The Six Minute Mile Holiday Gift Guide
Don’t stress about shopping for your running-obsessed friends and family members—or yourself, wink wink!—we’ve got you covered with the gifts runners want and the gifts runners need.
In the modern era of running, the marathon has become a blank canvas of self-expression. Yes, many runners are running 26.2 miles as fast as they can from start to finish, but most are running as a means to celebrate their best selves in ways that are embellished in more than their pace-per mile or finishing time.
With that in mind and the New York City Marathon weekend in full swing, here’s a look at the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 special edition shoe that celebrates the pop art of Keith Haring. If there is any artist who understood the raw freedom of expression on the streets of New York City it was Haring, who rose to fame in the 1980s when his spontaneous chalk outline drawings in New York City subways achieved pop culture fame and led to numerous commissions of colorful large-scale murals throughout the city.
Saucony’s New York City edition of the Endorphin Speed 5 performance trainer infuses the late artist’s signature bold graphics and pays homage to the man who made the streets his canvas. It’s a lightweight and very capable do-everything shoe for everything from daily mileage to speed workouts and can even serve as a race-day option for those who prefer a less aggressive feel than a full carbon-plated super shoe.
For more about this year’s New York City Marathon—including more shoes with NYC-inspired aesthetics—check out the Six Minute Mile guide for everything you need to know.
What’s New: The biggest updates to the Endorphin Speed 5 are a new, more breathable mesh upper that is able to accommodate more foot shapes, a slightly more flexible wing-shaped nylon propulsion plate (with only a “wing” extending to the medial side), enhanced flex grooves, a new flared heel collar design, and a tiny bit more rubber coverage on the heel of the outsole. It still has Saucony’s highly responsive PWRRUN PB midsole foam in a near-identical setup to last year. All of those things make this shoe a tiny bit heavier, but the 5 grams of additional weight (less than a quarter of an ounce) isn’t noticeable when out on a run.
Fit/Feel/Ride: The Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 fits true to size with a medium interior volume and only a small amount of wiggle room in the toe box. This one feels slightly shorter but also more roomy than previous Endorphin Speed models. (It’s only available in a standard width, but there’s plenty of interior volume to remove the premium sockliner for an after-market stability-enhancing insole.) The step-in feel is soft, snug as the new mesh upper and gusseted tongue really provides a locked-down fit, while the padded and flared heel collar and interior heel counter offer comfort and support.
True to the Endorphin Speed heritage, the ride is balanced, bouncy, and energetic. Compared to earlier models, the lively PWRRUN PB midsole foam and redesigned, more flexible nylon plate serve up smoother, less rigid transitions from landing to toe-off. The Speed 5 is slightly softer and has less aggressive rocker geometry, giving it a more relaxed feel suitable for a wider range of paces, including slower recovery runs and uptempo speed workouts. It is an incredibly versatile and energetic shoe, though some runners looking for a truly aggressive, race-day “pop” may find it a bit too mellow.
Price: $175
Weights: 7.2 oz (women’s 8); 8.4 (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offset: 8mm; 36mm (heel), 28mm (forefoot)
Why It’s Great: I have run 100 miles in a pair of Endorphin Speed 5 shoes since June, and aside from enjoying it as a speedy, responsive shoe, I love the versatility it serves up. I like it for up-tempo running (track workouts, tempo runs, fartleks, post-run strides, etc.), but also for the spring it puts in my step on easy recovery runs. However, I also really like it for long runs, too, because it continues to serve up a lively bounciness as I start to fatigue without forcing me to hold on to a precise, high-cadence gait pattern like more rigid carbon-plated racing super shoes typically do.
The Endorphin Speed 5 is so versatile that, if you’re a new runner or a runner on a budget, this can be the only shoe in your quiver, given that it’s even capable of being a low-key racing shoe.
Why You’ll Love It: The ride feels consistently responsive and efficient at any pace, but this year’s edition feels slightly springier than last year’s model. It’s energetic enough to be a speed day training shoe, but it’s smooth and flowy enough to be a do-everything everyday trainer that can excel on long runs and also put some spring in your step on recovery runs. As a sub-maximal shoe, it offers sufficient cushioning while also offering very good proprioceptive feel for the ground, especially in the forefoot. Plus, the new wing-shaped plate gives this shoe more stability in the forefoot to offset late-stage pronation.
Why You Might Not Light It: If you loved the Endorphin Speed 2 or Endorphin Speed 3, this edition of the shoe won’t feel quite as lively. The Speedroll geometry is less pronounced than in previous versions, making the rocker effect less noticeable, especially at extremely fast paces.
Pro: If you’re a fan of these shoes or Keith Haring’s art, there are also Keith Haring-inspired editions of the Saucony Ride 18 (pictured above) and the Saucony Guide 18 with the NYC aesthetics.
Con: The tongue of the Endorphin Speed 5 is shorter than in previous versions and may not provide enough coverage, potentially causing the collar to press uncomfortably on the top of the foot, particularly during fast corners.
Senior editor Brian Metzler has wear-tested more than 2,000 running shoes and is the author of “Kicksology: The Hype, Science, Culture and Cool of Running Shoes” (2019) and “Trail Running Illustrated” (2021). He has raced just about every distance from 100 meters to 100 miles, but he’s most eager to share stories about his experiences pack burro racing in Colorado.
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