Best Post-Christmas Running Shoe Deals: 8 Bargains Worth Grabbing

Introduction

The period just after Christmas is one of the best times of the year to pick up serious running shoes at serious discounts, and the 2023 sales produced some genuinely standout bargains. From max-cushion Adidas trainers to elite-level Saucony and Mizuno racers, plenty of top models were suddenly available at prices that made them far easier to justify. Here are eight of the best value deals we found.

What We Looked For

For this roundup we focused on value: how big the discount is, whether the shoe still holds up against newer models, and whether it suits a real training purpose, from daily mileage to race day. Some of these are outgoing models catching great end-of-line pricing, which is often the smartest way to buy.

Adidas Adizero Prime X Strung

The Adizero Prime X Strung is Adidas’ max-cushion performance shoe, and at 50mm of stack height it is certainly high, yet not especially heavy. It is firm but fair, with forgiving properties that make it a great companion for marathon training long runs. The Continental rubber outsole is super durable, and the midsole keeps getting better with use. Down to £150 in the pulse mint, core black and lucid fuchsia colorway, with lots of sizes available, this is our top pick on sale right now.

View more details for Adidas Adizero Prime X Strung

Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

The Endorphin Pro 3, in the citron and slime colorway, sits at the top of Saucony’s racing range and is now at $139.99, down from £230, in almost all sizes. The PBAX-based midsole is a touch firmer than Nike ZoomX foam, but that firmness comes with more durability. It is super light with a great fitting upper, and at this price it is arguably worth having even as a fast trainer. If you are after a tempo or race shoe, it is hard to beat at this money, particularly before the Endorphin Pro 4 arrives.

View more details for Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

ASICS Metaspeed Sky Plus

Discounted pairs of the Metaspeed Sky Plus have been rare, so the red colorway at £154, down from £220, is a welcome return. Excellent traction, a wider forefoot, and FF Blast Turbo foam that is very light yet packs a real punch. It is a shoe for runners who increase stride length and cadence at the same time, and it proved itself over 10K efforts, delivering a 10K race PR in 2023. There is nothing else on the market quite like it. Size availability is limited, so do not hang about.

Brooks Hyperion Max

Start Fitness has £40 off the Hyperion Max, which was arguably the best Brooks shoe of 2023. It is a super light yet very able training option at £120, which is a really great price for this shoe, a 25% discount in pretty much all sizes. The DNA Flash midsole is quite responsive rather than squashy, making it very engaging to run in. The outsole was improved over the former Hyperion Tempo, and with a range of colorways available this fantastic, often overlooked shoe deserves more customers.

Adidas Adizero Adios 8

The Adios 8 is now discounted to £84, down from £120, in the lucid cyan, cloud white and bright red colorway. It is a responsive beast with a lower stack, ideal if you like your foot closer to the ground and enjoy some ground feel. With slightly less midsole foam and less weight than the Boston 12, lighter runners may get even more out of it, and it is a better option than the more expensive Supernova Rise. Plastic foam rods add a little propulsion on toe-off, and almost all sizes are available on the Adidas website.

Adidas Adizero Boston 12

If the Adios 8 sits too low for you, the Boston 12 represents what many would call the optimum stack height for a daily training shoe. It shares the Adizero family’s responsive character with a bit more midsole underfoot, making it the more versatile everyday option for most runners. If you want one shoe to cover easy runs, tempo work and long runs, this is the safer pick of the two.

Saucony Endorphin Elite

One of the favorite shoes of the entire year finally has discounts. The Endorphin Elite has dropped from £280 to £196, a 30% saving, with all sizes up to a UK 12 available in the white and gold version. This is the first shoe to use Saucony’s PowerRun PB foam, and it is mega light with a superb fit from a quite unique upper. For connoisseurs who want to try some of the best midsole foam available, this is one to test. It looks a bit like a white chocolate wafer biscuit, but it runs beautifully.

Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro

Retailing at £200 and down to £140, the Wave Rebellion Pro is one of the shoes of the year. It is lasty, super light, super cushioned, and quite a wild ride, like nothing else out there in running. The upper is simple, the race credentials are serious, and remarkably it seems to work for just about anybody, both heel strikers and forefoot runners alike. The outsole grip is fantastic, and many people have overlooked the shoe thinking it is too stacked for them. Great for tempo efforts, faster long run sections, and it can work at half marathon and marathon distance too.

Overall Buying Advice

The common thread across these deals is that they are mostly outgoing models at their best prices ever, and that is often the smartest window to buy. End-of-line pricing on a great shoe frequently beats full-price on a marginally newer one, especially when the update is iterative rather than transformative.

If you want max cushion for long runs, the Prime X Strung leads the pack. For race day speed on a budget, the Endorphin Pro 3 and Wave Rebellion Pro stand out. For everyday training, the Hyperion Max and Boston 12 are the sensible all-rounders, while the Endorphin Elite is the connoisseur’s pick.

Conclusion

Eight shoes, eight genuine bargains, covering everything from daily training to marathon racing. The best value depends on how you run: pick the max-cushion option for long miles, the plate racers for tempo and race days, and the versatile trainers for everything in between. Just do not wait too long, as limited sizes on some of these deals will not last.