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40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

HOKA Skyward Xvs
New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4

Skyward X

£190

Typical street price · £225 RRP

■ 48mm — over limit
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4

£157

Typical street price · £190 RRP

■ 47mm — over limit

Choose the Skyward X if…

  • You want something more forgiving. This is the steadier platform — useful if your form goes late, or if you are on your feet longer.
  • You want more races out of one pair: about 700km of competitive life against 650km.

Choose the FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4 if…

  • You want the bigger return: 2.4–3.5% economy gain against 1.6–2.8%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You want the lighter shoe: 269g against 314g, a 45g difference you will feel late in a race.
  • You race off a strong, repeatable stride and want the more aggressive ride rather than the safer one.
  • Money matters: it is selling around £157 against £190, and the time difference between them is smaller than the price difference suggests.

What does this
mean for you?

Every figure below is recalculated from your race and your current time. The gap between two shoes is not fixed — it grows with how long you are on your feet.

Over marathon from 3:45:00

Time back
Skyward X: 56s–138sFuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4: 111s–186s
Cost per second saved
Skyward X: £0.18FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4: £0.10

Ranges, not promises. Both figures are against a standard trainer, and the honest answer for most runners is that the difference between two shoes of this class is smaller than the difference a month of decent training makes.

Every number.

010203040504843
Skyward X
010203040504741
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4

What you pay

Street price
Skyward X£190
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£157■

What the shoe is actually selling for across the shops we read, not its RRP.

RRP
Skyward X£225
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£190

List price. Almost nobody pays it for a race shoe.

Cost per race
Skyward X£17
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£15■

Street price divided by the races the foam stays fast for.

Cost per second saved
Skyward X£0.18
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£0.10■

The whole-life question: what each second of race time costs you.

What it does

Estimated saving
Skyward X56s–138s
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4111s–186s■

Against a standard trainer, over the distance and time set above.

Economy gain
Skyward X1.6–2.8%
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v42.4–3.5%■
Built for
Skyward XMarathon · Ultra
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4Marathon · Ultra
Best use case
Skyward XA cushioned plated trainer built for comfort over long, slow miles rather than speed.
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4A max-stack plated trainer that makes easy miles feel effortless. Beloved for long runs.

How it is built

Weight
Skyward X314 g
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4269 g■

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
Skyward X48 mm
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v447 mm
Stack (forefoot)
Skyward X43 mm
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v441 mm
Drop
Skyward X5 mm
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v46 mm
Foam
Skyward XPEBA over EVA
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4PEBA FuelCell
Plate
Skyward Xcarbon fibre
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4carbon fibre

Rules and fit

Road legal
Skyward XNo (48 mm)
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4No (47 mm)

World Athletics caps road racing shoes at 40 mm of stack.

Fit
Skyward Xwide
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4wide
Stability
Skyward Xstable
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4balanced

Neither is better in the abstract — it depends on your stride.

Race life
Skyward X~700 km■
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4~650 km

How long the foam stays fast, not how long the shoe survives.

Data confidence
Skyward Xverified
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4verified

■ marks the better figure where one is genuinely better. Fit, foam, drop and stability carry no mark — they depend on your foot and your stride, not on which shoe is superior.

In your size.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£185at Alexandra Sports — £40 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£157at Amphibianking — £33 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.