After decades of running, I’d started to dread the routine. My legs felt heavy, my attention drifted, and getting out of bed seemed more appealing than getting outside. Three days in On’s Cloudsurfer 3 gave me a reason to reconsider: its unusually soft ride made running feel easier, and more enjoyable, again.
I took the shoes through New York City parks, stairs, and hills to see how their cushioning held up beyond an easy jog. The change was noticeable from the first run, though the extra height underfoot took some getting used to.
Day 1: An Easy Run Goes Long
After a couple of rest days, I planned a short, easy outing. The Cloudsurfer 3 felt far more cushioned than the shoes I usually run in. Its mesh upper wrapped snugly around my foot, while standing in the shoe made me feel taller than expected.
That height seemed to promise a softer landing, thanks to the Surreal™ superfoam in the midsole and the outsole’s shape. The real test came with the first few strides. The ride felt light and smooth, and my gait settled into a rhythm I hadn’t felt in a while. I kept running long past my planned distance, finishing 5.25 miles with little sense of effort.
My legs still felt good at home, too. Even post-run yoga passed without the usual groans. For a shoe I’d only just started wearing, that was a striking first impression.
Day 2: Stairs and Short Intervals
I woke up feeling better than I typically do after my first run of the week. There were no familiar aches, and I’d even dreamed about running the night before. I set out for a short route to the Bethesda Fountain stairs in Central Park, with hills along the way.
The stairs made the cushioning’s spring easier to notice. My footfalls felt bouncy on the way down, and the shoes let me lift my knees higher on the climb. The effort was still intense: my heart rate and perceived exertion both put the workout at an 8 or 9 out of 10.
On the uphill walk-run back home, I felt the shoe’s rolling motion more clearly. The climb seemed more manageable, and my heart rate settled sooner. I left the park feeling good enough to add streetlight intervals, alternating between running and sprinting from one light to the next.
Day 3: Harlem Hill
My next running dream was about Harlem Hill. The 0.3-mile climb reaches close to an 8 percent grade at the top and averages about 4.5 percent. I hadn’t run it since a half-marathon more than a year earlier, but the previous two days had made me curious about how the Cloudsurfer 3 would handle a longer incline.
The switchbacks down to the hill’s base felt controlled. My steps rolled from heel to toe, and I didn’t feel as if I were pounding the pavement. Climbing back up demanded more effort than the previous day, as you’d expect, but the shoe’s forward roll seemed to help keep me moving.
I reached the top winded, though my legs and glutes felt less spent than I remembered from earlier attempts. The rest of the run came easily. My average pace was 45 seconds per mile faster than on day one, a notable result across routes that differed in difficulty.
Three runs won’t establish what a shoe can do for every runner, but this test changed how I felt about getting out the door. The Cloudsurfer 3’s soft cushioning and rolling ride helped make easy miles, stairs, and a demanding hill feel more manageable. For me, that was enough to bring the pleasure back into the routine.
Carey Rossi is the Senior News Editor for Prevention and Prevention.com. You can follow her @CareyRossi.
