The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra is an inventive super trainer that has one of the most ambitious constructions of any running shoe we've tested so far. Although the three foams in its triple-density midsole are all different formulations of supercritical PEBA, they each serve different purposes: the soft top layer ("Super BOOM") contributes both to the shoe's initial step-in comfort and its outstanding cushioning. The bottom layer of "BOOM" foam acts as a more stable carrier. In between these sits the Super BOOM capsule, a very light and airy foam that gives the midsole its impressive rebound. A winged fiberglass shank sits midfoot to add some structure to this massive pile of foams. Because so many pieces are working together underfoot, running in the Red Hare 9 Ultra can feel fun and bouncy or wild and chaotic, sometimes all at once. Li-Nings are only officially available through Shopnings in most countries, and the narrow sizing doesn't work for everyone, but if the shoe fits for you, and you can maintain good running form, this is one of the most unique rides you'll find.
Our Verdict
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra is an impressive candidate for a marathon racer. Its cushioning holds up superbly well over long distances, so your legs will be spared much of the impact of repeated pounding. The combination of energetic midsole foams and decently aggressive rocker are your friend when you're trying to pick up the pace, but there is a caveat: the malleable midsole will require your stabilizer muscles to do more work, and you might find it harder to maintain good form as the miles pile up.
Cushioning holds up remarkably well over long distances.
Impressive energy return.
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra is a passable choice for racing a 5K or 10K. The shoe has impressive energy return, which rewards harder efforts. But if you're trying to hit top speed, the soft midsole becomes a liability, as your forefoot sinks in rather than being able to firmly push off.
Impressive energy return.
Forefoot can feel too mushy to apply much force.
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra is a very good long run shoe if you don't have any pronation issues. The cushioning is simply outstanding, continues to absorb remarkably well even after 40k of repeated pounding. The shoe is responsive enough to help keep your legs turning over as fatigue sets in, but the instability is a major caveat: your stabiliser muscles will be recruited very early on in the run, so you could start to fatigue early if you haven't already developed these muscles.
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra is a good option for a daily trainer, even it's a bit excessive. There's more than enough cushioning to dampen the impacts of everyday runs, but the shoe is not very stable, so it isn't the most comfortable for relaxed paces.
Changelog
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Updated Aug 11, 2026:
We've added text to the new usage boxes and updated the Popular Comparisons section.
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Updated Jul 10, 2026:
We've updated the Popular Comparisons section to tweak the wording for the newly reviewed Li-Ning Chaoying Pro.
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Updated Jul 07, 2026:
We mentioned the Li-Ning Feidian 6 Ultra in the Popular Running Shoe Comparisons section of the review.
- Updated Jun 30, 2026: We've converted this review to Test Bench 0.13, which identifies the different foams used in the shoe's midsole. We've included a microscopic image of the foam cells to give you an idea of what the microstructure looks like. To read more about the changes, see the changelog.
- Updated Jun 17, 2026: We've converted this review to Test Bench 0.12, which fixes how we measure firmness, a component of the Stability and 5K/10K Racing usages. There may be inconsistencies between the text and the scores for these usages, but the scores should still be considered valid. We've also brought back the Energy Return score and added two new usages: Daily Training and Long Run. To read more about the changes, see the changelog.
- Updated Jun 01, 2026: Review published.
- Updated May 21, 2026: Early access published.
- Updated May 06, 2026: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Apr 14, 2026: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Mar 27, 2026: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
We've bought and tested more than 250 running shoes. Every pair purchased with our own money, never supplied or sponsored by brands. Our data-driven tests are designed to go beyond marketing claims, and since every shoe goes through the exact same methodology, you can directly compare results to find the right pair for your needs.
Test Results
Energy Return
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra has excellent energy return. Both the heel and the forefoot are very lively, so you can feel the shoe bouncing back no matter where you land on your foot.
Stability
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra isn't a very stable shoe. All those different foams under your foot feel a bit volatile at times, and the soft heel can feel particularly wobbly if you land further back on your foot. The tall stack height leaves you perched quite high off the ground, but the midsole platform is fairly wide. The midfoot shank helps a bit to control twisting, but if you have any pronation issues, the Red Hare 9 Ultra isn't the shoe for you.
Combination of different foams can feel chaotic underfoot.
Cushioning
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra has truly remarkable cushioning. The shoe feels soft when you step in, and remains so even at the end of a long run. The thick stack of foams does a superb job of absorbing impact at all force levels in both the heel and the forefoot, so runners of any weight and strike pattern will get incredible protection from the impact of the road.
Cushioning holds up remarkably well over long distances.
Midsole does an incredible job absorbing heavy impacts.
Responsiveness
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra has good responsiveness and starts to seem more cohesive at faster paces. The various Boom foams work together to give impressive rebound and a very springy sensation in the forefoot. The shoe's midsole does have a rockered geometry, but it doesn't have enough structure to maintain that rockered shape when significant force is applied. Consequently, the ride has more bounce than roll, which contributes to the lively, but less than cohesive, feeling underfoot.
