By Kieran Alger
If there’s one piece of running kit that you really need to get right, it’s your running shoes. Finding the right footwear can transform your daily miles. Not to mention help you ace your race day goals.
Heck, for many of us, knowing we’ve got comfy shoes to take care of business can be the difference between getting out of the front door or not. However, with so many brands, so many styles and more tech jargon than an AI conference, it can be hard to choose the best running shoes for you.
I’ll be updating this regularly if and when better shoes land. But for now, from cushioned easy-run shoes, to all-out carbon racers and do-it-all daily trainers, here’s my tried and tested pick of the best running shoes you can lace up right now.
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Luckily I’ve logged hundreds of test miles in many of the latest shoes and I’m here to help you whittle down the winners from the also-rans. To make things easier, I’ve lined them up in categories, based on what you might use them for. I then picked my top shoe in each category, along with a few other excellent picks in the same ballpark.
Best Easy Run Shoes
In this category I am looking for ultimate comfort for your slow-run and recovery days. That tends to mean the big stack, big cushion, comfort shoes built to deliver dependable plush rides for the easiest miles.
1. HOKA Clifton Pro
A newcomer to the HOKA Clifton family, the Pro is the first Clifton to pack a supercritical midsole. And though it’s still EVA based, the result is a big-stack, protective daily trainer that keeps the familiar, highly cushioned ride but now offers a more modern, responsive, ‘performance-feel’. That makes for a more versatile package and significantly raises the Clifton game.
Despite being heavier, the Pro’s new PROGLIDE + foam midsole adds a much-needed degree of feedback for a ride that’s livelier than the Clifton 11. It also offers an all-around better fit and feel with more room up front than many previous HOKA shoes.
The Pro tag might be a bit misleading, this isn’t really a shoe I’d choose for faster miles. But it’s a package that adds up to a highly capable daily trainer that delivers bucketloads of comfort, cushion and energy to your easy, steady, and long runs but with a more modern ride.
Easily one of the best shoes I’ve tested for easy, low and slow miles.
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2. New Balance 1080v15
Also Available at
Zappos ; REI ; New Balance
Instantly comfortable, reliable and natural with a good level of cushion and protection, the 1080v15 is an easy pick for easy miles. It doesn’t just bring buckets loads of comfort to your easier daily training miles, it’s a fun ride too.
The latest incarnation now packs a rockered – and wide – supercritical midsole that’s lighter and livelier, with a taller stack of foam that’s comfortable and natural, energetic and exciting, right across the pace range up to marathon pace.
With loads of plush comfort details up top, this workhorse daily trainer happily protects legs from road impact at slower paces but it’s not overbuilt, or overly sinky, so there’s life underfoot even when you're feeling leggy.
3. ASICS Gel Nimbus 28
The ASICS Gel Nimbus 28 sticks to its guns, delivering big, soft, highly cushioned comfort with a healthy dose of plushness and protection for the easier end of your weekly mileage. With loads of plush details, it makes no excuses for sacrificing weight for comfort. The Clifton Pro, 1080v15 and Ride 19 are all notably sprightlier. The Nimbus, though, is the running shoe equivalent of sliding into the seat of a big saloon car.
The soft stack delivers a super-protective ride and this latest iteration has a bit more life to it without losing the control that’ll appeal to those who need more certainty underfoot.
If you’re looking for guaranteed, easy-cruising comfort in a highly cushioned, neutral daily trainer – that’s also a big mileage workhorse – this is one to consider. Provided you don’t mind bigger, heavier sneakers.
4. Saucony Ride 19
The Ride 19 offers a simple package of cushion, control and comfort in a more affordable, durable sneaker. It balances impact protection, a good roomy fit and a wide, stable platform.
The latest-gen shoe now packs an upgraded base of PWRRUN+ foam, a bigger stack for a more modern, on trend higher cushioned ride. You’re getting a higher, wider and now softer base that’s excellent at delivering road eating protection. The rockering is smooth, the response is moderate rather than punchy and it’s not as bouncy as some soft dailies. But it’ll protect your feet for miles and miles and it’s a great pick for the lower, slower runs where comfort trumps speed.
