Ultra Glide 4

The ride here is soft and forgiving rather than fast and connected. That tall stack cushions each footstrike and takes the sting out of hard-packed trail and gravel, which is exactly what you want three hours into a long run when your legs are starting to complain. Push the pace and you will notice the trade-off: the Ultra Glide 4 is not especially snappy or responsive, and there is no plate here to fire you forward. It rewards a relaxed, steady rhythm. Settle into an easy ultra effort and it feels like it could roll on all day. The moderate 7.5mm drop keeps the transition smooth without feeling aggressively downhill, suiting midfoot and heel strikers alike.

Cushioning is the whole point of this shoe, and it delivers. The 38.6mm heel and 31.1mm forefoot stack give you deep, protective underfoot comfort that shields your legs from rocks, roots and repetitive pounding over big distances. It leans soft rather than firm, so you sink in slightly and get a plush, cushioned feel rather than a firm, ground-hugging one. That makes it superb for recovery days, long slow miles and back-to-back ultra weekends when your body needs all the protection it can get. The flip side is that softness costs you ground feel, so on genuinely technical terrain you will not sense the trail beneath you as clearly as a lower, firmer shoe would allow.

This is a neutral shoe with no medial post or dedicated support structures, so runners who need genuine pronation control should look elsewhere. That said, the wide, high-stack platform gives a reassuring, planted feel on smooth and moderate trails, and the internal sleeve helps keep your foot centred over the midsole. Where the tall, soft stack works against you is on steep, rocky or off-camber terrain: the height raises your centre of gravity and the plush foam can feel a touch tippy when you are picking through technical sections at speed. Keep it to buffed singletrack, gravel and rolling paths and it feels secure and confidence-inspiring. Take it somewhere gnarly and you will want to slow down and place your feet with care.

The upper is built for comfort over the long haul. A soft, well-padded collar and tongue sit kindly against the foot, and the internal sleeve wraps you without hotspots, which matters when you are out for hours at a time. Breathability is reasonable for a trail shoe, though the protective build means it runs a little warmer than a thin, minimal mesh would. The lockdown is secure and stays put as the miles add up, with no need to stop and re-tie. Durability of the upper looks solid, with reinforcement in the high-wear areas around the toe and medial side to survive trail abuse. For long days in mixed conditions, it is a comfortable, dependable home for your foot.