ATTQOTD: I went through a lot of searching to find my brand. I have a combination of fairly flat feet, but I supinate/underpronate. So, I need a more neutral shoe even though my foot structure might suggest something more towards the stability side of things.
I used to run in Nike Pegasus in high school cross country, but I've never gone back to Nike as an adult runner. I started out with NB 1080 in 2014 and early 2015, which did not work. I then switched to some Asics Nimbus for the rest of early 2015 up to Tinker Bell in May, but I really did not like them and had already started a search for something else during the training. I tried a pair of Hoka One One Bondis, but they were way too narrow and at that stack height, I felt like I was going to roll an ankle just walking in my hallway because my foot was pushing out towards the edge.
After Tinker Bell, I immediately started running in some Altra Olympus to try them out, because of the foot shape/wide toe box thing. The original Olympus model was not quite as aggressive with the treads as the current models... it was closer to a hybrid road and easy trails shoe. The zero drop thing has never really been a factor in my decision to use them, although I do tend to like lower drop shoes. My favorite shoes that I used to use at the gym all the time for HIIT workouts or step aerobics or kick boxing classes were some NB Minimus 3090, which had a very low cushion and a 4mm drop. I bought up so many pairs of the 3090 in a lot of colors before they disappeared forever. I still have some that are relatively unworn even though the last pair I was able to find was in 9/2014.
The Olympuses were really just supposed to be my test run into Altra, I had been planning to see if I liked the shoe in general (shape, make sure the zero drop thing didn't affect me, etc) and then move to the Paradigm, but at the time the original model of the Paradigm was still expensive and I could get the Olympus on Left Lane Sports for like $45 a pair, so I bought 3 more pairs of those and wore those from Spring 2015 through to Spring 2017.
I moved to my first pair of Paradigms in Spring 2017 with a pair of the women's 3.0 version, but was NOT happy with them. They were so narrow and the uppers had this weird puckering in spots. I did train in them and used them up through early 2018, but I was not going to start training for my Spring 2018 HM in them. But the 4.0 version was not scheduled to come out until summer, and I needed something in the meantime, so I got some men's 3.0. Normally I hate buying men's shoes, but they had a solid black model that looked close to the women's one. They've been ok, much better than the women's, but there's just something off about that 3.0 version shape/width. The men's version fits like the women's should have.
I never ended up getting any of the 4.0's when they came out later in 2018. I am still running in that pair of men's 3.0's, because I really haven't been running much at all since my last race in August 2018, and now the 4.5's are coming out in a month or two, so I'll just wait for those.
I am definitely an Altra fan, though. I not only run on the roads in the Paradigm, but I also use: the Solstice at Orangetheory or dog agility indoor on matting (they are very low cushion, which I like for weightlifting and rowing... it's not ideal for running but the treadmills are very soft at OTF and I don't usually get more than 1-2 miles in a class), the Superior 4.0 (trail running shoe) for dog agility on dirt/grass/turf, and I have a pair of Escalantes for casual wear. I wish I could wear the Escalantes for Orangetheory or agility on matting, but the knit upper has just a bit too much give to it and my foot feels like it slides around when I plant my foot to change directions.
