at a different store and they felt great but would be better suited as an up tempo/race shoe.
After all of that I selected the Saucony Ride 9‘s due to their fit.
The Results So Far…
It has been a few weeks since I started running in these and I really notice the stiffness and also the chance in drop from 4mm to 8mm, it doesn’t seem like much but it really alters your running. At first I had a bit of calf pain, sore shins and sore feet in general from the change in striking point however lately it is only my feet that are still a bit sore and even that is going away. I managed to get to a 5 min/k pace on the treadmill the other day so hopefully I am getting accustomed to the shoes.
It is now winter though and I have been wearing my Skechers outside for the few runs in the snow that I have been doing. For consistency I will probably have to buy an additional pair of 9’s for my winter training, assuming that I can completely transition to them and that I like them over long distances. If not I plan on looking at the New Balance Zante 2 which have a lower drop and might be better suited for longer distances.
As they say, stay tuned!
One foot in front of the other
Chris
To Quiet The Mind 
It looks like we’ve been trying almost similar shoes! I love the Saucony Kinvara, but have come to realize I can’t do ALL of my runs in them… they are really light weight for long runs. But the higher drops have been bothering me – Kinvaras are 4mm, and I liked the feel of the Brooks Ghost, but my body hurt in a few areas… thinking it was bc of the 10 (or 12?)mm drop they have. I am about to try the Brooks Ride and hope that the 8mm drop will be better in my rotation with the Kinvaras. Nice review!
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I have been noticing that my achilles has been on fire/burning during the first few km’s of my long runs lately. I’m still running my weekend runs in the skechers and because they are 4mm and the ride 9’s are 8mm I’m having issues. I finally decided to buy another skechers online…they are so cheap, and train in them and shelve the Ride 9’s. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the skechers that had caused the black toe in the first place. I’ll just have to look harder for shoes with 4 mm drop.
The Ghost are at least 8mm and probably closer to 10mm so yeah, that’s going to play havoc with your running stride and orientation. I hope that you can manage the 8mm drop…I think that if all of your shoes have that drop you will be fine. My issue was switching between 4mm and 8mm. Lesson learned!
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