A plated speed shoe and a cushioned trainer are not interchangeable, and only one of them should carry your weekly mileage.
Verdict
Buy the daily trainer first and add a race shoe only when you are racing. Plated speed shoes are light, firm and fast, and they wear out in roughly half the miles of a normal trainer, which makes them an expensive way to run easy days. The trainer is the shoe that should carry most of your week.
Plated shoes deserve their reputation. Published testing on the carbon-plated super shoe category has found running economy improvements of around four percent for many runners, which is a large effect in a sport where most things move performance by fractions of a percent. That effect is real and it is also specific: it shows up at race paces, in shoes that are built light and firm to produce it.
The cost is durability. Plated racers are commonly cited at 150 to 250 miles of useful life against 300 to 500 for a normal trainer, and they cost more per pair. Running easy miles in them is the most expensive way to run easy miles.
~$148.45
Check Backcountry → Check Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 Price| Brooks Ghost 16 | Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best use | Easy and long runs | Workouts and racing |
| Plate | None | Nylon plate |
| Typical life | 300 to 500 miles | 150 to 250 miles |
| Weight | Heavier | Lighter |
| Ride | Cushioned, forgiving | Firm, propulsive |
| Cost per mile | Low | High |
You are building a rotation from nothing, or most of your running is easy. A neutral cushioned trainer is the shoe that absorbs the volume, lasts the distance and does not punish you for running slowly in it. If you own one pair of running shoes, this is the pair, and adding a second identical pair to alternate does more for shoe life than adding a fast shoe does for your times.
Check Backcountry → Check Brooks Ghost 16 on Amazon
You race, or you do structured workouts at a pace that is meaningfully faster than your easy runs. A plated speed shoe is where the economy benefit actually shows up, and having a shoe that only comes out for hard sessions is a useful psychological cue as well as a physical one. Do a couple of workouts in it before racing in it, because the ride is different enough that it changes how your calves feel afterwards.
Check Backcountry → Check Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 on Amazon
Plated shoes change how load is distributed through the foot and lower leg, and a common pattern is calf and Achilles soreness in the first few runs. Do not race in a pair you have never run in. If you develop pain that persists beyond ordinary soreness, particularly localised pain in the foot or Achilles, see a physiotherapist or sports doctor rather than running through it.
Published testing on the super shoe category has found running economy improvements of around four percent for many runners at race paces, which translates to a meaningful time difference over a marathon. The effect varies between individuals and it is much smaller at easy paces, which is part of why they are race shoes rather than everyday shoes.
Commonly cited figures are 150 to 250 miles for a plated racer against 300 to 500 for a standard trainer. The foam in fast shoes is lighter and less durable by design. Reserving them for workouts and races is what makes the cost tolerable.
Not to start. If you are adding a second pair, a second daily trainer to alternate does more for shoe longevity and for your legs than a race shoe does, unless you are actually racing. Rotating two trainers lets the foam recover between runs.
You can, and it is expensive and probably unwise. The firm plated ride loads the calf and Achilles differently, and doing all your mileage that way is a common route to lower leg complaints. Save them for the sessions where the benefit exists.
Comparison based on published manufacturer specifications and the general consensus of owner reports. We have not tested these units side by side. Confirm current prices and specifications before buying. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.