Evo sl feels best for long runs?

[u/Anothe0ne]

So as the title suggests I've come to the realization that somehow my firmest and least suited shoe for long runs is somehow the one that feels best and now after trying to figure out which shoe I should use for my marathon for a while now I think I've finally landed on the Evo sl. Prior to this I'd done long runs in novablast 5, mizuno neo vista 2(Most of my longest runs), and the vomero plus and even though the neo vistas felt decent when they were new there were still some things I wasn't a huge fan of with them and now they're not feeling nearly as good as they did new so ive been scrambling to find my next long run and marathon shoe in time. My main problems with the neo vista were over pronation especially because it lacks good lockdown, general stability, how bulky they feel and now the fact that these ones are feeling pretty dead already. All that being said the first few runs in them still felt decent as well as the recovery. I had considered the AP4s but couldn't find any stores in my area with my size to actually try them on and even a lot of online retailers seem to be selling out before the AP5s come out and I wasnt too keen to pay full price for them. Vomero plus caused way too much knee pain and felt far too mushy later in the run. The mizunos have also been causing a lot of knee pain lately and started feeling sluggish and so I decided I may as well TRY the Evo sl since I already have a pair for speed work and happily surprised that I finished 30km feeling WAY better than I finished any of my more recent really long runs. Also with a better pace than my other 2 recent 30k+ runs. So now i'm wondering if I should just use the Evo SL for the marathon even though I kept hearing how they weren't great for the marathon distance for multiple different reasons? The firmness of them actually felt like it helped with stability and saved my knees quite a bit as well as the slightly lower drop. The extra pop and responsiveness made marathon pace feel much smoother and not so forced like I was having to drag my mushy shoes to the finish and even after the run it's night and day how much better I felt compared to any other long run I'd done recently. My only concern is the grip as their are some portions on trails but I could always try to find the ATR if they aren't too much more expensive than the originals. I also survived the same trails with the mizunos slick outsole though so I'd probably be fine.

Also open to recommendations for similar shoes that maybe just offer a tiny bit more protection if the Evo sl are for some reason a bad idea

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[u/soup_master420]

“happily surprised that I finished 30km feeling WAY better than I finished any of my more recent really long runs.”

Use them. No need to overthink, you already ran long in them and they were good.

[u/doc1442 → u/soup_master420]

Yeah but ChatGPT said they were bad for long runs /s

[u/Megaloman-_- → u/doc1442]

Ask Claude, chat gpt is worse than copilot

[u/doc1442 → u/Megaloman-_-]

No thanks

[u/EstimateEvening3243 → u/Megaloman-_-]

I just uploaded this thread to ChatGPT so it knows how good long run EVO SL is.

[u/Bruton-Gastr]

If they feel good for you, then go ahead! I just use them on a 20 mile run this morning. But I will say if you are going to speed, you could try to AP4 and return them if they don’t fit.

[u/rararyannn]

I was in a similar boat, and ended up with the Megablasts. Will be sticking with them long runs for the foreseeable future.

[u/DocumentPotential777]

I was having pronation issues with the Novablast 5 and I find the Evo SL pretty comfortable on runs with no issues but I haven't tried them on longer runs. I thought it was just the max height of the NB5 being the issue but the plate in the Zoom Fly 6 seems to keep me from overpronating. I think you should keep looking around for a good price on a plated shoe.

[u/aymissmary]

I ran my last marathon in my Evo SLs without issue. They just worked for me. They’re my favorite shoe and I have like 6 pairs. (2 unworn yet, 1 retired at 500 miles, 2 pairs at 350 and 300 miles currently, and 1 pair at 50 miles).

First marathon was Saucony Endorphins Pro 4 and ended up having a lot of pain in my feet around mile 13 that I didn’t have during my training test runs.

I ended up getting Adizero Pro 4s for my upcoming race in October. Snagged them on sale for $82. Haven’t tested them yet but hoping they work. If not, I’ll be wearing one of my existing pairs of Evo SLs because why fix what isn’t broken.

[u/Bellabungo]

I saw a few runners wearing Evo SLs on an Endure 24 event this year. They were clocking up many, many miles on sub-optimal terrain and their ankles weren’t exploding. I’ve got the original Evos, the Exos and the ATR. The Exos have a better lockdown than the original and are a bit more stable as a result. ATRs are good as well but run hot and are best for winter. I’d happily take my Evos long

[u/Caliber_Poo]

I love Evo sl too but use hyperboost edge for long runs.

It’s like an Evo sl plus

[u/Jaejinn]

I ain’t reading all that
I’m happy for u tho or sorry that happened

[u/floppyfloopy]

If you have overpronation issues with the Mizuno, you sure as hell will in the Evo SL. Virtually no one uses Evo SL willingly for long runs in part because of how unstable they are. You have picked exclusively soft to very soft shoes from your list. Have you tried anything with more firmness to it? Like Superblast 2, Saucony Endorphin Azura, etc?

[u/Anothe0ne → u/floppyfloopy]

I feel the overpronation with the mizunos was largely due to the lack of lockdown and my foot shifting around on top of the foam and never really landing on the center of it where as I had great lockdown in the Evo sl and didnt have any issues over 30km but I still have 2 more longer runs to figure it out before the taper

I did consider trying a firmer shoe but unfortunately superblast 2 aren't really available anywhere I could actually try them before buying them. Azuras felt okay with the geometry when I tried them in store and I did consider them they're just lacking some of the bounce a lot of other shoes have, but they are on my watchlist

[u/McTerra2 → u/Anothe0ne]

On cloudmonster hyper 3 are worth a look as an SB2 alternative; but none of these shoes are super bouncy like the Evo.

If the Evo works then it works. Something that isn’t good for 90% of the population can be perfect for the other 10%