New Balance Fresh Foam 980

Name: New Balance Fresh Foam 980
Brand: New Balance
Rating: 4.2 (30 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 8.6 oz · 25/21mm stack · 4mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock.

How it ranks

The New Balance Fresh Foam 980 trails most daily trainers in our data. Looks and value are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating is based on 30 runner reviews.

Bottom-tier

Overall

Bottom-tier 54

Appearance

Decent 73

Value

Decent 72

Comfort

Below average 65

Durability

Below average 60

Cushioning

Bottom-tier 55

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence is low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

Confidence

95 Very high

Very high 95

Based on

The bars show roughly how much each source contributes to this shoe’s rating. Their influence depends on how many reviews we’ve collected, how many earlier versions are in the product line, and the external ratings available.

Brand rating
Our ratings
External ratings

What runners say

“Rubber is way too soft and wears out very quickly—no rubber left in toe area by around 100 miles.”

3/5 Full review 75 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance 890 v2

“Two rubbed forefoot near the toe line, causing deep cuts and heavy bleeding during runs.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw 652 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon

“Feels nearly as responsive as the Kinvaras and much more comfortable for longer runs.”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a marathon

“Lacks traction—running on well-maintained gravel or trails feels much more slippery than traditional shoes.”

4/5 Full review 15 mpw training for a marathon

“Much firmer than marketed—translates to a snappy, up-tempo shoe good for daily runs and speed work.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for ultramarathons came from the ASICS GEL-Lyte 33 3

“Outsole is thin and starting to wear into midsole on outer edge by around 175-200 miles.”

4/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Moderate to firm ride, needs a little breaking in—once done, fantastic shoe handling pavement, trails and tempos.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw

“First shoe I genuinely looked forward to putting on and running in.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw 652 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon

“Like a minimalist shoe thanks to the 4mm drop and lighter weight, but with some nice cushion underneath.”

4/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Low drop and low weight for a trainer, not as soft as advertised, but has a great ride.”

4/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Because it was so firm, runs over about 75 minutes were a little more exhausting than they should have been.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for ultramarathons came from the ASICS GEL-Lyte 33 3

“Shoes wear quickly, particularly towards the toes.”

5/5 Full review training for a marathon

“Very comfortable shoe for everything from tempo runs to long runs.”

5/5 Full review training for a marathon

“Soft with a squishy sole, good for frequent pavement running.”

4/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a marathon

“Fits narrow—wide width needed to accommodate.”

4/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Super versatile, light, with plush cushion.”

4/5 Full review 85 mpw training for a marathon came from the Mizuno Wave Rider 17

“Sole heats up at faster speeds.”

4/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance came from the Altra Instinct 2.0

Prefer this shoe over another

45% 9/20

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 22.

Pros

Reviewers rate comfort 4.6 out of 5 and use it across long runs, daily miles and speed work.
Three reviewers describe it as light with a low drop.
Reviewers rate value 4.3 out of 5, and it lists at $110, below the $150 median for daily trainers for sale.

Cons

Reviewers rate durability 3.7 out of 5, and three report the soft toe rubber wearing through, one at about 100 miles across several pairs.
Two reviewers find the ride firmer than advertised and tiring past about 75 minutes.
One of thirty reviewers so far finds it slippery on gravel and dirt.

Fresh Foam 980 rates 54. This shoe has very high confidence. See how we rate shoes.

Runner Ratings

30 ratings

5/5 7

4/5 21

3/5 2

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 8.6 oz
Men's / women's: Men's 9.1 oz · Women's 8.1 oz
Release: 2014
MSRP: $110
Stack: 25/21mm
Drop: 4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Feb 24, 2016

80 mpw came from the Brooks Ravenna 6

Comfort: 4/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

4/5

Overall

Ajmiac · Jul 21, 2015

40 mpw training for a marathon

Comfort: 4/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 4/5

4/5

Overall

Perfect.

Anonymous runner · Jun 4, 2015

40 mpw

Comfort: 4/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 4/5

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · May 11, 2015

15 mpw came from the Brooks Pure Cadence 1

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 4/5

4/5

Overall

Didn't ride exactly like I thought it would. Much firmer than it was marketed as. But what that actually translated to was a snappy, up-tempo shoe good for daily runs and speed work. Because it was so firm, runs over about 75 min were a little more exhausting than they should have been.

sbdirtrunner · Apr 20, 2015

50 mpw training for ultramarathons came from the ASICS GEL-Lyte 33 3