Impressive energy return.
Very lively through toe-off.
True To Size
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra has some sizing quirks that can be problematic when you have to buy the shoe online without being able to try it on first. The length is generally true to size, but the arch is very narrow. The gusseting can feel quite restrictive at first, but it does stretch out after a few runs. That said, if you have wide feet, this shoe could be prohibitively tight.
Length is true to size.
Fit is very tight through the arch.
Popular Running Shoe Comparisons
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra is a super-cushioned, versatile trainer that seems to defy either convention or categorization. Although ANTA had already started making a splash outside of China with competitively priced racing shoes like the ANTA C202 5 G, you could be forgiven for thinking that these were just reverse-engineered versions of expensive shoes from more established brands. But with the Red Hare 9 Ultra, Li-Ning has introduced something genuinely new. Its complex, triple-density midsole could be interpreted as a better-executed take on what Nike was trying to do with the Nike Pegasus Premium, but the Red Hare 9 Ultra outperforms the Pegasus Premium so thoroughly that the comparison seems unfair. The Red Hare 9 Ultra is so unique in its construction and does so many things well that it could be a lighter, livelier alternative to the Mizuno Neo Vista 2 or a better-cushioned adidas Adizero Evo SL. In terms of performance (although not necessarily fit or feel), it could even be considered the Chinese brand's answer to the ASICS MEGABLAST.
Within Li-Ning's lineup, the Red Hare 9 Ultra is the most cushioned trainer. The Li-Ning Chaoying Pro is a lighter, unplated daily trainer, while the Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Pro is a lower-stacked, more relaxed trainer.
For more great long-run shoes, check out our recommendations for the best shoes for long-distance running. You can also see our recommendations for the best running shoes overall.
The ASICS SUPERBLAST 3 and the Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra are two shoes that blur the line between max-cushioned and super trainers. They're similarly stacked in the heel, although the Li-Ning has a bigger heel-to-toe drop. Both shoes have truly remarkable cushioning, but the SUPERBLAST 3 is a bit firmer, which keeps it more stable. The Li-Ning relies more on its bouncy foam for forward propulsion, whereas the ASICS relies more on its stiff rockered geometry. The Red Hare 9 Ultra is a great shoe for runners who want a fun, bouncy ride, while the SUPERBLAST 3 is better for runners who like a smooth, rolling sensation.
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra and the ASICS MEGABLAST are two of the best cushioned trainers on the market, and worthy rivals in terms of performance and versatility. Both have midsole foam compositions that give them impressive energy return, but the MEGABLAST has a stiffer rocker, making it a bit more responsive. Both have incredible cushioning, but the taller stack of the Li-Ning allows it to continue absorbing more impact over the course of a long run. The deciding factor between these two shoes might be factors other than performance: the Li-Ning is much more competitively priced, but the ASICS has more accommodating sizing.
The Li-Ning Feidian 6 Elite and Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra are two impressive shoes from the Chinese brand, each built for different uses. The Feidian 6 Elite is the purpose-built racing shoe, so it's lighter, more streamlined, and has a spoon-shaped full carbon fiber plate. The Red Hare 9 Ultra is meant to be a more versatile, max-cushioned trainer. It's much higher stacked, which makes it heavier, but the deeper cushioning offers better impact protection, especially over the course of a long run. The tall stack of foam in the Red Hare 9 Ultra is partially stabilized by a winged midfoot shank.
The Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra and Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Pro are similarly named, but very different shoes. The Pro is more relaxed, with a lower stack height and a less bouncy midsole that makes it a reliable, stable daily trainer. The Ultra is a much taller and livelier, but significantly less stable shoe. Get the Pro for everyday runs; the Ultra for longer, uptempo workouts.
The Li-Ning Chaoying Pro and Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra are both high-stack trainers from Li-Ning, but they have different use cases. The Chaoying Pro is the least chaotic shoe, pairing a Super Boom PEBA midsole core with a firmer EVA frame to create a stable, heel-biased daily trainer that works best when you sit back and let it roll. The Red Hare 9 Ultra is the more ambitious and versatile option, using the same Super BOOM core, but inside an outrageous, triple-density midsole that gives it more rebound, deeper cushioning, and better range across paces. It's heavier and less stable than the Chaoying Pro, but it's a lot more exciting underfoot. If you want a lighter, more predictable shoe for daily miles, the Chaoying Pro is the pick; if you want a bouncier, more protective, more capable shoe for everything from long runs to faster efforts, and don't mind a healthy dose of chaos underfoot, go with the Red Hare 9 Ultra.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra in a men's US size 9. When we received our pair, no label with the size could be found inside the shoe. The colorway of this pair is called White ARPW007-2, but the shoe is available in several other colorways. It's only available in one standard width. The design section of this review applies only to the exact pair we tested, but we expect other sizes and gender variants to perform similarly.