HOKA - Rincon 3

Ah such a great shoe! I had two pairs of the 3 that I loved. I am now rocking the 4, but it feels so much stiffer and just not as nice…

Since you wear Hoka, I want to say my favourite versatile shoes is the Rincon 3; I still have my third pair in use. I’ve heard from review that Rincon 4 is not as good as 3, and Mach 6 is a better replacement. I have just bought the Novablast 5 but have only ran with it once but so far I like it.

I’m down to my last two pairs of Hoka Rincon 3s and then I’m forked.

I think the Rincon are less firm and more cushioned than the Mach series. That being said, I love my Mach 6 - I think they’re fun and comfy (I have even done the occasional long run in mine but I am not a cushion fan…) I have heard the Rincon described as a durable, light, cushioned uptempo shoe - which seems to fit what your looking for

This. I'm a multi-time Boston qualifier (and finisher). I've never used carbon shoes. I run my marathons faster than 4 min/km and the carbon shoe advantage barely starts at that pace. Save your money. Get good training shoes. I love racing and training in Saucony Endorphin Speeds, which do have a nylon plate, but they're an affordable shoe. For long runs in recent builds I've used Hoka Rincon, Adidas Adizero, and Saucony Kinvara, all bought on clearance, all great shoes.

I’m a dedicated Hoka wearer, and I just do speed work in my Bondis, which are the most cushion you can get. I can’t justify buying a “speed shoe” when I only do speed work 1x per week. Until last week I was rotating 3 pairs of Bondis, two of them Bondi 9s, the other was a Bondi 8. I had gotten one pair of the 9s and the 8s as a used resale, and the 8s worked great as a speed shoe. I also tried the carbon plated racing speed shoe in the panic that was 2020, and it just wasn’t worth the $$. I have ran in the Rincon, Mach, Clifton, and my forever favorite but sadly discontinued Cavu. I would say those are all decent contenders for a mid-weight shoe.

I’ve been running for 25 years. My absolute top suggestion is to go to a local running store and have them help you pick out a brand that fits you. They can also take a look at your gait/stride/form and pick a shoe that fits your body. Brands people enjoy are going to vary from many people who find one or two brands they like and stick to them. Most of us can’t afford to buy dozens of pairs of $150 shoes so we buy what we know already. However - at a running store you can try on several pairs and see what feels the best to you. Personally I’ve tried Nike, Adidas, Saucony, Under Armor, Solomon, and Hoka. Almost all brands carry multiple styles and types of shoe. A running store can help you decide on what type of shoe you need but until you get further into running you’re probably going to want a daily trainer: A supportive and neutral fit shoe that has good balance and longevity. You don’t want a speed shoe, a trail shoe, a carbon fiber plated high tech shoe, a barefoot shoe, etc After years of running Hoka has become my favorite. They are supportive and feel like clouds on your feet. I’ve tried a lot of shoes but until I tried Hoka I had no idea your feet could be so comfortable! They are also fast and responsive and feel as quick as nearly anything else comparable. My last pair of Hoka Rincons lasted me 500 miles. For year I like Nike’s more supportive profiles but their fit is a little narrow for my foot sometimes and too wide in other models. I liked adidas low profile speed shoes for shorter distances but I’ve grown out of that type of shoe - it wasn’t making me faster and just led me to injury. Solomon are great trail shoes. Nike and Hoka make good ones too. Under Armor shoes are terrible don’t even think about it. Saucony I haven’t tried anything modern but they had been dependable for daily drivers for years in my early running days

Gotta be honest none of the brands I would reccomend would be that low in price. If you want a “workhorse” shoe I would recommend spending $125-$150 personally Asics Novoblast or Hoka Rincon would be my choice

If you like the Clifton, I would look at the Rincon. It's a lighter shoe than the Clifton and by far one of my favorite Hoka shoes. I ran my first half marathon in the Rincon 3 and I just retired my pair of the 4. I replaced them with a pair of the Skyflow and am somewhat regretting my decision; they're just not the same. The other option is the Mach X 3. It has a nylon plate instead of a carbon, which I'd consider looking at if you haven't tried them already. I have a pair of the original Mach X that are still going strong and I use them for a lot of my speed work. I'm going out for intervals today and will be using the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 - also nylon plated and also incredibly durable. Make sure you go up another 1/2 size if you venture into Saucony because they do tend to run small and narrow.

Almost all companies, including Hoka, are making what I'd call "normal" running shoes. My perspective on "normal" - I started running in fall 1980 for ski team training in a pair of adidas lowcut basketball shoes. Didn't understand the difference between them and running shoes. My first real running shoes, a year later, were Brooks Vantage Supreme, followed by a pair of Saucony Jazz, then a pair of Brooks Chariots. Amazing how I can remember all that like it was 5 years ago. 2001-2021 I coached a D2 college XC team, we had a Brooks preferred buyer program so I got very familiar with the Brooks line. I also work for a company that produces running races, 2012-2023 our largest race was sponsored by Hoka, so I became very familiar with their line. I gotta say, when we started with Hoka I was extremely skeptical of their designs. I've always liked more minimalistic shoes like the Brooks Burn and Launch - still "normal" shoes but on the lighter and more flexible side of the equation. I remember rolling my eyes at Hoka's original designs and saying to myself, "fine, I'll wear these on raceday to fulfill the sponsorship, but I'm not going to be wearing them for my training." And then I actually ran in them, the Bondi 2. They worked great for me. But I digress... Like I said, lots of "big' shoes these days, but most everybody still makes some "normal" models. For Hokas, check out the Rincon and Mach. I'm not super familiar with their line these days because our sponsorship ended, but I still have a pair of each of those models in my rotation and they're close to normal. For Brooks, check out the Revel, the Stack, the Ghost. The Ghost sole looks thicker than it is because it kind of wraps up, so your foot sits lower than it would appear.

I have a few different ones. For trails / hiking I love the speedgoat, but I have others for when I am mostly on the road, like the Rincon