I love zero-drop shoes… In fact, that’s all I run in these days. I ran the Zion Half in Altra Intuition and was alternating between those and the Brooks PureDrift for all of my runs. But the Altras have lived their whole life span and are ready to be retired. I was torn on what I wanted to replace them with… try the Intuition 1.5 (I had the 1) or something different.

At that point, a box showed up on my doorstep that contained the Saucony Virrata, Saucony’s newest entry in their natural motion lineup. Zero drop with more cushioning than my other shoes, which sounds like a good choice for longer runs when there is a little more pounding on the joints.

The Virrata are bright, bold and fun in appearance. I really like the way they look. But it doesn’t matter how good a shoe looks if it doesn’t feel good, right? I mean, you can wear an ugly shoe if it feels good (which, if I’m going to be honest… the Altra Intuition 1.0 kind of fell into that). They’re lightweight and feel good while running, the extra cushioning is pretty nice! They come in a bunch of fun colors and they retail for just $90! Outstanding price!

Recently the Virrata was named a “Gear of the Year” award winner by Outside Magazine.

“The Virrata is a gateway shoe—and a potent one. On one hand, it’s a zero-drop trainer, meaning it’s perfectly flat for midfoot strikers, and the upper is built like a minimalist slipper—almost no overlays, just a touch of a heel counter, and barely anything but laces and mesh. But unlike other zero-drop shoes, this one has a thick midsole, much more like a traditional road shoe or Saucony’s 2010 ‘Gear of the Year’–winning Kinvara. That means it encourages the biomechanics of flat-foot running without stinging on concrete. It’s effortlessly smooth, light—a mere 6.5 ounces—and supremely comfortable. The first shoe we’ve seen that makes zero-drop running seem almost … easy. And value? You can’t get a better shoe at this price.”

I’m extremely happy with the Virrata. When I started moving into more minimal shoes I loved the Saucony Kinvara for a couple generations before I moved to zero drop. I still love my Brooks PureDrift though too, I think having both of them in my shoe wardrobe is pretty complementary, as the PureDrift is a little more connected to the ground with less cushioning.

Thank you Saucony for letting me try these, I see them becoming a vital part of my training wardrobe!