Nike Zoom Elite vs. Saucony Kinvara2

The Kinvara is pretty soft and minimal, I think the better match would be a Lunar Montreal (MTL). It is soft and light-weight like the Kinvara.

http://www.zappos.com/images/z/1/8/1/9/6/4/1819645-p-DETAILED.jpg

I train a lot in the Elites though and like them very much, but if you are looking for something as close as possible to the Kinvaara, go with the Montreal.

The lunar Montreal would have been a good choice but it is now discontinued. You will be able to find them for a little while longer but your coach probably won't be able to get you them in the fall. I would look at the lunar racer now.

The Elite is wider than the Kinvara.

The toe-box of the Elite is actually pretty wide. The shoe is designed to have a more narrow fit in the heel, but leave plenty of room for the toes to splay out a bit in the forefoot.

The Elite weighs a good 2 ounces more than the Kinvara, but should last longer and provide more cushioning underneath the ball of the foot. It is one of Nike's only performance runners that places it's zoom air unit in the front rather than under the heel of the shoe. It's designed with a midfoot strike in mind, but also has a higher heel-toe offset than the Kinvara (10mm v. 4mm)

Bottom line is that it's a lot more shoe than the Kinvara, but is as close as Nike will get to that shoe in a full-time trainer. It you want to go the racing flat direction, you will want to try the Montreal...I'd upsize half a size from the Kinvara 2 if you go that direction.