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Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 — Spec Analysis (Not Yet Tested)
Spec analysis — not yet tested
What this page is. A podiatrist’s reading of the manufacturer’s published specifications for the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5. Nothing here has been measured, worn or scored by us. There is no score and no seal on purpose: under our standard, a number only appears once a pair has been on the bench and on the road. When this shoe is tested, this page is replaced by the full review and the change is logged.
The Endorphin Speed is Saucony’s plated speed trainer: the shoe it pitches for track nights and race day, built around a semi-rigid nylon plate rather than carbon. It is also unusual in one useful way. Saucony publishes both stack heights, and they agree with the drop it states, which makes this one of the few shoes in our library whose geometry can be checked from the brand’s own numbers. What those numbers cannot tell you is how stiff the plate actually is, and for a podiatrist that is the property that matters most.
What Saucony says the Endorphin Speed 5 is
Saucony files the Endorphin Speed 5 under speed day and race day and rates it Neutral. The core of the shoe is a full-length, semi-rigid nylon plate sandwiched between two layers of PWRRUN PB foam, paired with SPEEDROLL, Saucony’s name for its rocker-shaped sole geometry. The brand describes the result as snappy and fast, for runs where you are pushing the pace or chasing a personal best.
For this version Saucony lists three changes: a newly designed nylon plate, a new lightweight engineered mesh upper that it says suits both fast running and daily wear, and a reconfigured outsole with more rubber coverage at the heel and a full-length groove meant to smooth the transition from landing to push-off. It makes no claim of stability features, and none of the corrective structure a stability shoe would carry.
Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 specifications: heel-to-toe drop, stack height and weight
| Specification | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Speed day / race day; Neutral | Saucony |
| Weight (men’s) | 8.3 oz / 237 g — reference size not stated | Saucony (men’s product page) |
| Weight (women’s) | 7.2 oz / 204 g — reference size not stated | Saucony (women’s product page) |
| Heel stack | 36 mm | Saucony (men’s and women’s pages) |
| Forefoot stack | 28 mm | Saucony (men’s and women’s pages) |
| Drop | 8 mm — consistent with the stacks (36 − 28) | Saucony; the check is our arithmetic |
| Midsole | PWRRUN PB, in two layers | Saucony |
| Plate | Full-length semi-rigid nylon plate between the two foam layers | Saucony |
| Geometry | SPEEDROLL | Saucony |
| Upper | Lightweight engineered mesh | Saucony |
| Outsole | Reconfigured, with expanded heel coverage and a full-length groove | Saucony |
| Widths | Regular and Wide, in men’s and women’s | Saucony (US site) |
| Removable sockliner | Not stated on the product page | — not confirmed by Saucony |
| APMA Seal of Acceptance | No seal or podiatric certification is claimed for this shoe | Saucony product page — claim absent |
| Style number | S21007 (men’s) · S11007 (women’s) | Saucony |
| List price | $175, on sale at $129.95 when read | Saucony (US site) |
What the spec sheet suggests — and what only a test can answer
Start with what Saucony gets right, because it is less common than it should be. Drop is the difference between the heel and forefoot stack heights, and Saucony publishes both: 36 mm at the heel, 28 mm at the forefoot, which gives exactly the 8 mm drop it states. Many brands publish a drop without the numbers it comes from — ASICS does that for the Novablast 5 and HOKA for the Mach 6 — so their drop has to be taken on trust. Here the geometry at least adds up. Two caveats: Saucony lists the same 36/28 mm figures on the men’s and women’s pages without saying what size they were measured at, and published stacks can differ from measured ones, which is what our stack height chart tracks.
On those figures this is a tall shoe with a moderate drop. A 36 mm heel is well into high-stack territory, though still under World Athletics’ 40 mm limit for road racing shoes. An 8 mm drop sits in the middle of the range: lower than a traditional 10 to 12 mm trainer, higher than the low-drop shoes that ask most of the calf and Achilles. Our heel-to-toe drop chart puts it in context.
The plate is the clinically interesting part. A stiff plate combined with a rocker-shaped sole reduces how far the big-toe joint has to bend at push-off, and the shoe rolls you forward instead. That is the same principle behind the stiff soles and carbon inserts used for a painful, stiff big-toe joint (hallux rigidus), for turf toe and for a plantar plate tear, and behind carbon fibre insoles. But “semi-rigid” is a description, not a measurement. Whether this nylon plate is stiff enough to protect an irritable joint is exactly what our Rigidity Score exists to answer, and it cannot be read off a product page.
The same stiffness has a cost worth knowing about. When the forefoot bends less, more of the work of push-off moves up to the ankle, calf and Achilles tendon. Runners coming from flexible shoes often notice their calves first, which is a reason to bring a plated shoe in gradually rather than for every run from day one.
The weights read as light for a shoe this tall — 8.3 oz for the men’s and 7.2 oz for the women’s — but neither comes with a reference size, so they cannot be ranked precisely against shoes weighed at a known size. And as with every shoe we analyse from published data, the properties that decide comfort and stability — how much the foam compresses under load, how firm the heel counter is, how the shoe twists — have to be measured and worn.
One point in Saucony’s favour: it makes no podiatric seal or certification claim for the Endorphin Speed 5. It simply does not claim one here.
Who the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 is probably for
On the published specification alone, the Endorphin Speed 5 reads as a light, plated neutral shoe for faster running: tempo sessions, intervals and races, for a runner who needs no built-in correction. Its widths are a quietly useful feature for a shoe in this category, and its published geometry is complete enough to compare honestly. If you want a cushioned daily trainer from the same brand instead, see our Triumph 24 and Ride 19 analyses; if you need stability, the Guide 19.
