TYR Maverick Runner Review: You Can Be My Wingman Any Time

Introduction to the TYR Maverick Runner

CHAD: I will openly admit that I’m a sucker for a good marketing campaign. I can still remember radio and TV jingles from my childhood like they’re seared into the permanent hard drive of my brain. I’ve definitely made decisions at points in my life about whether to buy something or not based on how well the item was marketed. I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who falls victim to the power of consumeristic persuasion and has occasionally been burned when the product doesn’t live up to the campaign.

If you saw my Instagram reel or the reel the BITR team put together for the unboxing of the TYR Maverick Runner, you likely know that it had me hooked on this shoe from the moment I first saw it. Heck, the shoe came with a file marked “Confidential,” outlining the science behind its newest shoe in the running market. TYR, a brand known more for its cross-training, swimming, and triathlon offerings, created a new midsole foam, which it’s calling FlightTime. What makes this foam so special? It’s supposed to provide more, you guessed it, flight time.

Essentially, more flight time means a runner should notice that their strides are longer and more efficient, thus spending more time airborne between strides. The Maverick Runner accomplishes this by combining the bouncy midsole foam with the absolutely shockingly light weight of the shoe. In fact, the shoe also came with a digital shoe scale, allowing reviewers to see just how light it actually is. But are these marketing efforts by TYR a gimmick? All trick and no treat?

CARYN: Before I ever considered lacing up a pair of running shoes, I was a swimmer. A bona fide pool rat, I spent every waking moment of the summer at Roland Run, bopping between swim practice, the snack bar, my lounge chair, and the diving board. In fact, I was even named the Roland Run Stingrays Swimmer of the Year at one point, an award most certainly bestowed upon me for my dedication to the cause, not because I was winning (that was my brother). Let’s just say I’m most certainly a better runner than swimmer — but hey, I could absolutely survive a boat crash.

All of this explains why I did a double-take when I opened my door and saw a box from TYR. TYR was a staple brand in my swim bag — high-quality suits and goggles that lasted for years (much to my mother’s chagrin). Embarrassingly, I had no idea TYR had even entered the chat when it comes to running shoes, but its marketing was certainly enough to intrigue me.

I did some research to find that they’ve developed several different footwear models, which is understandable, as they’re targeting the triathlon and cross-training worlds. However, this shoe seemed to be their first attempt at an innovative foam (FlightTime) designed for speed. Let’s see if the Maverick Runner helps TYR transcend the pool deck.

THOMAS: I never thought I’d be reviewing a Tom Cruise-inspired running shoe, but if you’ve ever seen the man run in a movie, it makes perfect sense. So while there wasn’t an original Top Gun to follow up, the Maverick Runner does a solid job as an original release.

TYR’s shoes remind me a lot of Skechers Performance line, which is both a compliment and a critique. On the positive side, I’m surprised by how dialed in each of its running releases feels on foot. The foams and midsole geometries have been spot-on each time. There are brands that have been in the game for decades and still can’t get these basics right.

On the flip side, the looks are… generic as f#ck. Skechers Performance makes some seriously good shoes; they were even the first to use supercritical foam, but they’ve always looked cheap. TYR’s trainers don’t look like Skechers, exactly, but they do resemble prototypes that haven’t gotten the full love of a design team yet.

I catch flak sometimes for caring about style, but to me, it’s part of the experience. It’s like eating at a fine restaurant: sure, the food would taste the same on a paper plate, but presentation elevates the whole thing and makes you happy to pay extra. For those perfectly content eating out of cartons and wrappers — feel free to ignore my obsession with design.

What we like about the TYR Maverick Runner

CHAD: Normally, I like to start my reviews talking about the aesthetics of a shoe when I feel it deserves to be in the “pro” column. However, I have to buck that trend and start somewhere else, and that is the weight of the Maverick Runner. I’m really not sure how TYR was able to package 43 mm of midsole foam and a thin yet still comfortable and secure upper into an 8.08 oz. package for my US M12, but they did.

