If you blinked, you missed it: the last eight weeks have been one of the busiest release windows of the year, with Nike dropping a genuinely new flagship racer, Altra and Merrell each launching their first-ever carbon-plated shoes, and half a dozen other brands quietly overhauling their bestsellers. Here’s what actually landed, what’s worth your money, and what’s still to come before the year is out.
Nike Alphafly 4 — the new king of marathon racers
188g · 8mm drop · $280 (US) / £254.99 (UK)
Nike’s next super-shoe limited-launched on 17 September ahead of a wider 29 October release, and it’s a bigger jump than the “4” in the name suggests. The midsole is built from an entirely new ZoomX LT foam — Nike claims it’s 17% lighter and 8% more energy-returning than standard ZoomX — paired with a reworked Atomknit upper, dual forefoot Air Zoom units, and a refined carbon Flyplate. Nike is pitching it as 10% more energy return and 5% lighter than the Alphafly 3. If you’re chasing a PB this autumn, this is the shoe everyone will be talking about at the start line.
Two brands, two carbon-plate firsts
It’s not every week that a running brand launches its first ever carbon-plated shoe — this window had two.
Altra Vanish Carbon 3 — $239.95
220g · 4mm drop
Altra’s first true carbon racer does something genuinely new: a patent-pending split-toe carbon plate that lets the big toe and lateral forefoot move independently. For a brand built on zero-drop, plateless shoes, this is a real departure — and reviewers are already calling it Altra’s most credible race-day shoe to date.
Merrell MTL SpeedArc Peak — $290 / €290
305g (half-pair) · 6mm drop
Merrell does the same for trail. A two-part SpeedArc midsole — dual-density FloatPro foam under a PEBA racing layer — wraps around a visible carbon plate, finished with a Matryx upper and a Vibram Megagrip Elite outsole. It’s the first carbon-plated shoe Merrell has ever made, and early reviews suggest it holds its own against the established trail-racing names.
The daily trainers worth knowing about
Not every release is a racer. A handful of daily-trainer updates stood out this window:
- Hoka Clifton Pro — $164.95, 266g (men’s) / 230g (women’s), 8mm drop. Opens a new, firmer tier above the standard Clifton — a stiffer PROGLIDE+ supercritical EVA foam, a taller 46mm/38mm stack, and a bigger rocker for a more propulsive ride than Hoka’s usual plush default.
- New Balance SuperComp Elite v6 — $274.99, 190g, 8mm drop. New Balance’s first racer built on its new Infinion supercritical TPEE midsole, replacing FuelCell entirely — and it’s noticeably lighter than the outgoing v5 (213g).
- ASICS Sonicblast 2 — $190 / £170, ~242g, 8mm drop. Shaved 14g off the original with a redesigned forked carbon plate feeding a new “Trampoline Pod” of foam, plus a fresh engineered mesh upper.
- On Cloudboom Strike 2 — $249.95, 200g (men’s) / 178g (women’s), 5mm drop. A ground-up rebuild around new CloudTec Sphere architecture and full-length Helion HF foam — softer and cheaper than the original Strike, with a more balanced forefoot feel.
- Brooks Hyperion Elite 6 — $274.95, 192g, 7mm drop. Widens the midfoot and softens the geometry that made the Elite 5 feel narrow, alongside a substantially improved upper.
- Salomon S/Lab Genesis 2 — $200, ~269g, 6mm drop. Tops Salomon’s trail line with a new dual-density optiFoam² midsole (replacing EVA), a lighter Kevlar-blend Matryx Micro upper, and reworked chassis tooling in place of the old rock plate.
Also worth a mention
A handful of other shoes dropped this window without full spec sheets yet, but are worth keeping on your radar: Adidas’s Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra Evo and Adistar XLG 2.0, ASICS’s Novablast 6 and GT-2000 15, Saucony’s Hurricane 26 and the brand-new Paramount Max, Brooks’s Ghost Max 4 and Cascadia 20, Hoka’s Clifton 11 and Tecton X 4, Salomon’s standard Genesis 2 and Aero Blaze 4 GRVL, Altra’s Olympus 7 and Torin 9, Puma’s Velocity Nitro 5, and Karhu’s Fusion 5.0.
What’s coming before the year is out
- Saucony Endorphin Speed 6 (mid-October) — brings a new PWRRUN PBX foam and a new full-length plate.
- On Cloudsurfer 3 gets a limited pre-launch on 1 October, running a new “Surreal” superfoam, ahead of a wider release that’s reportedly slipping into 2027.
- Salomon Genesis 2 GORE-TEX is confirmed for 8 October — a waterproof version of the trail shoe above.
- Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 5 is expected sometime in Q4, reportedly with World Athletics approval already in hand, though adidas hasn’t confirmed a date.
Further out and less certain: ASICS Noosa Tri 17, New Balance’s Fresh Foam X 880v16, Brooks’s next Adrenaline GTS, Hoka Bondi 10, Mizuno’s Wave Sky 10 and Wave Rebellion Pro 4, Altra’s 10th-anniversary Lone Peak 10, and Nike’s Pegasus Premium 2 and Zoom Fly 7 — all rumoured, none confirmed yet.
Two brands have been quiet: Mizuno hasn’t released anything since June, and Under Armour hasn’t put out a new running shoe since its Velociti lineup relaunch wrapped in April.
Prices above are RRP at launch, mostly quoted in US dollars — check UK pricing at your usual retailer before you buy.
James
Physiorun
No responses yet