- You are a neutral runner who wants a light, plated shoe for faster sessions and races — Saucony positions it for speed days and race day.
- Your forefoot is the part that normally does not fit — Saucony sells Regular and Wide in both men’s and women’s.
- You want published geometry you can compare — Saucony states both stack heights, and they match its drop.
- You need stability or medial support — Saucony claims no corrective features.
- You want the plate to protect a stiff or injured big-toe joint — “semi-rigid” has to be measured before we can say it is stiff enough.
- You are moving over from flexible or low-drop shoes — a plated forefoot shifts load to the calf and Achilles, so change over gradually.
- You wear a custom or prefabricated orthotic — Saucony does not state whether the sockliner is removable.
Endorphin Speed 5: where it sits in Saucony’s range
Saucony’s US site still lists the Speed 5 as its current Endorphin Speed, but on 2 October 2026 it was discounted to $129.95 from a $175 list price, and early reviews of an Endorphin Speed 6 have begun to appear elsewhere. Treat the 5 as the outgoing model: the right buy if the discount holds in your size and width, with the usual caveat that the properties which change between generations are the unpublished ones.
Above it in Saucony’s line sit the dedicated racing shoes, the Endorphin Pro 5 at $240 and the Endorphin Elite 3 at $290, and alongside it sit the cushioned daily trainers such as the Triumph and the Ride. The Speed is the shoe between them: plated and light enough for fast days, at a lower price than the racers.
Where to buy
Disclosure: the link below is a paid link. If you buy through it Amazon pays us a commission at no cost to you. Commissions never influence a score, a ranking or the seal, and this page carries no score because the shoe has not been tested — see our independence policy.
This opens an Amazon search rather than one listing, deliberately: the Speed 5 sells in many colourways and in Regular and Wide, and listings change quickly while a model is being discounted, so a single product link would go stale. Before you buy, check that the listing’s style number matches Saucony’s — S21007 for the men’s shoe, S11007 for the women’s — so you get the 5 and not the 4 or its successor. Saucony’s own price on 2 October 2026 was $129.95, down from $175.
Questions people ask about the Endorphin Speed 5
What is Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 good for?
On Saucony’s own description, faster running: tempo runs, intervals, track sessions and race day, for a neutral runner. Many runners also use it for longer runs, and some as an everyday shoe. Saucony does not present it as a stability shoe or a walking shoe.
Is the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 a daily trainer?
Saucony positions it for speed days and race day, though it says the new upper also suits daily wear, and plenty of runners do use it for most of their miles. From a podiatric point of view, running every mile in a plated shoe changes how load is shared between the toes, the calf and the Achilles. If you use it daily, build up to it, and consider rotating it with a conventional trainer.
Are Endorphin Speed 5 shoes good for long runs?
Nothing in the specification rules them out: 36 mm of foam at the heel is plenty of material for long distances, and many runners race marathons in shoes like this. Whether it holds up for you over two or three hours depends on things Saucony does not publish, chiefly how the foam behaves late in a long run at your weight and pace. We have not tested it, so we cannot say how it feels at mile 20.
Is the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 a super shoe?
Not by the usual definition, which describes a high-rebound foam at the stack limit paired with a carbon-fibre plate. The Speed 5 uses a semi-rigid nylon plate, and Saucony positions its dedicated racers, the Endorphin Pro 5 and Endorphin Elite 3, above it. It is better described as a plated trainer that can also be raced.
Are Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 legal?
On Saucony’s published 36 mm heel stack it sits under World Athletics’ 40 mm limit for road racing shoes, so for almost every runner the question does not arise. If you are competing at a level where shoe rules are enforced, check the governing body’s approved-shoe list rather than relying on a manufacturer’s figure, because officials measure stack their own way.
What is the drop of the Endorphin Speed 5?
Saucony states 8 mm, from a 36 mm heel and a 28 mm forefoot. The figures agree with each other, which is not true of every brand’s published numbers, but they are still the manufacturer’s figures rather than a measurement.
Does the Endorphin Speed 5 come in wide?
Yes. Saucony lists the Endorphin Speed 5 in Regular and Wide for both men and women, with the wide versions sold as separate products. Our shoe width chart explains what the width letters mean for your size.
Do podiatrists recommend the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5?
A podiatrist recommends a shoe for a foot, not in general. For a healthy neutral runner who wants a faster shoe, a light plated trainer with complete published geometry is a reasonable choice. For a stiff or painful big-toe joint, the plate is promising in principle but unproven until its stiffness is measured; for overpronation, or for anyone with an irritable Achilles, there are better-matched shoes. We have not tested the Endorphin Speed 5, so this page makes no recommendation beyond what Saucony’s published specifications support.
What happens next
This page is spec analysis and will stay that way until the shoe is bought, measured and worn. When that happens it gains the full measurement block — weight at men’s 10, heel and forefoot stack from our own calipers, verified drop, internal toe-box width and depth, Toe-Box Index, Depth Index, Rigidity Score and an Orthotic Volume Rating — plus a wear log and the nine-criterion scorecard. A shoe earns the seal at 8.5 overall with comfort at 8 or better, no criterion below 5, and only after physical testing. Nothing on this page is a measurement we made.
Acquisition disclosure: this shoe has not been acquired or tested by Podiatrist Tested. No brand has provided a sample, paid for coverage or seen this page before publication. Figures are Saucony’s own, read on 2 October 2026, and are attributed individually in the table above.
This page is a spec analysis, not a test report: every figure is the manufacturer’s, printed beside its source, and nothing here carries a score or the Seal until the shoe has been worn and measured on our bench. Quote any figure you like — keep the source attached to it, and link the page rather than the number. How to cite or link to an analysis.