FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5 vs Alphafly 3

The FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5 is New Balance at its most serious: a carbon marathon racing shoe built to chase a personal best on the road and nothing else. This is a full super-shoe, with a PEBA midsole and a carbon plate that New Balance says is 38 per cent stiffer than before, and at 213g it is genuinely light for a shoe carrying this much foam. That combination is the whole point. You get a tall, energetic stack that protects your legs deep into a marathon, and a plate rigid enough to snap you onto your toes when you hold race pace. It sits right at the top of the road racing market on price at 220 pounds, up against the Nike Vaporfly 4 and the rest of the carbon crowd. We rate it as a true race-day tool. It rewards a committed effort and feels flat if you jog. Buy it to race, not to train.

The Nike Alphafly 3 is the brand's maximalist marathon racer, the carbon racing shoe built to carry you to a road PB and not much else. It pairs a full-length carbon plate with twin forefoot Air pods and a tall slab of ZoomX foam, so you get a ride that is bouncy, propulsive and unapologetically built for going long and fast. At 218g it is not the lightest super shoe on the shelf, but the energy return more than earns the few extra grams once you settle into marathon or half pace. This is a specialist. It rewards a committed forefoot or midfoot strike and a pace you can actually hold, and it feels flat and over-built if you jog it easy. If you want a slightly lighter, more nimble option for shorter races, the Nike Vaporfly 4 is the natural stablemate. For the marathon, though, the Alphafly is the one we reach for.