I bought the New Balance Pacer v2 with my own hard earned money. Not so much for the purpose of review, more as a training and racing shoe. However, with New Balance I agreed to write and publish this review. I will try to do the best and give you my honest opinion of the shoe.
Before I will write about the shoe a few facts about me, that are important for the review. I’m mostly a half marathon and marathon runner. My latest marathon time is 3.28 and my latest half marathon time 1.35. I’m a heel to mid foot striker, 186 cm high and 72 kilograms.
Story behind the New Balance SC Pacer v2
The shoe is built for road racing and features lightweight performance technology made to take your running up a notch. It was developed and build for elite marathon runner Emily Sisson.
New Balance has two road racing shoes in their lineup. Besides the Pacer v2 also the Elite v4. I will try to my best not comparing the Pacer v2 to the Elite v4 in this review. I will write a comparison between the two shoes in a separate article. If you are interested in the Elite v4, you can find my review of the shoe if you click on the link: New Balance SC Elite v4 review
Can a shoe, designed for an elite marathon runner also work for us, amateur runner? Let’s find out.
Let’s find out more about the New Balance SC Pacer v2
Till today I ran 120 kilometers in the shoe. Before I write a shoe review, I normally do quite some runs in the shoes I test and review. From easy recovery runs up to tempo runs, intervals and a long run. Since this is a road racing shoe I also tested it in my last half marathon.
To recap my runs in the shoe: 1 recovery run, 2 easy runs, 1 interval session with 500m repeats, 1 interval session with 1k and 200m repeats, 2 longruns (both 20k) and a half marathon.
Fit of the shoe
New Balance sizing can be a bit tricky. While their training shoes fit true to size, the racing shoes run a bit short. Therefore I suggest you go half a size up in the New Balance Pacer v2. The upper hugs the foot nicely. I had to play around a bit with the lacing to find a good lockdown. From some runners I heard, that they experienced some heel rubbing but I have no issue with that. I have normal wide feet but I think that even runners with wider feet will have no problem with the shoe.
It’s a racing shoe. We all know, that not all racing shoes are comfortable. However, I found the Pacer comfortable. Had no blisters or hot spots during my runs in the shoe. Even during my two longruns and the half marathon the shoe felt great.
The tongue is not gusseted. It has some padding at the top so there is no pressure from the laces. Once you get the tongue in place it stays there. The upper material is very thin, with a lot of little holes. So no need to worry about overheating.
All in all it’s a modern race day upper. It’s not plush but still provides good comfort.
Performance of the shoe
First a bit about the midsole. For a lot of runner the most important part of a running shoe. The Midsole of the New Balance Pacer v4 is a PEBA based FuelCell with a full length carbon plate. On my first two runs, a recovery run and an easy run, when I was running at slower paces it felt good. But it’s a race shoe and when I picked up the pace I could feel, what the shoe really is about.
On my first interval session in the shoe I found that I could easily hold a good pace for the whole duration of the interval. The shoe is light and very snappy. I wouldn’t say it has a lot of bounce. But once you get on the forefoot it transitions really fast and propels you forward. It almost felt, that the shoe wanted me to run faster.
During my two longruns in the shoe, both with some faster segments, I had absolutely no issue picking up the pace in the kilometers I was supposed to run faster. Despite the fact, that the midsole of the shoe is not as high as in other racing shoes, my legs felt fine after both of the runs.
While running my last half marathon, I was happy that I picked the New Balance SC Pacer v2 as my race day shoe. Through the first few kilometers I found a nice rhythm and the shoe kept me moving forward nicely. After the 12 kilometer mark I picked up the pace and the shoe was supporting my faster running. It was not a strange sensation, the shoe felt very natural and I felt I was in control of the shoe the whole time.
The Pacer v2 has a lower midsole than marathon racing shoes. It was developed with a professional marathon runner but I think, it’s best to be used from 5k up to the half marathon distance. Therefore the shoe feels more stable and since less midsole foam, the ride feels more direct.
There is enough rubber on the outsole to protect the midsole foam and to provide grip. While the forefoot has quite a lot of rubber, there is less in the heel. After the runs I did so far in the shoe, there are no signs of use on the outsole. The grip is best described as sticky, even on wet roads. And because the shoe has quite a wide platform and a medium stack hight, it is very stable while running through corners, even at faster paces.
How will I use the shoe
I’m about to start a marathon training block in a few weeks. The New Balance Pacer v2 will be my go to running shoe for my interval sessions and maybe even some of my tempo runs or longruns with marathon effort. If I will enter a 5k, 10k or half marathon race in the near future, I will also pick the New Balance SC Pacer v2 as my race day shoe.
The shoe can handle many different paces but I’m not going to use it on my recovery and easy runs. There are better running shoes out there to do that job. If you are looking for shoe recommendations in the New Balance lineup I would pick the 1080 as my recovery run shoe and the Rebel as my easy run shoe.
Would I recommend the New Balance SC Pacer v2
If you are looking for a lightweight and fast running shoe. If you are mostly racing 5k to half marathon races and need a shoe, that you can use on your interval sessions and tempo runs, my answer would be yes.
However, if you are looking for one shoe, that can do it all, I don’t think the Pacer v2 is the right choice. In such a case I would pick a shoe with a slightly firmer midsole, maybe even one without a carbon plate, like the New Balance Rebel or Trainer.
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