I recently won a pair of the Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic running shoes, from the Run For Singapore contest, which was organised by RunSociety. 

For the contest, we had been tasked with forming teams of three and members of the top three teams with the most run mileage from 9th-31st August, would each walk away with a pair of the shoes. My team came in as the champions, clocking 705.46km within the challenge period.

And I was quite excited when I found out that my team had won, because even though I had heard quite a lot about them, I’d never actually owned a pair of Under Armour shoes before. So I was eager to find out what they would be like to run with.

Shoes are a ‘game changer’

This was all the more so with the Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic shoes, as these particular shoes are described as being a ‘game changer’ in running, providing runners with a light and responsive ride with a breathable, structured knit on top that locks the foot in.

I collected my Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic shoes in the Grey Charcoal colour, late last month, and since then, I have clocked a few runs with these, with the longest run being about 10km, to date.

And so far I have found the shoes to be quite comfortable to wear, and to clock run miles with.

Lightweight 

One of the first things that I noticed about the shoes when I took them out of the box, is that they are quite light, at 225 grams for the women’s model.

Neutral colour tones

Appearance wise, these shoes look like a simple and unassuming pair of sneakers that many will probably not take a second glance at. 

But with their neutral colour tones too, the Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic shoes will blend in well with most colours of clothing, without looking out of place at all.

Comfortable 

And when I slipped my feet into the shoes, they felt quite comfortable, too. 

Breathable 

This is because the material used to make the shoe is a flat knit weave and I found this to be very breathable and dry, especially in Singapore’s hot and humid weather. I found that the material really helped me to keep my feet dry, even towards the end of my longer runs.

On the flip side though, the knit weave mesh material may not be suitable during rainy weather such as tropical thunderstorms though. 

Fortunately I have not been caught in an actual storm yet with the shoes on, but I have taken them out in the drizzling weather, with both my socks and feet felt slightly damp by the end of such a run.

That said though, the upper of the shoes feel quite solid and are not stretchable, meaning that the shoes should be able to last and hold their shape up well over time.

Suitable for wide feet 

The shoes are also true to size and I also found that there is also plenty of room in the toe box for my feet to wriggle around, with half a finger width of spacing between the edge of the shoe and my big toe.

As my feet are moderately sized, this means that those who have wide feet would be quite interested to check out this running shoe.

And also, this means that there is plenty of room in the shoes for the feet to expand during longer runs too.

Springy and responsive 

Running with the Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic shoes is also quite a pleasant experience. 

This is because the shoes are springy and responsive thanks to the HOVR™ foam technology which is described by Under Armour as giving runners a ‘zero gravity feel’ – to maintain energy return and eliminate impact and giving back the energy that you put in, at the same time.

And I could indeed feel this springiness at work when I was running, especially during a recent track training session with Coached. 

The shoes are also great in terms of absorbing ground contact, so my knees and shins did not ache at all towards the end of my runs; sometimes when I wear older shoes that have almost lost their cushioning, I can feel the aches. But this was certainly not the case though, with the new Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic shoes.

So I found that these are great shoes if you want to run fast – as such, they are good for speed work and short to medium distance running races, or else whenever you need to pile on some speed.

I found that the shoes also fit the feet very snugly thanks to the Ortholite® sock-liner that moulds itself to the foot. So as a result, I did not need to worry at all about the shoes getting loose when I am in the middle of a run. 

It can be really annoying when a pair of sports shoes start flopping around halfway when I am running, so it was great to find that the Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic shoes are secure and that they stick to my feet.

Lack of cushioning 

But I found that there is a lack of cushioning though, and the cushioning that is present in the shoe feels somewhat stiff. 

There is a heel cup in the shoe, but this is soft and flexible, so it does not really offer the feet much protection. And there is also the presence of a layer of midsole that somewhat helps to hold the mid-foot in place.

I have not tried clocking my long runs in these shoes, because personally, I generally prefer something that has more cushioning and protection for my long training sessions.

The shoes do not have an arch structure or bridge, which makes them suited to neutral runners, but if you over-pronate or under-pronate though, then this may not be the shoes for you.

Where to get the shoes

The Under Armour HOVR™ Sonic running shoes cost S$179 and they are available at Under Armour stores and distributors across Singapore.