When you’re choosing a shoe for a road ultra like the 55-mile Comrades Marathon, comfort probably trumps speed but with anywhere from 5-12 hours to run, you’re also keen to get every % of efficiency to support those tired legs. In testing, Run Tester Kieran decided to go for the Saucony Endorphin Elite to run his first Comrades, hoping the balance of cushioning, response and protection would be just right. And in this video, we’ll show you if it was a smart choice. Hit play for the Saucony Endorphin Elite v Comrades Marathon.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
1:43 – 21km in
3:21 – 21 km to go
5:40 – Post-race reaction
6:12 – Saucony Endorphin Elite Sum-up
8:50 – Post-Comrades verdict
Fancy running the Comrades Marathon?
Hit the link below to check out the Marathon Tours & Travel packages:
https://bit.ly/ComradesMarathonEntry
Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1
Hey people welcome to the run test it's Kieran here I am in Durban in South Africa tomorrow I'm going to be running The comrades Marathon for the first time This year is a down year it's got 55 Miles or about 87 kilometers to run in 12 hours it's going to be anywhere Between six degrees in the morning when We first start right up to 21 22 degrees In heat the shoe that I chose to do is If you watched our video that we had on The channel earlier it was a Socrates Endorphin Elite and this is going to be My race test video of how that got on Let's go and find out Thank you Nearly now running Yeah And if we both put it on we're going to Swap halfway Oh yeah good luck dinos You do so I think we're around 25k or Something in so I'd still give you an Update The door for an elite running so really Well so far Happy Days was quite a Hectic start Dial lots of people around it's kind of Spread out a bit now sun's coming up It's getting hot it's just non-stop up And down But shoes are doing what I need them to Do right now the good thing is that They're pretty protective so at the
Moment I'm very easy Pace not pushing it Too hard and they've got just the right Kind of balance And cushioning underfoot with a little Bit of extra There goes so it turns out otherwise We've got a lot of South African Followers everything though so hello South African Uh run tester watches but yeah so we're Out Uh Yes about to get hot but yeah as I said Endorphin Elite so far the right choice Feeling good but we'll do another update A bit further on when we got into the Meat of the race where they're really Going to be tested uh but yeah it's been Magic since loads of you out I've come And said look that's fantastic so I Better crack on Foreign We're coming down one of the big long Steep descents which is one of the Things I was worried about the sucking Endorphin Elite Harrod hold up And you started to have those very kind Of steep descents dead it's fine yeah It's a little bit firm perhaps and maybe Something a little bit more cushioned Might be good but I do think it's got Pretty decent stability considering I Mean the miles I've done in the hours I've been on feet so far
It's been a bang on shoe for this race To be honest a little bit of foot Fatigue but that's to be expected on a Race like this but the footbed has been Nice it's kind of cradled my feet really Nicely no hot spots no blisters no Movement just bang on so I think I made A good decision but I can't wait all the People I met on course who are telling Me they run to the fans talking about Their shoes love to hear about what you Ran in and how you got on with it for This race and perhaps at some point We'll do a another video where we talk About the best shoes again and get some Of you guys in on on the act as well but Anyway I better crack on get this done Foreign I don't know the exact time under eight No under nine hours And the shoes that I ran in as I said of Course they were perfect to run the race Test of the soccer team brought for the Absolutely bang on comfortable cushion Protective no hot spots no blistering They were good on the Downs good on the UPS protecting my legs gave me a little Bit of energy when I needed everything I Thought and hoped they would be so those Shoes are good So I'm back in the UK just five days After the comrades and I wanted to share A few more post-range thoughts on the Performance of the Saucony endorphin
Elite now I picked this shoe for a few Reasons mainly overall its Comfort it's Got plenty of room in the toe box there Are no hot spots no rubbing I'd run a 50k Ultra on tarmac in it in testing and I found the balance of the cushioning Protection from the road and the overall Response was really spot on one thing I Really liked is they're not too Aggressive they offer a relatively Stable base that's able to cope at a Range of Paces or more importantly with The range of form and that goes from Good right through to when you're Feeling really ragged and on the course It absolutely delivered the comrades 100 Road so you're moving at slower Paces as Well and you need a shoe that will Sometimes let you walk comfortably too Because there's a lot of Hills you've Got to climb but the thing I was most Worried about were the really steep Downhills there are a lot of big Descents like a 6K steep descent where I Think some carbon shoes with high stacks Of foam and less stability may have Struggled now the elite they really Handle those Hills really very well I Saw a huge range of shoes being worn From the Asics Nimbus 25 to the on-cloud Monsters the alphas and the vapors there Were lots of hokas too Clifton's Mach 5S There's a huge range of shoes being worn There and it seemed to be the selection
