04/15/2026
Who Needs a Super Shoe for Easy Runs?
By Andrea Myers
While I expected the On Cloudboom Volt to have more energy return and pace versatility like the Saucony Endorphin Speed or Mizuno Hyperwarp Pro, the only runs I enjoyed in the shoe were my easy runs. The lower resilience of the version of Helion HF used in the Cloudboom Volt made the ride sluggish at faster paces, but the shoe felt protective and rolling when running easy. Writing this review has made me think about the point of having a super shoe that only works at easier paces. When I was focusing on the marathon and running 60-70 miles per week, I had a lot of easy miles to do, usually on tired feet and legs. The ride of the Cloudboom Volt would be ideal in this situation, as the high stack midsole and stiff platform would provide welcome underfoot protection and the early forefoot rocker encourages turnover, helping to eat up all of those easy miles. However, my training for the past year and a half has been focused on the 800 and the mile, with 35-40 mile weeks, much more intense workouts, and shorter easy runs. While I am certainly tired after my workouts, I do not have the deep fatigue of marathon training. I find myself reaching for lower stack, less rockered shoes on my easy days (like the Brooks Hyperion 2 or the Topo Fli-Lyte 6). It has been an interesting experiment to see how my shoe preferences have changed as my training has changed.
Super shoes are generally defined as shoes that have a lightweight midsole foam with higher energy return, a plate, and rocker geometry. Another term for these features is advanced footwear technology, or AFT. It is the interaction of these features that have the potential to improve running economy for an individual. One of the ways that super shoes may improve running economy is by reducing work at the ankle (Hoogkamer et al 2019). For a higher mileage runner who needs to get a lot of easy miles in on tired legs, a shoe that improves running economy may be beneficial to help get through the required mileage. A lower mileage runner with a lower chronic training load may not need the benefits of a super shoe to get through their shorter easy runs. A well done research study by Malisoux et al in 2015 found that having a shoe rotation (using more than 1 pair of shoes in training) can reduce running related injury risk. The authors proposed that a reason for this is that different shoes expose the body to different stresses. A super shoe may reduce work at the ankle, but increase it at the hip. A minimalist shoe may reduce work at the knee, but increase it at the foot and ankle.
Runners who do their workouts in super shoes and have a lower weekly total mileage may benefit from not using super shoes for their easy runs in order to expose their body to different stresses. As an example, when I was marathon training, a typical week would be 5 miles easy on Monday (or easy bike), 11-13 mile critical velocity or threshold workout Tuesday, 5 miles easy Wednesday, 9-10 miles easy with strides Thursday, 12-13 miles with a long tempo Friday, 5 miles easy Saturday, and a 16-23 mile long run with marathon pace work on Sunday. There was so much easy running that I had a variety of shoes I would wear depending how fatigued and sore I was. Some days I would run in the Brooks Hyperion Max 1 and other days I would run in the New Balance SC Trainer 1 if I was really tired. Compare that to my current training, which is typically 3-4 miles easy Monday, 5-6 miles easy with strides Tuesday, 6-8 mile threshold or CV workout Wednesday, 4 miles easy Thursday, 8-10 mile tempo Friday, easy bike Saturday, and speed workout (3k-400 pace) Sunday. As a mid distance runner, my easy runs are a lower percentage of my total mileage as compared to when I was marathon training. I tend to use super shoes for my threshold and tempo runs and spikes for my track workouts, so if I want to expose my body to different stresses on my easy days, I need to make sure most of them are in lower stack, more flexible shoes like the Hyperion 2 or Fli-Lyte 6. For our readers, I would suggest that no matter your weekly mileage, having a shoe rotation of different types of shoes is one of the best things you could do for your training. Super shoes certainly can be used for easy running, but I would suggest that you not use them for all of your easy running.
From our On Cloudboom Volt review: https://www.doctorsofrunning.com/2026/04/on-cloudboom-volt-review-2026.html