Best Do-it-All Daily Trainers
The best daily trainers have the versatility to cover almost all of your training runs from the easy daily miles to those faster speed sessions. If you could only buy one shoe, these would be great.
1. Adidas Evo SL
Some shoes are overhyped. Some shoes deserve the plaudits. The Adidas Evo SL is the latter. A trailblazer in the non-plated, more affordable all-rounder category, the Evo SL has the tools to go fast but is brilliantly versatile, provided you don’t need the highest levels of stability.
If you’re looking for a shoe that can handle almost anything you throw at it during your daily training, this is it. A really good all rounder, it offers a bouncy ride with excellent energy return. There’s a race-ready spring to the responsive single-layer, lightweight LIGHTSTRIKE PRO midsole, which really comes into its own when you’re moving with intent. Combined with the gradual rocker, this makes those harder efforts feel, well, less effort.
The softness and cushioning from the midsole give comfort without ever feeling too squishy. And the lightweight uppers work whether you’re battering out intervals or chugging along for steady miles.
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2. Kiprun Kipstorm Tempo
Also Available at
Decathlon
Kiprun is a bit of a new kid on the block but it’s kicking out some seriously good shoes and the Kipstorm Tempo has been turning heads. This shoe packs loads of ASICS Megablast rivalling performance into an excellent all rounder.
This fast-edged non-plated daily trainer has a whopping great 45mm stack and a dual foam system that really delivers a lot of bouncy, high energy feedback. It’s punchy and fun but there’s a firmness or a snappy edge that stops it being overly soft and sinky and it’s highly capable at paces up to and slightly beyond marathon pace. But there’s enough underfoot so it can handle slower miles, too.
3. Puma Deviate Pure Nitro
Puma’s new non-plated rival to the Adidas EVO SL is a truly excellent all-round daily trainer. It serves up a ride that’s balanced, energetic, lively, agile, fast and reliable.
The Nitro foam midsole delivers mid-level compression that springs back pretty fast, to provide a nice energy. If you want a daily trainer that’s not overly bounding, not too soft, with a moderated pop in each step, the Pure delivers.
It’s an excellent utility shoe that comfortably joins the conversation with the EVO SL, the Azura and the other non-plated daily trainers in screaming value for what it offers.
5. Saucony Endorphin Azura
Also Available at
Zappos
A brand new shoe in the Saucony Endorphin line-up, the non-played Endorphin Azura drops in alongside the Endorphin Speed 5 and if you’ve been looking for a faster daily trainer without a stiffening shank, the Azura is excellent.
It uses the same PWRUN PB foam you find in the Endorphin Speed 5 with Saucony’s familiar Speedroll rockering, engineered mesh uppers and grippy XT-900 rubber outsole. That all adds up to a hugely versatile, light, lively, fun and well-fitting package that has the do-it-all swagger of the best versatile shoes.
It’s a lively, fun and free-flowing running shoe, that’ll eat most of the runs in a marathon training block. All at a price that also represents really good value.
Best All-Out Marathon Carbon Race Shoes
These are the shoes you turn to when you’ve done the hard yards and you’re ready to put it all on the line for that marathon PR. Stripped back, carbon plate race shoes that keep things light and minimal. But sometimes sacrificing comfort for speed.
1. ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo
Also Available at
ASICS
The Metaspeed Edge Tokyo and its sibling Metaspeed Sky Tokyo are among the best carbon race shoes to go chasing PRs.
The Edge’s dual foam set up combines a top layer of lightweight and bouncy FF Leap foam (same as you’ll find in the super light Metaspeed Ray Tokyo) with a bottom layer of the FF Blast Turbo Plus foam used in the Edge and Sky Paris. Sandwiched lower in the stack is a curved full length carbon plate that adds some welcome stiffness.
The FF Leap turbo charges the energy return and brings some additional cushion. It’s softer than the Sky Tokyo – think more trampoline than slingshot. But the result is a race shoe that’s smooth and efficient and can handle everything from 5km to the marathon.
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2. Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
A top-efficiency shoe with lab tests to prove it, the Fast-R3 is a field-tested PR machine. Puma’s lightest and most responsive shoe to date, it packs a super-responsive Nitro Elite midsole, with any superfluous foam trimmed off.
