Hyperion 3 vs Endorphin Speed 5

The Brooks Hyperion 3 is a lightweight speed trainer built to add a bit of zip to your faster days without asking you to buy a dedicated racer. It is a neutral road running shoe aimed at tempo runs, intervals and strides, and at 244g it is light enough to feel quick underfoot the moment you pick up the pace. There is no carbon plate here, so you will not get the springboard snap of a super shoe. What you get instead is a simple, honest tempo shoe with a firm, responsive ride and a versatile streak that lets it double as a lighter daily trainer. The 11.3mm drop is on the traditional side and rewards heel strikers. Against the plated crowd it gives up some return, but at £130 it undercuts most of them and asks for less commitment. If you liked the Brooks Hyperion 2, this is a familiar, refined update rather than a reinvention.

The Endorphin Speed 5 is Saucony's do-it-all tempo trainer, and in our view it is one of the most useful running shoes you can own. It sits below the carbon race shoes and above the plush daily trainers: a springy, nylon-plated shoe built for the fast half of your week. At 155 pounds it costs less than a carbon racer, and the nylon plate means it flexes rather than dictating your stride, so it stays friendly across a range of paces. Push into a tempo and the PWRRUN PB foam gives you real bounce and rebound. Slow it down for a steady long run and it still feels smooth and protective. Plenty of runners will race a half or even a marathon in it. If you want one lightweight shoe to cover workouts, tempo days, progression runs and the odd race, this is the running shoe we would point you to first. The nearest rival is the adidas Adizero Boston 13.