My overarching takeaway: Once you’re choosing up the tempo, these sneakers are superb—they actually turn into an extension of your foot, and the turnover with every step feels so pure. I usually take a little bit of time getting as much as 5K tempo from my warm-up or recoveries, however once I was carrying these, I used to be in a position to attain my meant tempo a lot sooner. I felt like I used to be in a position to keep it higher, too, with much less effort than typical—even on hillier parts of my route. The 5K-pace exercise tends to be a wrestle for me, so I used to be shocked to see once I received residence that every interval was on the quickest finish of the tempo vary I used to be capturing for.

The sneakers undoubtedly really feel greatest while you’re pushing your velocity, although. Throughout my warm-up, cool-down, and recoveries, I felt extra instability and located the firmness somewhat jarring.

That made me much more excited to take them on an precise race, since I knew I’d be pushing it the entire method by means of. I ended up operating a stable race in them, sustaining fairly even splits all the method, and saving up sufficient juice to e-book it the final mile. It was throughout these quick speeds the place the sneakers actually felt the perfect to me—they actually encourage a fast push-off from the bottom and supply sufficient bounce that can assist you with it.

One other factor I’ve to level out: The consolation and match are actually top-notch right here. The sunshine higher is extremely breathable, and my toes didn’t get swampy throughout the early September northeastern-morning humidity. I additionally forgot to Physique Glide my ankles beforehand to protect towards any chafing, and I didn’t have to. There was no rubbing, pinching, or squashing throughout all the race.

Backside line

If you wish to hit quick paces, the On Cloudboom Echo 3 might help you get there—and make the entire course of really feel somewhat extra enjoyable (and fewer exhausting). After carrying them for 5K-pace work and a 10-mile race, although, I might advocate them extra for the shorter, sooner distances versus a half-marathon or something farther. They only appeared smoother at faster paces, and I’d quite use one thing somewhat extra cushioned for once I’m going actually lengthy. However I’d undoubtedly be stoked to strive these on a 5K, 10K, or perhaps even one other 10-miler, particularly if I used to be gunning for a PR.

I’d most likely solely put on them for a race, although, which makes them much less versatile than a number of the different tremendous sneakers on the market (say, just like the Hoka Mach X, which you’ll prepare and race in). With simply 16 miles on them, the sneakers are already displaying some gentle indicators of damage alongside the only real on the heel—I’m a heel-striker—so I’m guessing their four-marathon shelf life is fairly correct. I don’t wish to “waste” their miles on common runs, so I’ll be saving them for the higher-stakes racing.

It additionally makes their excessive price ticket ($290) somewhat extra noticeable. In the event you’re setting these apart for race days, you’ll should shell out much more money for different sneakers to coach in. In case you have sufficient disposable revenue to dedicate to operating—and you actually are searching for utmost efficiency—these is usually a nice possibility. However for extra informal runners, or for these on a tighter price range, there are most likely extra versatile choices on the market that’ll examine related containers.