For reference, I often refer to shoes like the Asics Superblast 2 as a “lightweight” offering, but my US M12 in the Superblast 2 comes in just over 10 oz. That puts the TYR Maverick Runner in the super lightweight category, and it’s noticeable on the run how light the shoe is. It is so easy to turn over, and the shoe disappears on the foot.

What also makes the shoe easy to turn over is the responsiveness of the new FlightTime midsole foam. I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as “bouncy,” but it also isn’t as firm as many responsive foams. It gives you the sensation of slightly sinking in upon landing, with a drastic resilience upon takeoff.

Running in the TYR Maverick is a breeze, and I found it actually challenging to keep myself at slower paces. I ran in this shoe for both easy runs and a speedwork session, and it handled both reasonably well, even without a plate (which we’ll discuss later).

Okay, onto the look of the shoe, which I think is very solid. I received the all-white colorway, which looks incredibly slick with the wing-like logo overlays. Meaghan would approve! Looking at the marketing materials, there are also some other decent launch colorways. The upper is light and breathable while still holding the foot snugly over the platform. It also features a wider-than-average toe box, providing ample toe splay room.

Also worth noting is that not only is this shoe lightweight on the scale, but it will also be light on your wallet. At only $150, the Maverick Runner falls within the same price range as the Adidas Adizero Evo SL, Asics Novablast 5, and New Balance FuelCell Rebel v5. And, full disclosure, I think I like the Maverick Runner slightly more than the Evo SL and the Novablast 5 (I can’t speak to the Rebel, as I haven’t run in it).

CARYN: I’m not cool enough to receive many packages that have the amount of rizz, as the youths say, that the Maverick offered, which made the experience of opening it extremely fun. I was less enamored by the box and more thrilled to see a tiny scale included for me to weigh my exact model. The shoe nerd in me was thrilled!

When I popped my US W8.5 Maverick on the scale, it weighed in at a very slight 6.7 oz. When trying to cut weight, I often find that brands sacrifice aspects that make a shoe, well, a shoe — such as the structure and integrity of the upper. The Maverick feels extremely light underfoot but retains an actual shape and structure throughout, contributing to its versatility and stability. There is ample room in the toe box for those with a wider forefoot, but I didn’t experience any movement or issues with the laces. I always love a white shoe, even if it’s a little bit dull, so that helped the Maverick’s cause.

On the run, the Maverick feels immediately peppy. The shoe is light and responsive, as well as comfortable at a variety of paces. I never took the shoe out for a proper speed workout, but it fared well for some uptempo work, long runs, and easy runs. TYR claims that the Maverick’s FlightTime foam increases forward propulsion by increasing time in the air and reactive strength index by 4% (I feel like I’ve heard something like this before…). While I didn’t quite collect that level of detailed data, I can undoubtedly say that the foam feels energetic and responsive.

The shoe features an 8 mm drop with a 43 mm heel stack. While this is certainly not a minimalist shoe, the Maverick feels far more connected to the ground than others I’ve used. As someone who likes to run decently high mileage but doesn’t enjoy a heavily cushioned, mushy feeling shoe, I really appreciate that the Maverick can be worn for a distance, but you have more control over the shoe thanks to its platform width and supercritical foam midsole.

THOMAS: This one’s all about the midsole. From the first mile, I immediately thought, damn, this shoe was made for Robbe (our Editor in Chief). Even with a max-stack foam, it rides like something closer to the ground. The cushioning is there, don’t get me wrong, it just isn’t mushy.

Think of it like this: the Asics Superblast has a high stack and firm ride, but the Maverick Runner hits different. It almost feels old school. The heel feels nearly impact-proof, while the forefoot (that glorious 35 mm fat pad) gives you that sweet, sweet proprioception, real ground feel. You can sense the terrain, feel the flex, and roll through toe-off naturally. That’s Robbe’s jam. Meg (our resident cushion queen) would rather not. Me? Depends on the day. Sometimes I want to feel everything. Sometimes I want to feel nothing at all. They have meds for that, or so I’ve heard.

