Hyperion Elite 3

If you’re doing a 1:23 half in Nimbuses then yes I would 100% justify SB2 or Megablasts as a daily for a marathon block.  At that pace, I would also be looking at a pair of carbons for race day (if budget allows).  Nimbus on easy days, Super or Megablasts for everything else, and carbons for race day is a plenty good rotation.  Once my current pairs die a death, I’ll be running a similar looking rotation with Vomero Plus, Evo SL, and Supercomp Elites filling the three roles I set out above. 

I (F39) liked hyp max 2 more than 3 (ran marathon in them 3:44), was super excited for 3 but they hurt me. I did like brooks Hyperion elite and ran a half in them (1:39), and will run a full in them next week. I would also recommend Asics Sonicblast - great light plated shoes for short picks ups/tempo runs. I ran 14mi tempo in them and regretted (knee joints felt meh afterwards) but shorted intervals are great in them (the other day I ran mile repeats 7:10 and 6:50 instead of 7:40 bc I didn’t even feel the pace).

I’m usually a Brooks girl (a lot of miles in Glycerins) but love the Endorphin Elite for race day. I’ve gone through a couple of pairs and both have been excellent and reliable - could be interesting if you’re already in the Saucony world too. They’ve been part of my plan for a couple of big marathon PRs.  IMO they are very light, and have an intense rocker, but still feel stable and comfortable. Minimal ground feel but also not deep cushion… just bouncy.  Haven’t tried a ton of super shoes but they were a big step up for me from the Brooks Hyperion Elite (which just still isn’t super competitive). 

Everyone has a crazy big lineup these days. I would argue Brooks doesn't even have that big of one. There is only one Adrenaline and it's the GTS. Anything with GTS means it has guiderails, so that includes the Addiction and Beast/Ariel. Addiction is the medium cushion walker, Beast is the heavy duty motion control shoe and the Ariel is the women's equivalent.  The Glycerin is a high cushion super franchise for them. You have the Glycerin, Glycerin GTS (stability), Max (super max cushion), and Flex (stealthfit upper, for people who want a higher cushion flexible shoe). Ghost Max is their max cushion shoe. 40 mm stack, stable neutral, rocker in the front. The Defyance is part of their budget lineup. Whole bunch of other shoes in there too. The Hyperion lineup is their speed lineup, with their bouncier foams. The regular is your standard uptempo trainer. The Max is your plated supertrainer. The Elite is the WA legal plated super shoe for racing

Everyone has a crazy big lineup these days. I would argue Brooks doesn't even have that big of one. There is only one Adrenaline and it's the GTS. Anything with GTS means it has guiderails, so that includes the Addiction and Beast/Ariel. Addiction is the medium cushion walker, Beast is the heavy duty motion control shoe and the Ariel is the women's equivalent.  The Glycerin is a high cushion super franchise for them. You have the Glycerin, Glycerin GTS (stability), Max (super max cushion), and Flex (stealthfit upper, for people who want a higher cushion flexible shoe). Ghost Max is their max cushion shoe. 40 mm stack, stable neutral, rocker in the front. The Defyance is part of their budget lineup. Whole bunch of other shoes in there too. The Hyperion lineup is their speed lineup, with their bouncier foams. The regular is your standard uptempo trainer. The Max is your plated supertrainer. The Elite is the WA legal plated super shoe for racing

Hard to say, without being in your shoes. You have a great rotation, and if I where you I would stick with what you have. Pronation is not in itself bad, it’s part of the body’s natural impact dampening system. It has been abused by the running shoe sellers, in my opinion. The main question if you want to move to a less stable shoe, is whether you are strong enough to naturally control the ankle, and not fall inwards, ei over pronation. But with five weeks left, I would stick with what works. You could treat yourself to another pair of ZF6 in a fancy color, if the urge for new gear is there. If you want to try out a hardcore race shoe, I would not go with the Alphafly, even should it on paper looks like the next step up. It’s a hard shoe to make work, and it needs an aggressive running gait and higher tempo than you are aiming at to work well. Some of the more stable race shoes I have tried would be Brooks hyperion elite, and a step down in stability, Metaspeed Edge (NOT sky).

Your weight definitely matter, seen in context of how strong your legs and ankles are! The impact force when you land in each step is three to four times your body weight, so just 20 pounds overweight is 80 pounds more your feet and shoes needs to absorb. Race shoes are typically very soft, and if you have trouble controlling your ankles when you land, that’s a recipe for disaster. Add more punds for a heavier running, and that’s just compounding the situation. I am not saying that a heavy runs cannot use soft (race) shoes, but you need to have strong legs and a neutral running gait. And even then I would ease into them slowly.