Nike Alphafly 3 vs New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5

The Nike Alphafly 3 and New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5 are two popular racing shoes built around different principles. The Alphafly 3 is purpose-built for the marathon, featuring cushioning that holds up better over long distances and a broader platform that provides more stability when form breaks down late in the marathon. Whereas Nike has three different racing shoes, each built for different distances, the Elite v5 is New Balance's only super shoe, meant to be a do-it-all racer for everything from 5ks up to marathons. As such, it has lots of tradeoffs: its cushioning isn't as protective over long distances, but its firmness helps maintain higher turnover in shorter races. It returns energy more efficiently than the Alphafly 3, but is less stable, meaning that stabiliser muscles will be recruited earlier in the race.