Hi runners, need some recommendation on running shoes.

I haven't been running for a few years now after my 2 kids were born. Even in my earlier days, I was just running around 10-12 km a week.
Recently there was a 3km fun run which my whole family took part, including my kids. They had a good time running, and I see some potential in my eldest. Hence thought of re-starting my running engine. Bad news was during that 3km run, my shoes broke (not the first time). I think it was the first generation Mizuno Wave Prophecy, back then it was quite pricy, but I liked the "bounce" effect it had. Now the plastics of the sole is broken, and I don't think its fixable. And since it has been more than 5 years old (mostly on the shelf), I think it's time to get a new pair of shoes.

Naturally, I looked up the newer versions of the Mizuno Wave Prophecy... and it cost 4 figures, and the reviews were not as good.

So I cam across this site that rates Running shoes based on consumer reviews (https://runrepeat.com/ Not sure if the reviews can be trusted?

This time round I have a little lesser budget, Domestic Finance Minister had only granted a fund of RM 500
Going through the site, here are some of the ones I'm interested:

1. Brookes Ghost 10 - cost a bit over RM 500, but has some good reviews. haven't tried it yet.
2. Pegasus 34 - Within budget. Had a good feel when I tried them on at Nike.
3. UA Charged Bandit 3 - cost a bit over RM 500, had a good feel when I tried them on at UA. Didn't run much with it though (cos my preferred color no size).
4. NB Fresh Foam Cruz - Saw these at NB, didn't try them out, but only cost RM 280 after discount. Promoter said its running shoe, but looks more like the Adidas NMDs type of daily shoes. RunRepeat did categorize them as running shoes as well tempted to get these cos they are cheaper and looks nice.
5. NB Vazee Rush 2 - Not available in Malaysia yet, perhaps next month.

Or are there any other recommendations? I would only be using them for daily running less than 5km (at least for the next 1 year), neutral arch, would prefer something with "energy return" aka boost kinda feel to it, for beginners

Thanks for the recommendations!

Brooks voucher there are 2 from what I can google... RM 180 rebate is only for selected types (excluding Ghosts). The other one is for RM 160 also mentions selected international shoes > Rm 400.. so will need to call up to ask.

Anyone has the RM 160 voucher to let go in Klang valley?

On the Saucony, I think the Freedom ISO has the everun soles, might give it a try if I see them on the shelf.

Thanks, will check them out this weekend.

Hi all, thanks for the generous offer. I've actually received multiple PMs on the free voucher, this is good proof that people here are really generous kudos!
However, I have not tried on Brooks shoes yet, so not sure if they are what I'm looking for yet. On another note, Key Power has up to 30% sales on Brooks, which is calculated to more or less RM 160 discount as well for a pair of Brooks Ghost 10. So will try them out first, hopefully this weekend.

In the meantime, I've tried out Saucony Freedom ISO, Pegasus 34, Adidas Supernova, NB Fresh Foam Cruz, and ON Cloudflow today

And I tend to lean toward ON Cloudflow for their CouldTec (kinda similar to my old Mizuno Prophecy), and I love the energy return it gives and the lightweight of that shoe. Anyone has any feedback/experience on this ON shoe?

Unfortunately, the price seems to be on the higher side, can get it slightly under RM 500 if I manage to get 2 other items at Running Lab. Yet to try Brook's Ghost 10, so let's see how they compare.

Decided on the ON Cloudflow, together with wife so we each got a pair!
Manage to get it at RM 495 based on the 20% from running lab as well.

Yeah man! Was so excited this morning for the "first run"... thought my muscles will still have the memory of running a few years back, so did a quick run after some simple stretching session...
bottom of my foot started to ache around 1.5km into the run, perhaps a little too intense for my feet after a long break, or could be the shoes

Guess my engine need to start a bit slowly after the super loooong years of break read somewhere when picking up running again, majority of the first few session had to be more on walking to get muscles back into the form and some short runs in between.

According to this site RunRepeat, shoes with the top run scores are from Adidas, Brooks, UA, Nike and Ultra.
That is all from experts and customer's feedbacks though.

The Pegasus 34, Brooks Ghost 10, and UA Charged Bandit were really not bad when I tested them though...
Didn't quite like the Adidas UA for running, its comfy but didn't feel like a running shoe.

No problem, the ratings are purely based on feedback/reviews though... Reviewing the feedback is good to get a better understanding on the shoes, but I still believe on trying them out first before judging them by the score.
I'm running with ON Cloudflow, just got it a few weeks ago
Was very close to getting Pegasus and Ghost 10 though...

Hi, what's your budget like?
For Neutral, perhaps try Pegasus 34, On Cloudflow, UA Charged Bandit, Brooks Ghost 10.

You would be surprised with UA charged bandit, go give it a try.
unfortunately non of the ones I recommended are in that budget range, perhaps Pegasus 33, or the older batches of Pegasus 34.