There are times when the cheapest shoe in the store is actually a good option.

Walking into REI the weekend after Thanksgiving was a blessing in disguise, as there were a few pairs of running shoes on clearance, and the Saucony Ride 16 just so happened to be one of them. After trying them out and walking around the store, they felt comfy enough for me to cave in and buy them. As it turns out, this shoe is actually a pretty popular training shoe option among the running community.

Now, I’m not the foremost leading expert on running shoes, but as a board-certified orthopaedic physical therapist who’s been running and road cycling for the majority of my life, I’ve spent a lot of time studying what makes up a good, comfortable shoe. 

After putting a few training runs into these shoes, here are my thoughts on why this shoe may work well for you.

The Shoe Fits Well and Feels Very Comfy

My number 1 rule of choosing the right running shoe is that it needs to feel comfortable while running.

Thanks to the guys over at www.doctorsofrunning.com and some recent research, there are 5 things to consider when trying on a shoe:

1. How comfortable the heel fits under your foot
2. How comfortable the forefoot (front) fits under your foot
3. How stable the shoe feels
4. How flexible the front of the shoe is
5. How comfortable the overall shoe feels on your foot (especially the top)

When I initially put these shoes on, I liked how it conformed to my heel, the sides of my feet, and my toes without feeling constricting. This is likely due to its higher sidewalls, giving you the feeling that your foot sits into the shoe instead of on it. It’s also got what Saucony describes as a neutral level of support: it’s arch isn’t overly pronounced as to push my foot outward with each stride.

Everyone’s foot has different widths, and the Ride 16 is nice because it comes in a wide version for flat-footed folks (like me). Unfortunately, REI didn’t have the wide version in stock, but surprisingly, my wide feet still don’t feel constricted. Sure, I could have used a little more room for my toes to wiggle, but I still feel like the snugness around my midfoot and forefoot was just right.

Overall, the Ride 16 fits nice and snug with enough room for my feet, making it great for clocking in the miles on your runs or even on your Disney park days.

The Shoes Gave Me a Comfortable Stride with Enough Stiffness to Pick up the Pace

Running in these shoes felt very natural.

The shoe’s PWRRUN foam midsole was flexible enough to conform to my specific running style, allowing my foot to move freely. This means that my foot was able to flex where it needed to, and it didn’t feel like my foot was forced to move too far in or out with each stride. 

And despite its flexibility, the XT-900 rubber outsole gives it enough stiffness for solid energy transfer when picking up the pace. What does this mean for you? The design of this shoe makes it flexible enough to allow your feet to move as they want to without feeling constrained with each step. Its stiffness also makes it a solid choice to do some races in. For the casual runner who prefers not to buy multiple pairs of running shoes, this makes the Ride 16 a great shoe choice for multiple run settings.

And with an offset (AKA heel-toe drop) of 8mm, this shoe works well with most runners who strike the ground with their heel. It’s also got a moderate rocker mechanism to it, which likely contributes to its efficient energy transfer for faster speeds. And finally, with all that it offers, it’s also quite light!

Overall, the Ride 16 was a shoe that I forgot about while running, and that’s a great thing.

Saucony advertises their Ride 16 as a neutral daily trainer and I feel this shoe is just that: a solid training shoe to put the miles in but is also stiff enough for speed workouts and casual racing. And that makes sense because Saucony also recommends this shoe for daily runs, workouts, and even casual movement – making them a solid choice to walk in the Disney parks all day. In fact, you’re likely going to forget that these shoes were ever on your feet toward the end of a Disney park day.

Need a training, racing, and all-day-walking shoe? The Saucony Ride 16 might actually be it.