Four New Running Shoes Worth Watching: Nike Ultrafly, Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 and More

Introduction

Four new releases have caught our attention this season, and they cover a surprisingly wide spread of running: a carbon-plated Nike trail racer, Saucony’s flagship road racer and its tall daily training sibling, and a thoroughly reworked Asics road cruiser. Here is what stands out about each one, and whether it earns a spot on a shortlist.

Nike Ultrafly

With runners still waiting for a Nike ZoomX trail shoe, two appeared at once, and the Ultrafly is clearly the lighter, race-focused option of the pair. Its upper uses the VaporWeave material familiar from the Vaporfly Next% line, paired with minimal overlays and a stripped-down tongue, so everything about it feels weight-relieved. A carbon plate sits sandwiched between two pieces of ZoomX midsole foam.

There are some thoughtful details for trail use. The midsole side walls appear to carry a protective coating, which matters because ZoomX does not handle moisture well, and the trail outsole looks close to what Nike has used on recent Pegasus Trail models. A reappearing midfoot cage locks the foot down, echoing the Zoom Fly 3 and 4. This one is aimed squarely at racing rather than long, highly cushioned miles, and thanks to the non-absorbing upper it could shine in wetter conditions. It is a promising Nike trail offering, though availability still seems some way off.

Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

The third iteration of Saucony’s flagship road racer drops the weight noticeably thanks to a highly tuned upper: an extremely perforated mesh with holes throughout, and a similarly weight-relieved tongue. In sample size it weighs just 204 grams, which is excellent for a super shoe at this level.

The midsole stack is maxed out in the heel at 39.5 millimeters, giving roughly an 8mm drop, and a brand-new outsole design brings three rubber elements forged together with chevron-shaped multi-directional lugs. That should address one of the weaker points of the first two versions, which was traction. The profile remains space-age and futuristic, and the question is whether these changes lift the Endorphin Pro back into the very top tier, competing with the best from Adidas, Nike and Asics. As a package of weight, cushioning and improved grip, it is easy to recommend.

Saucony Endorphin Shift 3

Also from Saucony, the Endorphin Shift 3 takes a different path. Earlier Shift versions were put off by their weight, the older PWRRUN midsole foam, and a price above what a standard daily trainer usually asks, so expectations were modest here.

The Shift 3 reduces weight while somehow adding extra midsole stack to what was already a tall shoe, with a noticeable heel cup for security. The result is something like a heavily cushioned maximal trainer, though it sticks with the standard PWRRUN foam rather than moving to a bouncier, more compressive compound, possibly with a new blend for extra forgiveness.

Whether this shoe earns its place depends on what you want from a rotation. If you need a big slab of cushioned material for easy, high-mileage days and do not mind paying above standard daily-trainer prices, it could fit. For many runners, though, the combination of mass, tall stack and price makes it a harder sell.

Asics Glide Ride 3

The Glide Ride 3 is now released in the UK, and it arrives with a major redesign of a somewhat overlooked Asics series. The headline change is a dual-layer midsole: a softer layer of FlyteFoam Blast+, as seen in the Nimbus 24, sitting over a firmer FlyteFoam layer underneath. Asics has been systematically replacing its midsoles with lighter, softer and more durable foams, and that shift should benefit the Glide Ride 3 directly.

Outsole durability has never been a concern for Asics, with very little wear over time, so there is little to worry about there. With these updates, the shoe should get a performance boost, a lower weight, and a broader set of use cases across more runs in a rotation, which it needs to justify its position. At £155 in the UK, it edges into Saucony Endorphin Speed pricing territory, so waiting for a discount could be a sensible play. Even so, the redesign makes this one easy to recommend for runners wanting a smoother, more versatile daily shoe.

Overall Buying Advice

Each of these shoes serves a different role. The Ultrafly is the pick for trail racing, the Endorphin Pro 3 for fast road racing, the Shift 3 for maximum cushioned easy miles, and the Glide Ride 3 for a versatile daily trainer. Match the shoe to the runs you actually do most often, and factor in availability and price before committing.

Conclusion

This wave of releases shows brands pushing in two directions at once: lighter, faster race-day machines and ever taller cushioned trainers. The Nike Ultrafly and Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 look like genuine performance gains, while the Glide Ride 3’s redesign could quietly make it one of the more complete daily trainers around. The Shift 3 remains more of a niche pick, best reserved for runners who truly want maximal cushioning at a premium.