Saucony Endorphin LD Review: Unleashed At Last

Introduction to the Saucony Endorphin LD

KALEB: For any collegiate athletes out there, you may have had some teammates recently DQ’d for wearing their Vaporflies in the 5K or 10K. Or maybe it was you — my condolences. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m referring to the unfortunate consequences of the new 2025 World Athletics requirements for track footwear that the NCAA has also adopted. These guidelines now limit any footwear worn to race on the track to just 20 mm of stack. For most runners, this just means no more Vaporfly 10Ks. For some brands (Hoka, for example), it means their superspikes are now ineligible for WA events, and it’s time to get cooking again. And for other brands, like Saucony, it’s just a chance to get right what they should’ve gotten right the first time.

Ever heard of the Saucony Terminal VT? Probably not. It released without a splash about two years ago, and I don’t think I’ve seen it on the feet of a single competitor. It was Saucony’s long-distance spike, the patient sibling of the more popular mid-distance option, Endorphin Cheetah. Recognizable only by its featherweight and forgettability, the Terminal VT listlessly sat on the market for a bit as Saucony focused on more exciting releases like the Endorphin Elite.

Now, in the wake of the Endorphin Elite 2 and the launch of the IncrediRun midsole compound, Saucony has cooked up another long-distance spike that seems to be considerably less of an afterthought. For example, its name doesn’t sound like something you’d get diagnosed with.

The Saucony Endorphin LD is meant to tackle distances from the 1500 m all the way up to the top of the 10K. With a World Athletics-legal stack of IncrediRun, a full-length carbon fiber plate with titanium permanent pins, and the same barely-there mesh upper seen on its Marathon-racing big brother, the Endorphin LD looks to build on the featherweight status of the Terminal VT.

… Except hopefully this time around it’s actually worth running in. Let’s get into it.

What we like about the Saucony Endorphin LD

KALEB: I’ll start this off with vanity: these spikes look fantastic. Saucony brought back the Mutant colorway from five years ago (wow, has it already been five?), and the colors and design of the Endorphin LD are just *chef’s kiss*. There’s probably been one time that Saucony led the pack with aesthetics, and that was during the Mutant lineup. Welcome back, Saucony. Alright, now on to the important stuff.

In a long-distance spike, there’s a delicate balance required between aggression, power, and control. Yes, I want as much snap, crackle, and pop as I can get out of any spike, but if it’s so aggressive it shreds my calves, or so forcibly propulsive that I can’t keep my pace under control in a tactical race, I’ll still run poorly regardless of how much bounce I’m getting underfoot.

The Saucony Endorphin LD manages to get a LOT of power underfoot without creating an aggression issue due to the plate geometry. Many plates are shaped like a spoon, with a U-shaped bulge under the mid-forefoot to really pop you forward (look up a picture of the New Balance MD-X v3 for a good example). This design creates really powerful, springy toe-offs, but it can be a bit rough on the calves in the long run, because the stiffness of your lower leg compresses and loads the plate. It’s great for middle distances (and some swear by it for any distance), but it can take a toll on the legs in a 12- or 25-lap race.

In the Endorpin LD, the curve of the carbon fiber Speedroll plate is a little less dramatic, the plate itself is a tiny bit more flexible, and it is placed in the shoe in such a way that it curves up away from the ground rather than down and up of a more aggressive plate. The back half of the plate, hidden in the foam, scoops upward again to provide leverage from the heel. All of this is a bit hard to describe, but check out the way the Endorphin LD sits flat on the ground with just the toe elevated, then look up a photo of the Nike Dragonfly 2 and see how there is an arch under the back half of the foot as well.

This means in terms of feel and performance that the Saucony Endorphin LD is incredibly comfortable for the long haul while still being energetic. The primary speed comes from increased turnover: rather than a big bounce like the Nike Dragonfly or Hoka Fly X, you’re getting thrown into the next step quicker and quicker by the Speedroll geometry of the plate, and the faster you take those steps, the more power you get out of them, perfect for those flying final laps.

Around the plate, Saucony’s new IncrediRun foam is somehow the softest and one of the most explosive foams I’ve ever had underfoot. How does that work? No clue, though I’m fairly sure unicorns are involved. But the consequence is that I feel like I could take this spike around the track for 3.12 miles and not have beat-up legs, despite the WA-imposed 20 mm stack underfoot. I feel like this spike will shine brightest in the 3k, and can even perform great all the way down to the mile distance, simply because of its tendency to encourage your footfall cadence to go up. This is a spike that wants to go fast. No, faster than that. Speed up.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t cover the rest of the design highlights: the basically-not-there upper wraps the foot like a dream, and completely disappears from the foot as soon as you start running. While I experienced the tiniest bit of puckering in the bootie-integrated tongue, the material is so nice on the foot that I was still able to run sockless in the Endorphin LD without any discomfort (I’ve had to eat my own words from a previous review: I’m willing to race sockless now).

Not everyone will like having permanent spike pins underfoot, but in the name of weight savings, Saucony did it anyway, which I respect. Realistically, the titanium pins and carbon outsole grip will hold up perfectly well and last the full lifetime of the spike as long as you treat it right and keep it on the track — this ain’t a track/XC hybrid by any means. As the follow-up to the Terminal VT, the Endorphin LD remains featherlight: my pair came in under 4.5 oz, which is insane for something with full-length carbon.

What we don’t like about the Saucony Endorphin LD

KALEB: Speedroll is Saucony’s proprietary plate geometry– the shape of the plate– and as I said, it is designed primarily for turnover. Footfall cadence goes up, and as a result, you’re running faster. If you aren’t used to this, it can really screw with your ability to control a pace. I did some 1k track repeats at 5k pace, and when I transitioned from trainers to spikes, the Endorphin LD sent me through 400m a full five seconds ahead of schedule. That’s excessively fast.

On one hand, great, the spike does its job and makes you go zoom. On the other hand, I couldn’t hold that pace for a full workout, and was concerned by my lack of pace control. In the spike’s defense, it’s been a while since I’ve touched race pace, so I went back to the track during my evening session to click off a few 800s and look for control. Once I knew what to expect, I hit the paces I wanted, but in a long, tactical 10-kilometer race, battles are won by being able to ratchet that pace down and burn off the rest of the pack second by second. Take the time to get used to the underfoot feel of the Endorphin LD before you race in it, because this spike wants to get up and go.

Other than that, my only other concern is the price tag. Something something tariffs, something something inflation, etc., etc., I’ll spare you the typical ramble. But the thing’s 190 bucks, so just know what you’re getting into.

Final thoughts on the Saucony Endorphin LD

KALEB: Just like supershoes, superspikes are evolving, and we’re entering a second generation of racers that began with PEBA underfoot and have begun to experiment with even more volatile foam compounds and more finely-tuned plate geometries. The Endorphin LD is the first second-generation superspike I’ve tested, and it has made a great first impression.

As a high-cadence runner, the plate geometry and forward roll of this spike appeal to me, and the fact that my only real concern was that it might work too well is honestly exciting. I’m still exploring the range of middle-to-long distance racing to find where I settle, and it’s always nice to have the right tool for the job. If you’re a high schooler who loves the 1600 and 3200, or a collegiate athlete who runs anything from the mile to the 10k, the Endorphin LD is very much worth checking out now that it’s on shelves.

You can pick up the Saucony Endorphin LD for $190 from Saucony by using the buttons below.