I’ve been a Puma fan for a few years now, but this is the first pair of Elite’s to get my hands on. This shoe is built for speed but it’s also just a ton of fun to run in!

When Nike announced they were expanding the Pegasus line, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. The Pegasus 41 was the first version of the Pegasus I had the chance to run in, and looking at the stats, I wasn’t sure if this was supposed to be more of a Vaporfly light or a pumped up version of the Pegasus. After running in the shoes, I’m not entirely sure that it is either of those things, but rather that it might just be a unique shoe that capitalizes on the Pegasus brand…

This is the first pair of Nike’s that I’ve worn in nearly a decade, so while I don’t have a history with Nike Running, I’ve been impressed with the shoes that I’ve tried so far this year. The Pegasus 41 is a workhorse shoe built to accommodate runners of every level.

We began with the Hyperion Max, then we got the Ghost Max; finally, we have the Glycerin Max and it does not disappoint! This newest iteration of Max series shoes is built to be the most versatile of the 3.

The Topo Specter 1 was a good shoe for me but I feel like it had a slight personality disorder. It used a traditional EVA midsole but had a core of Pebax. I think the idea was to replicate feel of a plated shoe…in general I don’t think it worked the way it was designed. The Specter 2 features a full Pebax midsole and is, in my opinion, a much better shoe as a result.

The SC Trainer has seen some major changes since v1, and in my opinion this is the best version of the shoe to date. From day one it has had a full length carbon plate, but isn’t a race shoe, it’s made for daily training.

If you’re not one to read the whole review, I get that, so to kick things off I will just say that Puma has done it again! If Puma hasn’t been on your radar from the Deviate or Magnify series, then put it on your radar cause this shoe is special! When it comes to cult favorite shoes I expect this to be right up there with the Superblast for non-plated super-trainer stardom.

This was my first time interacting with New Balance premiere racing shoe and I’ve got to say that I’m impressed. I’ve been a fan of the SC Trainer for years and while I haven’t seen what the transition is from SC Trainer to Elite in year’s past, in this years version, it feels effortless to move between the two shoes.

Bone conduction or open ear headphones are where it’s at for runners. In my opinion it is a safety issue and I advocate that every runner, male or female, should use some sort of open ear headphone when running outside. In ear or over ear headphones greatly reduce the awareness of the runners surroundings. The traditional solution for awareness has been to run with one earphone out, however, with the advent of open ear designs, you can now have 360 degree awareness while running!

There were a lot of shoes that I was looking forward to this season, and I’m not gonna lie, this one caught me completely off guard. I have had a few pair of shoes from 361 and while they have always used incredible materials and made shoes with quality builds, the designs felt a bit outdated, the designs didn’t take full advantage of those materials…until now!

When the original Ghost Max came out, Brooks didn’t have a maximum cushioned shoe by the latest definitions. The Glycerin had always been Brooks most cushioned shoe, and they didn’t really have anything to compete with Hoka or other brands that were putting a lot more midsole beneath the runner. The Ghost Max was a pivotal shoe for the brand. The Ghost Max 2 features one significant upgrade to the midsole, so if you liked the original, I think you’ll be a fan of version 2 as well.

I feel like the More was a bit of a hit or miss shoe for New Balance in the first few years, but in years four and five they have really hit their stride. While version 4 was very much a long run recovery shoe only, version 5 has surprised me in that it has a bit more versatility than I was expecting!

The Brooks Hyperion Max launched last year with version 1, a non plated shoe with supercritical midsole foam that felt great underfoot and seemed to be a blend of newer technology with an older sense of what a speed day shoe should feel like. While version 2 has some trait similarities, this is essentially a redesign of the Hyperion Max and I think they nailed it!

The Deviate Nitro 2 was my introduction to Puma running. Considering how far Puma running has come, the Deviate 2 will always hold a special place in my heart as my introduction to the brand. The Deviate 3 has been a highly anticipated shoe for me, and it does not disappoint.

One of my favorite shoes of all time is the Hoka Mach 4. I got a pair when I had built up a lot of fitness during the Covid shutdown so some of that nostalgia may be from having the fitness to have a lot of fun at races like the Escape from Alcatraz and Ironman Texas. When it was time to retire that pair of shoes, it was like saying goodbye to an old friend. The Mach 5 was a solid shoe, but it didn’t seem to have the magic that the Mach 4 had for me. The Mach 6 brings back that feeling of a truly special shoe even though it’s a very different shoe than that original Mach 4 I fell in love with.

Mizuno has long been known for making excellent court shoes, but in the running world, they have long lived behind the times. As other brands embraced new foams and technology in their daily trainers, Mizuno came out with some stellar racing shoes and concept shoes, but didn’t let any of those advancements trickle down into shoes for everyday running…until now.

Traditional running experience states that the lightest shoe will always be the fastest. I’m not sure that is always the case anymore with the advent of modern shoe technology and this shoe provides evidence to the fact that speed and weight aren’t necessarily as tied as we’ve always made them.

My introduction to the Rebel was with version 3, so while I don’t have a long history, I loved the Rebel v3 and my romance with v4 is off to a great start as well. If you haven’t run in a New Balance with fuelcell foam before, you are missing out. I initially saw the design for the v4 when photos from The Running Event made their way to the internet, and needless to say, I became very excited to get a pair on my feet.

The Brooks Hyperion Elite series has had a rough go of it since I’ve been following the shoe. When I saw the Elite 4 coming down the pipeline, I got very excited about this shoe and I was hoping to get my feet in a pair to log some good miles in it. I’m very excited to have gotten a pair and while the shoe has gotten mixed reviews, I think that on the whole it is an incredible shoe, though it may not be for everybody.

For years when you think of maximum cushion running shoes, Hoka has been the brand that first comes to mind. The title of max cushion king has been challenged by many brands in the past 2-3 years as new foams have been used in daily trainers and we’ve seen the advent of the super trainers becoming more prevalent for use by the average runner. With the introduction of the Skyward X, I’m not sure that Hoka takes the title definitively, but this shoe puts Hoka right back into contention for the crown. This is also Hoka’s first super trainer that has a full length carbon plate in it.