Fli-Lyte 6

Altra Escalante might scratch your itch. 0mm drop, 24mm midsole stack and they're only $130. The Topo Fli-Lyte 6 has a 3mm drop but only 23mm in the heel and 20 in the forefoot and they cost $130 also. You might even find the fli-lyte 5 on sale still.

I've been all Altra for years now (road and trail) but also have been fighting some long-term Achilles issues. Not blaming the shoes, but alongside a PT program I've decided to mix in some shoes that are not zero drop. Altra has a line of shoes now that are not zero drop, they are 4mm: [https://www.altrarunning.com/en-us/product-families/experience-family](https://www.altrarunning.com/en-us/product-families/experience-family) If you like Altras for their wide toe box (as I do) then do look at Topo. I've long ignored them as I found the arch support much to high but I did just purchase a pair of Topo Flylite 5 for short road runs and my general workouts. I'll likely get a pair of the Altra Experience Flows for longer road runs as I think the rocker shape will help a little as well. I'm sticking with zero drop for trails though as I have three very new pairs of shoes for training and racing.

You could probably continue to wear normal widths if you switched up to Topo’s since you mainly need space in the forefoot/toebox area and they should be plenty roomy for you. Since you’re a small size person, you probably don’t need a max cushion shoe unless you really want one, so the Topo Specter 2, Cyclone 3, and even the Fli-Lyte will suit your needs depending on the distance that you’re running. Both Specter and Cyclone have the Pebax race foam and I like it a lot.

Topo has you covered. I think you’d be looking at something like the Fli-Lyte or the Magnifly or the Cyclone (more money but more responsive). Honestly, I am 50/50 on these max stack/max cushion shoes. There’s a time and a place for them… long training runs… recovery runs after a hard effort. But like… feet also need a workout and that doesn’t really happen in these max cushion shoes. I also think a lot of people got into running over the last few years and don’t remember/don’t know a time of what old shoes feel like. I still have trouble with a shoe with too much cushion because I remember the shoes I wore when I first started running way back when and it’s pretty different than the shoes of today.

I really like the Topo Fly-Lite. They're nothing fancy so they don't get talked about a lot, but if you just want a simple running shoe that will get out of your way, I think they fit the bill. I use them as my daily trainer.

I have a very wide foot. For trail running I wear Altra-they are widen enough for my 9EE. I buy a men’s so I can get a bit more width. For road shoes I like Topo.