Ride 8 GTX

How close are you to your goal now? Your goal time is certainly generally achievable without a carbon plated racer - people did run that fast before 2017 after all; my first HM under 1:50 was with a Saucony Ride 8 with its 26mm heel stack of EVA - and the Superblast is a perfect non-plated option for a HM. If you would like some extra oomph to get to your goal, want to try the plated experience, and are ok to spend the $$, then go for it.

Really you should buy at least 2 and alternate at that much weekly distance. It will actually help your shoes last longer, so you’ll save more $$ in the end, because you’ll give the midsole time to fully recover/decompress. Superblast 2 is a great versatile shoe to eat tons of miles that you can get on sale right now. Saucony Ride will as well though not as nice.

I feel like if you can run 25K in a pair of Gel Excite without injury, you are probably OK without a stability shoe. Maybe stay in the stable neutral realm like a Brooks Ghost / Glycerin, Saucony Ride / Triumph, etc.

I mostly road run and have a pair of Goretex shoes (Saucony Ride GTX, several years old now but it looks like they still do GTX in some models) that I use only if I'm gonna be running in a lot of snow or puddles. They do keep the water out and I haven't had an issue with water getting in (but tbf I don't wear them often while it's actually raining). My complaint about them is that foot sweat seems to get trapped *in* so they're gross and clammy at the end of the run. So I typically only use them for a handful of runs each winter where the sloshy melted snow is bad enough to be worth the foot sauna.

How about Brooks Ghost or Saucony Ride? Both are about 7mm more than the Kinvara, so that probably qualifies as "a bit more" that you are looking for. These classics are going strong and are on their 17th and 18th iteration for a reason. I think this subreddit is so focused on the latest trends that commenters forget that these classics continue to exist and sell in huge numbers for a reason. Also, I'm not sure if you want low stack or firm - it's not necessarily the same thing! For example, On Cloudmonster 2 is higher stack but much more firm than the aforementioned Ghost and Ride.

I'm on my fourth pair of Saucony Rides. This year I went back to an older model because I liked it better.

everybody seems to be raving about the evo sl, kinda tempted to grab a pair and work it into a rotation. i've been fond of saucony the last few years - ride is a good work horse, endorphin speed is a good everyday/speed work hybrid.

Any running shoe worth having will start at $100 at least unless it’s a past model on sale (which may be 80 or 90 if it’s a good deal). I’d suggest a Saucony Ride or Brooks Ghost to start, both are pretty traditional shoes that a lot of people tend yo do well with. You can definitely find past models on sale. Goong to a running store to get recs is a good idea but I think it’s overkill as a new runner. I do recommend going somewhere with a good return policy (ie REI or Fleet Feet).

Saucony Rides have been very good for me. 215lbs here. And they'll last a while.

6'1, 215 lbs currently. Saucony Rides have been good, and they last a long time.