The fit is another highlight. Usually, I’m not a fan of wide toe boxes, but the Maverick sneaks it in without being obnoxious. There’s plenty of room up front without giving Birkenstock energy. My US M10.5 fits true to size (TTS). The outsole? Falls into my “it works just fine” category — no complaints, no surprises.

At $150, the Maverick Runner sits in a sweet spot. It’s a non-plated daily trainer that quietly checks a lot of boxes, offering legit value in a crowded market.

What we don’t like about the TYR Maverick Runner

CHAD: The one knock I really have against this shoe is that it isn’t very stable for those who need medial or lateral support. My right foot overpronates more than my left, and while I don’t require stability shoes, I tend to lean towards shoes that are stable-neutral. The Maverick Runner is anything but, being a neutral trainer by design. I had some noticeable road rash on the medial side of my right shoe. It wasn’t so much medial roll-in that it caused me problems on my runs, which were between 4 and 6 miles.

However, I’m not sure I would consider this as a long run option for me, given the lack of stability. This could likely be solved with a plate, which could also make the shoe a bit snappier and more geared towards workouts; however, that would compromise the main selling point, which is the weight.

CARYN: My biggest complaint here was actually the fit of the upper. The shoe itself is very straightforward in design and materials, which, while not especially exciting, is totally fine in my book. The issue arose when trying to tighten and lock down the midfoot — the upper totally puckers throughout, creating a very sad, derpy look that ruins any aesthetic TYR was trying to achieve. The upside? It has absolutely no impact on feel or performance on the run. Given how great the shoe is otherwise, there’s room for TYR to improve here.

THOMAS: My pair came in the white-on-white colorway, easily the best option of the bunch. Still, it’s clear TYR’s design team is still figuring out how to brand a running shoe. They went with an illustrated wing logo that looks so generic you could literally Google “vector bird wing” and find five near-identical results.

Caryn’s right on this one: if you’ve got a narrow foot, the extra space in the toe box can lead to some puckering once you lace up. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s noticeable.

Final thoughts on the TYR Maverick Runner

CHAD: Having now reviewed four different TYR offerings (two gym, two running), I have to say I think they are a brand to watch going forward in the running world. If they can continue with the momentum of the Valkyrie series from 2024 (which we at BITR were fans of) and now the Maverick Runner, TYR could emerge from the niche brand category to the mainstream of the running market. And I most certainly would not be upset about that, especially if it means more cool marketing drops with their shoes.

CARYN: What a pleasant surprise! The TYR Maverick Runner is a great lightweight trainer with plenty of pop to go from easy to uptempo efforts. With a couple of fit tweaks, this shoe could really be a competitor with other similar heavy hitters in its class, like the Saucony Endorphin Speed, Adidas Adizero Evo SL, and the Brooks Hyperion Max.

THOMAS: I’d caution against Chad’s claim that TYR is a “brand to watch.” While all three of its running shoes I’ve tried have been above average, it still feels like a company dabbling in the run space rather than committing to it.

Who is this shoe actually for? It seems built for the same consumer TYR already has: the CrossFit, triathlon, or weightlifting crowd, rather than for runners first. As a result, the line still feels like an afterthought. For TYR to become a real player in running, it’ll need to invest in marketing and bring someone into the room who can refine the finishing details and design language.

That said, the Maverick Runner itself is an excellent option for someone looking for a do-it-all trainer at a fair price. I mentioned the presentation earlier. If you’re fine eating off paper plates and out of takeout cartons, the Maverick Runner is still a delicious treat.

Talk to me, Goose. Over and out.

You can pick up the TYR Maverick Runner for $150 from TYR by using the buttons below.