More than just a mirage

I make no bones about my love for Saucony shoes (and apparel, can't forget apparel). And over the past few years I've been fortunate enough to test out some new pairs and was even able to try out the Kinvara 3 before most other people not associated with Saucony. I've run in Kinvaras, Triumphs, Hurricanes, Cortanas, Guides, and Hattoris. I've run in several iterations of some of those shoes. It's kind of hard to keep up with any running shoe company these days, but I like to think I know my Saucony.

Out of all the Saucony shoes in which I've run I've had the most success in one model. I've run everything from speedwork to half marathons in them and they've always performed well. That model is the Mirage. You can see what I've thought about it in the past here, here, here, here, and here. The Mirage is up to its third iteration and I was fortunate enough to get a pair to test. How did the new shoe do?


Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp looking shoe...
I put these shoes through a three-part test.

Part I: Three mile treadmill run

I always like to put a new pair of shoes on a treadmill so if something goes wrong I'm not a mile or two away from home. The big test for this very first run is to see if the balls of my feet get a little hot with friction. It's something that happens with many new pairs of shoes and it doesn't indicate a bad shoe for me. It just shows the shoe may take a little while to get used to. The Mirage 3 got me through the three mile treadmill test without feeling those hot spots.

Verdict: Success!

Part II: Three mile outdoor run

If all goes well on the treadmill I hit the road. In this case, I went about 3.5 miles on a breezy and cool Saturday morning. I've been slowly recovering from injury so I wasn't running as fast as I'd like, but it wasn't because of the shoes. My feet felt light and they could have gone a lot further than my lungs.

Verdict: Success!

Part III: Speedwork

If I can run indoors well and if I can run outdoors well in a pair of shoes then I put them to the real test: Running fast for short bursts. I need a shoe that's light enough and responsive enough to allow me to run fast while huffing for air and not make me feel like I'm being weighed down by my feet. I didn't really attempt anything too brutal, but 3 miles that included 4 X 400M at 5K pace could not have gone much better. Well, I guess I could have sweat less.

Verdict: Success!


Hello, ladies.
With performance out of the way let's worry about the important thing in regards to the Mirage 3: looks. The Mirage 3 is a sharp looking shoe, but there's all kinds of technical wizardry included in pair. Things like a FlexFilm covered upper, ProGrid heel, and XT-900 rubber outsole. I don't know what any of that means because I'm just a running moron, but it all works to make a really nice performing, and looking, shoe.


The original Mirage on the left, the Mirage 3 on the right. My, look how you've grown!
My one little problem with the Mirage 3 is that it fits just a little small. I wear a size 10.5 and while the Mirage 3 in that size fits I'd probably like to see what a size 11 feels like. However, even with the snugger fit my toes don't feel bunched up and that's what matters most to me.

In sum, I like the Saucony Mirage 3. If you try it I think you might too.