On - Cloudstratus 3

Third shoe in rotation: double down on what works… or try something new? Alright all you cool cats and kittens, I’m at that familiar fork in the road and could use some collective wisdom. Current rotation: On Cloudmonster 2 – my workhorse. Long runs, general mileage, even raced my half in them. Just shy of 200 miles and still treating me well. Comfortable, stable, predictable in a good way. ASICS Novablast 5 – newer to the party (≈60 miles). Took a little dialing in on the left shoe so my toe would behave, but once that settled… dang. I feel noticeably faster in these. The bounce is real. Not a true tempo shoe, I know, but they want to move. Here’s the dilemma: I want a third shoe in the rotation. Originally, I was hunting for a tempo/speed-focused option, but fit became the limiting factor fast. I tried a lot of shoes - the Boston 13, Evo SL, NB Rebel (current + last), Cloudboom, etc. - and almost all of them had some kind of toe box issue that I couldn’t ignore. For context, I’m also working through some mild left-ankle stability stuff, so sketchy fits are a hard no. Ironically, the shoes that fit best are the ones I already own. So now I’m torn between: Option A: Buy another pair of something I already know works (Cloudmonster 2 or Novablast 5) and call it smart, boring consistency Option B: Try something different that complements the rotation better— - even if it’s not a traditional “tempo” shoe on paper I loved my old Cloudstratus 3s too (RIP), but they’re more daily trainer than speed. I’ve heard Topo mentioned a lot, especially for toe box comfort, but they’re harder to find in-store, which makes me hesitant. Curious how others approach this: Do you double down when a shoe clearly works for your foot? Or do you force a little experimentation to round out the rotation? If you’ve been in a similar spot (fit-sensitive, mild stability needs), what direction did you go? Not chasing marginal gains for the sake of it - just trying to be intentional before buying shoe #3. Appreciate any thoughts.

Training: OnCloud Stratus 3 (250 miles) Training: New Balance SC Trainer (250 miles) Race day: New Balance Elite v2 (185 miles) Race Day: OnCloud Boom Strike (50 miles)

Neither because I’ve tried both for running and they don’t work well for me. You need to go to a store and try stuff out.

On Cloud! It’s the only show that works for me. I also have a wide midfoot. Hoka’s run too narrow.

they have gotten expensive apparently... I have a few pairs of On running Cloud.. Ran a few marathons in them... Best shoes I have had

I'm currently running with On Clouds. My feet often get wet during nearly every run, so I'm now exploring waterproof Hoka shoes. I haven't tried Hoka before, but if anyone has experience with the Transport or GTX models, I’d appreciate their insights.

Which endorphin speeds are the best to buy? I just ran my first half marathon recently I run about 2:20 and I run daily in on clouds but I just feel like after running in them for a few weeks they slreasy start to feel worn. I want a good race day shoe since as I’m getting better I want to improve. I saw the 4s and 5s but for some reason they show the 4 to be more expensive. What do u recommend?

I try to buy my shoes from REI whenever possible. You can return them up to a year, even worn, if you're a member. It's well worth it to be able to actually do some runs in them before making the call. They resell the used returns in store at a discount. If I am buying from my local running store, I try to test them on a treadmill, even though I loathe treadmill running. So far, the only shoes in my collection that I don't like are the on clouds I bought online without being able to test them.