Hyperion Elite 3

How fast are you? Will you do well with a reasonably fast shoe or do you need a top of the line super shoe to push turnover and pop? There are not a lot of “fast” shoes for people who need pronation control. Hyperion GTS is really it. It’s a lightweight shoe with decent foam and would be fine up to half marathon. But it’s not plated and it’s not a supershoe. If you need a plated supershoe, there are some that are more stable than others. ASICS S4 is designed to provide more stability for those who will be racing for longer periods of time (those looking to break a 4hr marathon time). It is not a stability shoe. It doesn’t provide any pronation control at all, but as supershoes go, it’s about the only one that is designed to at least provide some support when the runner gets fatigued over the later hours. Most supershoes are intended to be worn for faster race times, so maintaining stability isn’t a huge concern. A few shoes are more stable than others, but many of them are not as fast as some other options. Hyperion Elite (1-3) are very stable, SC Elite is also stable. Neither is terribly fast. Endorphin Pro is fairly stable. Adios Pro 3 is fairly stable (the fastest of the bunch). But none of these are stability shoes and none provide any pronation control. They simply have wider platforms, less wobbly foam and an overall geometry that is more stable than some options (where you need fairly pristine form to avoid rolling an ankle). So it depends on how fast you are and how much pronation control you need.

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.

I used to have a BAD running shoe problem, I had like 25. I am now reformed but still have a lot apparently: *Hoka Mach 6 for everyday runs, I run part road part trail and these get gunked up every day, ugly lavender but muddied up which I love *Brooks Hyperion for everyday runs or short races (5k, 10k) -I was using this as dailys but I was gunking them on trails and I like them too much so I got the hokas above to destroy *Adidas Adizero Evo SL for road long runs (will use for my half marathons) -LOVE this shoe, cushy but speedy, makes me feel super fast *Hoka speedgoats for trail -I am meh about these, I prefer road shoes on trail, if I had more technical or slippery trails I would use these but other than that they just exist Vintage: *Adidas adizero adios boost, used to be my LD race shoes, they are like 10 years old and I refuse to give them up because they are old school undercushioned and fast *Mizuno hitogami also about 10 years old, proper racing flats supposedly for mid distance but I love them for short distance. Love love love how clicky they are, they go so fast Ok, nobody reading this but it warmed my heart to talk about my shoes, lol

Brooks Hyperion Tempo or Hyperion. Both fast, responsive and minimalist.