Heckington 10 Mile Race Kit Test: Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 and Melin Hydro Pace Cap

Introduction

Race day is the best test of kit, and a flat 10-mile road race with a friendly village-show crowd is about as honest a test bed as you can get. Two products earned their spot for this one: the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3, a carbon-plated racer with a growing reputation, and the Melin Hydro Pace Cap, a premium running cap built around a hydrophobic fabric design. Both were put through a genuine effort: 10 miles, two laps around a Lincolnshire village, and a personal best at the end of it.

The Race Context

The Heckington 10 Mile is a well-established local event with roughly 300 to 400 runners, run over two flat laps around the village at the start of a long-running village show. The route is simple countryside and field-edge running, with one short but awkward hill crossed twice. With calm conditions this time, the day offered near-ideal racing weather, just a touch warm.

A 1:04 finish came in around 25th place, a two-minute personal best over the previous mark. That result matters for this review, because both pieces of kit below were on the head and feet for every one of those miles.

The Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

The Endorphin Pro 3 has already proven itself at shorter distances, with a 5K personal best logged in it previously. The open question at 10 miles was whether the cushioning and propulsion would hold up over a longer effort. They did, comfortably.

How It Felt Over 10 Miles

Compared with something like the Nike Vaporfly 2, the Pro 3 feels slightly less energetic at shorter distances, but over 10 miles it felt equally bouncy and propulsive the whole way. The bounce is more subtle, and the payoff is a shoe that stays fluid, light, comfortable and well cushioned deep into a race. Two races in this shoe, two personal bests.

It is also a versatile option: paired with the Endorphin Speed 3 as a training shoe, it makes a strong race-and-train partnership, and the Pro 3 is comfortable enough that some runners could even train in it. A half marathon test is next, with a possible marathon appearance in Chicago in October on the cards, potentially competing with the Alphafly for that spot.

View more details for Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

The Melin Hydro Pace Cap

This is an expensive piece of kit at 50 pounds, and that is a lot for a running cap. The draw is a hydrophobic fabric design that resists soaking up water, so although the cap does eventually get saturated in a long, sweaty race, it does not drip off the front the way many running caps do.

Sweat Management

The standout feature is a rubber seal around the front of the brim that works like guttering, funnelling sweat out around the sides of the head instead of letting it run into your eyes. During the race, no sweat reached the eyes at all. The cap does get waterlogged eventually and starts to drip a little, but far less than typical caps, which matters if you are walking into a supermarket straight after a race.

Everyday Wearability and Drying Speed

What makes this cap easy to recommend is that it does not look like technical gear. It is a traditional structured cap that works as everyday headwear, which is rare in running kit. It is reasonably lightweight, though not the lightest option available, and it has enough structure to feel like a proper cap. Drying speed is genuinely impressive: after running it under a tap, it was essentially dry within about half an hour. An adjustable rear strap lets you dial in the fit until you barely notice it.

Buying Advice

For runners chasing personal bests on the road, the Endorphin Pro 3 is an easy pick: proven over 5K and 10 miles, comfortable, versatile and fast. The Melin Hydro Pace Cap demands a bigger leap of faith on price, but if you race or train frequently and hate sweat in your eyes and perpetually damp caps, the hydrophobic design and quick-drying fabric justify the investment. Wait for a sale if 50 pounds feels steep, but the performance here speaks for itself.

Conclusion

A flat course, calm conditions and two pieces of kit that did their jobs without complaint produced a two-minute personal best. The Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 delivered fluid, cushioned speed over a distance it was not expected to handle so well, and the Melin Hydro Pace Cap kept sweat out of eyes and dried remarkably fast. Two successful tests, and both are likely to appear on the start line again soon.