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40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

New Balance FuelCell SC Elite v5vs
Saucony Endorphin Elite 2

FuelCell SC Elite v5

£135

Typical street price · £250 RRP

40mm — on the limit
Endorphin Elite 2

£149

Typical street price · £250 RRP

39.5mm — on the limit

Choose the FuelCell SC Elite v5 if…

  • You want the bigger return: 3.3–4.5% economy gain against 3–4.2%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You want the lighter shoe: 182g against 199g, a 17g difference you will feel late in a race.
  • 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 have a broad foot, or your toes spread as a long race goes on.

Choose the Endorphin Elite 2 if…

  • You race off a strong, repeatable stride and want the more aggressive ride rather than the safer one.
  • You want a conventional fit rather than a narrow or wide last.

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
FuelCell SC Elite v5: 172s–253sEndorphin Elite 2: 152s–233s
Cost per second saved
FuelCell SC Elite v5: £0.16Endorphin Elite 2: £0.20

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.

010203040504036
FuelCell SC Elite v5
0102030405039.531.5
Endorphin Elite 2

What you pay

Street price
FuelCell SC Elite v5£135■
Endorphin Elite 2£149

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

RRP
FuelCell SC Elite v5£250
Endorphin Elite 2£250

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

Cost per race
FuelCell SC Elite v5£34■
Endorphin Elite 2£39

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

Cost per second saved
FuelCell SC Elite v5£0.16■
Endorphin Elite 2£0.20

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

What it does

Estimated saving
FuelCell SC Elite v5172s–253s■
Endorphin Elite 2152s–233s

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

Economy gain
FuelCell SC Elite v53.3–4.5%■
Endorphin Elite 23–4.2%
Built for
FuelCell SC Elite v5Half · Marathon
Endorphin Elite 2Half · Marathon
Best use case
FuelCell SC Elite v5The best super shoe for wide feet, and one of the most stable at full stack. A 4mm drop and a broad platform make it unusually forgiving late in a marathon.
Endorphin Elite 2Superseded by the Elite 3, which means it is now one of the best-value top-end racers you can find if you catch it discounted.

How it is built

Weight
FuelCell SC Elite v5182 g■
Endorphin Elite 2199 g

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
FuelCell SC Elite v540 mm
Endorphin Elite 239.5 mm
Stack (forefoot)
FuelCell SC Elite v536 mm
Endorphin Elite 231.5 mm
Drop
FuelCell SC Elite v54 mm
Endorphin Elite 28 mm
Foam
FuelCell SC Elite v5PEBA FuelCell
Endorphin Elite 2IncrediRUN
Plate
FuelCell SC Elite v5carbon fibre
Endorphin Elite 2carbon fibre

Rules and fit

Road legal
FuelCell SC Elite v5Yes (40 mm)
Endorphin Elite 2Yes (39.5 mm)

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

Fit
FuelCell SC Elite v5wide
Endorphin Elite 2standard
Stability
FuelCell SC Elite v5stable
Endorphin Elite 2balanced

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

Race life
FuelCell SC Elite v5~250 km■
Endorphin Elite 2~240 km

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

Data confidence
FuelCell SC Elite v5verified
Endorphin Elite 2verified

■ 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£135at Runningbear — £115 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£149at Startfitness — £101 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.