Was definitely down to personal Preference but when it comes to shoe Selection I think the course is open to A wide range of shoe options now A lot's Going to depend on how you plan to run It if you're going to be fast you want To be at the front or you're going to be Slow you're going to be doing kind of a Run walk strategy in all honesty I think The Mach 5 or an endorphin Speed 3 would Have performed equally as well as the Soccer endorphin Elite and you Definitely don't necessarily have to go For a carbon plate I still think you Want something that's lightish and Fairly agile and not too spongy you want Something that's going to give a little Bit back and then one quick little word On durability I've obviously now done a 50k in this I've also done the 55 miles Extra miles around this I don't know What the total is I'm probably up to Somewhere closing in on kind of 200 Miles in this shoe but the one thing I've noticed particularly from the Tarmac and the Steep downhills is that The outside of these soles are starting To show a decent amount of wear I don't Think it affects the overall performance Of the shoe you can start to see it There though it is sort of coming away Interestingly in some points that are Quite hard to get to I think that comes From the Steep Downs of the comrades
Where it's eating up the shoe quite a Lot on the outside where the kind of That foam is starting to degrade and There's a big kind of wedge there of fun I've rubbed off so durability you know You can see there's some flaps here the Comrades is a testing race and yeah Whatever shoes you go for they're going To take a bit of a battering I think These have held up they're still good For extra miles but I just wanted to Make you aware that the distance is Starting to eat into these shoes a Little bit particularly when you're Taking on something as challenging or The tarmac is as steep as the comrades Verdict then on the soccer endorphin Elite is a rode Ultra and comrades ratio Well I'd recommend them if you like Things are shade firmer and you've got Deep enough pockets for the big price Tag that these come with but equally Having run the race now I think there Are plenty of other shoes that will do Just as good a job as a soccer endorphin Elite as well and you certainly don't Have to be thinking about carbon shoes Either I think a good daily trainer will Also do the trick so things like the Soccer endorphin Speed The Mach 5 you Know even the Endorphin Pro would work Really nicely and I think the Overarching feeling that I get from this Race is you're gonna need a shoe that's
Going to protect you basically over Longer mile so whatever you prefer in Terms of protection if that's higher Cushion then go for that if you're happy To go with something that's a little bit Lighter a little bit more racy perhaps a Touch firmer than the sock endorphin Elite is definitely an option obviously Comes with quite a high price tag though So You can definitely run that race with Cheaper shoes lots of people did but for Me I went for this shoot because I knew They would deliver what I needed and it Absolutely did so there you have it that Has been my race test of the Saucony Endorphin Elite at the Epic comrades Marathon what an experience that was if You're interested in getting involved in That you've seen this video and you Think maybe I'd like to try it go and Check out Marathon Tours and Travel I'll Put a link in the caption below they do Packages from the UK that help you Manage all the difficult Logistics over There it's a race that I can highly Recommend I've run a lot of races over The years and this one is above and Beyond one of the best that I've ever Run definitely experience you should do If you're up for it as ever if you have Any comments or questions hit us up Below if you were running the race you Ran in a different shoe let us know what
Worked for you or what didn't work for You uh always pleasure to hear about What other people have found that works If you run it congratulations thanks for All the people who came and said hello If you're interested in how I got to the Decision of a Saucony endorphin Elite There's a video on the channel right now About how I chose that shoe Otherwise it's been a pleasure to talk To you and we will see you again soon on The Run tester thanks for watching Everyone
