Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 First Impressions: A Familiar Ride with a New Plate

Introduction

The Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 has landed, and after plenty of miles in the first two versions of this shoe, expectations were high. This is Saucony’s neutral tempo training shoe, built for quicker sessions during the week, and it happily crosses over into racing duty too. This time the shoe arrives in a striking blue and yellow colorway, and the updates are more subtle than revolutionary. Here is what the first run revealed.

Key Specs and What Stays the Same

The Endorphin Speed 3 retails in the UK for £165 and weighs 242 grams in a men’s UK 9.5. The stack height comes in at 36mm under the heel and 28mm under the forefoot for an 8mm offset, so there is a substantial midsole delivering a well-cushioned ride.

Plenty carries over from the Speed 2, which is good news for fans of the previous versions. Weight has not increased; side by side on the scales, the Speed 2 and Speed 3 weigh essentially the same. The full-length PWRRUN PB midsole returns as Saucony’s performance foam, designed to be lightweight, comfortable over distance and highly energy returning. Speedroll technology also remains in the midsole, providing that efficient rocker geometry that pushes you along. The outsole still uses XT-900 rubber, the same compound as before, though with a slightly different tread layout that should still deliver solid traction and durability.

The engineered upper sees small refinements rather than a full overhaul. There is good padding around the ankle and heel for a performance shoe, solid structure in the heel cup, and perforations across the midfoot and toe box. The tongue is still gusseted but has lost some padding, making it thinner and slightly stretchier than before.

The Big Change: The Redesigned Winged Nylon Plate

The headline update is the reworked S-curve nylon plate in the midsole. While most brands reserve carbon fiber plates for their race day shoes, Saucony sticks with the more forgiving nylon option here, since this is a shoe aimed at intervals, tempo runs and faster training.

The new plate is now winged, meaning it wraps up around the midfoot. The goal is more propulsion plus better midfoot structure. It is also a sensible move for stability: many runners used the earlier Endorphin Speed versions as daily trainers even though the deep-stack midsole could feel unstable at times. The wrapping plate should give the shoe more substance if you want to use it that way.

First Run: How It Feels on the Road

Out on the road, the first impression is that the Speed 3 feels very similar to its predecessor, which is exactly what a fan of the earlier versions wants to hear. The PWRRUN PB midsole bounces along, and Speedroll makes the shoe feel efficient and easy to run in. Like all Endorphin Speed shoes, it is genuinely hard to run slowly in them.

The upper impressed straight out of the box. No hot spots, rubbing or blisters over a nine-mile run, and the midfoot lockdown actually feels better than the Speed 2, which needed to be pulled quite tight to hold the midfoot. The perforations help airflow, and the upper stayed comfortable and breathable in warm evening conditions, even during a faster mile around 6:30 to 6:40 pace.

Verdict on the New Plate

The winged nylon plate does change the character of the shoe slightly. It feels like there is a bit more substance and support around the midfoot, perhaps a touch stiffer overall. If Saucony was aiming for a fast-trainer feel, that objective has been met. The trade-off is that the shoe may have lost a little of the excitement and pop that made the original Speed and Speed 2 so fun, shoes that worked brilliantly as comfortable, cushioned race day options for 5K and 10K distances.

It is worth noting this is a first-run verdict. The plate may need some bedding in to soften up and regain that snappy feel, so the jury is still out. It is also possible Saucony has deliberately pushed the Speed toward dedicated tempo training, leaving the more race-focused role to the newer Endorphin Pro with its carbon plate.

One Frustration: The Stone Trap

One genuine annoyance is the stone trap. The outsole has recesses and grooves that are the perfect size for picking up stones, and both test shoes came home with a pebble stuck in each outsole. It did not cause a problem during the run itself, but it is a baffling design choice on a performance shoe, presumably done to save a bit of weight.

Buying Advice

If you loved the Endorphin Speed or Speed 2, the Speed 3 remains a very easy shoe to recommend. The fit is dialed in, the ride is cushioned and efficient, and there is no weight penalty. If you are chasing that snappy, race-day-adjacent pop of the earlier versions, it may be worth waiting to see how the shoe settles over more miles, or considering the Endorphin Pro if you want a more overtly race-oriented feel. At £165, it sits in premium performance trainer territory, so it makes most sense for runners who regularly do faster sessions.

Conclusion

The Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 is a thoughtful evolution rather than a dramatic overhaul. The comfier, better-fitting upper and the more stable winged plate make it a more complete fast trainer, even if some of the earlier versions’ outright excitement may have been traded away. More miles will tell whether the plate softens up and brings the fun back, but the early signs are very positive.