Earlier this season, I retired a few high mileage shoes that I had pushed through winter and early spring training and was looking for a replacement do-it-all for my Asics Superblast 2 and my second pair of Mizuno Neo Vistas. After seeing a number of earlier reviews and getting a chance to try a pair on at Running Free, I bought a pair of Saucony Endorphin Azura.
I’ve had some experience with Saucony shoes in the past, both good and bad and with a relatively lower pricepoint for the Azura, I set my expectations accordingly. I have previously run a lot of mileage in Saucony Guides, Endorphin Shift 3, Endorphin Speed 3, Endorphin Edge trail and the Endorphin Pro 3 has been one of my favourite all-time raceday shoes. I sadly didn’t find the same experience in the Endorphin 4 line-up and had shopped around since.
Design: The Azura seems to fit in Saucony’s line-up as a daily trainer, similar to the Endorphin Speed 5 but without the embedded nylon plate. The Azura sits on a stack of PWRRUN PB (40 mm/32 mm) paired with Saucony’s SpeedRoll late-stage rocker and XT-900 rubber outsole. In comparison to the Endorphin Speed 5, there is a bit more midsole stack in the Azura (Speed 5 = 36 mm/28 mm) and it certainly felt plusher underfoot. The drop is the same, sitting at 8 mm. The laces are standard, although are quite long, so you will have no issues if you use a lace-lock loop with your shoes. The general look of the shoe is interesting, with the angular lines and bright colours shared with the rest of the current Endorphin line from Saucony. It has an engineered mesh upper that was comfortable and stretches well to accommodate your foot.
Fit: I opted for my usual men’s size 11, though I’ve had varying sizes over the years with Saucony shoes as they always seemed a bit inconsistent on my feet (10.5-11.5). There is a good plush fit in this, with the PB-based foam providing a bounce as soon as your slip the shoe on. The upper weave is stretchy and has been comfortable for both sorter efforts and longer runs. The upper looks a little bulky but does not feel that way in use.
Feel: The shoe has some plushness to it when you step into it but by no means is it soft or excessively bouncy. It has a bit of a firm ride, which is not a bad thing when you are looking to pick up the pace, or for those late stages of a long run. The tongue is unobtrusive, with no lace-bite and the toe box is roomy enough for some swelling in those longer runs. The Azura provides a good amount of energy return as soon as you lock into a good pace and good forward momentum from the rocker, rolling into your next step. It does remind me slightly of the Endorphin Shift with the aggressive rocker but with much more response in the midsole. It can certainly go fast and feels good during intervals, so much so that I wonder if owning this shoe, I would even find a use for the Endorphin Speed. It does give a feeling of effortless mileage once you hit your road-marathon pace and has no issue picking it up for some fartleks.
Negatives: If you are not a fan of an aggressive rocker, you will likely feel like you’re on your toes while running in these. While I had no issues with traction on the road and sidewalks, I took some intervals on grass (it is cross country season after all) and had some trouble cornering at pace. Likely due to higher stack and smooth outsole, geared for hard surfaces. It’s not a shoe I would use for cross country; it’s something to be aware of in a do-it-all trainer.
Overall: This shoe is faster than I would have thought. Even without a plate, the PWRRUN PB midsole feels planted and stable for all but the hardest corners at an intense pace. I’ve been substituting the Azura in for a few of my interval days, where I’d otherwise run in the EVO SL and to be honest, I’m hitting the interval paces just as easily and my feet feel better on the warm-up and cool-downs.
As a replacement for the Asics Superblast 2 and Mizuno Neo Vista, the Azura definitely feels faster and can handle the longer runs equally well. I’d say the ride of the Azura is very close to how the Superblast 2 felt for me. In comparison to the Neo Vista, the Azura doesn’t have the same level of bounce but is much more stable underfoot and easier to pick up the pace with. When you compare the prices of both of those shoes with the Azura, it’s almost comical how inexpensive the Azura is.
For the absolute best bang for the buck, the Saucony Endorphin Azura definitely punches above it’s weight-class, and I would even say is one of the best deals around for 2026. How it didn’t get as much hype as the Adidas EVO SL did last year in the high-performance/low-cost segment is truly a wonder.
Check them out here: Saucony Endorphin Azura (and as always, look out for sales!)