The minimal ULTRAWEAVE uppers also keep things minimal while the Fast R3’s full-length carbon fibre PWRPLATE offers more flex in the midsole than some stiffer shoes for seriously assertive propulsion without feeling too aggressive. It takes time to find the sweet spot with foot placement but once you do, this is a shoe that delivers on speed and efficiency.
3. Brooks Hyperion Elite 6
The Brooks Hyperion Elite 6 might not hit the punchy performance of the Fast-R3 and the Edge Tokyo but it’s a great pick if you want a comfortable, nimble ride, that serves up fast-run energy but stays smooth, reliable and protective even at slower paces.
The tweaked Brook’s PEBA DNA Gold foam midsole kicks the performance up a notch over the Elite 5. It's now softer and delivers more cushioning and responsiveness, springing back quickly with good immediacy underfoot. The SpeedVault+ carbon plate has also been upgraded with a steeper shape accentuating the rocker for snappier toe offs.
With a great vanishing fit that feels really natural for a carbon racer, the Elite 6 feels light, propulsive and agile right across the pace ranges.
4. Adidas Adios Pro 4
Also Available at
Adidas
The Adidas Adios Pro 4 builds on the strengths of its predecessors with a refined design that maximizes energy return and efficiency. And crucially fixes some of the upper fussiness that hampered the comfort of the Adios Pro 3.
The dual-layer Lightstrike Pro midsole, combined with EnergyRods 2.0, delivers a smooth, propulsive ride that feels fast yet well-cushioned. This makes it a strong contender for marathon efforts, with enough protection to keep your legs fresh over long distances. The only warning: in my marathon test, the narrow, short toe box battered my toe nails badly. So pay attention to sizing.
5. HOKA Cielo X1 3.0
The Cielo X1 3.0 is tamer than its predecessor but still serves up a really fun – if a bit wild – ride. Springy, locked in, highly rockered with big bounding energy and lively toe offs, it’s not as light as the ASICS Metaspeed or Puma Fast-R3 but it still feels admirably agile on the foot.
You get a highly energetic bounce from the big dual stack of responsive PEBA foam. This time round though, the lateral cutaway in the midsole has been removed giving some welcome added stability. It may not offer the control you need in the last six ragged miles of a marathon when your form goes. But if you enjoy a high-bounce midsole, this is a great carbon option.
Best Comfort Marathon Running Shoes
For those who want to get round the marathon (or half) in reliable comfort with a little help.
1. ASICS Megablast
Also Available at
ASICS
The ASICS Megablast has been hailed as a rotation-killer that can handle almost any run. It’s even got marathon race potential for runners who want energy when they’re moving well but also guaranteed protection if they’re not.
It combines racy uppers and heel package with a max stacked, light and punchy FF Turbo Squared supercritical midsole that’s excellent when you hit its sweet spot marathon pace. It’s at its best when you’re running with intent, locking in your best form. Smooth, springy with an accommodating fit that suits big miles and long time on feet.
A great all-round weapon during a marathon training block, the Megablast also has what it takes to step up to race day and conquer the marathon distance in comfort.
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2. ASICS Novablast 6
The ASICS Novblast 6 is another sneaker in the Blast family that’s a pretty good tool for a marathon training block and has the potential to deliver reliable energy and comfort over the 26.2 miles on marathon race day.
A new dual foam midsole setup now adds a slab of higher-response FlyteFoam Turbo Squared foam – the same foam you’ll find in the Megablast.
That works alongside FlyteFoam Blast Max and brings more life to the toe offs and a more propulsive ride without losing the reliability and balance that delivers good levels of cushion with a lot more fun and pop. This ASICS shoe would be a good option for first time marathon runners who only want to splash out on one pair of running shoes.
3. Kiprun Kipride Max
Also Available at
Decathlon
Another cracking shoe from Kiprun, the Kipride Max has a lot of similarities to the New Balance 1080v15 but with a little more energy that not only boosts the versatility but could be exactly what some runners need to help them reach that marathon finish line in comfort.
The midsole deploys a combination of foams and a big rocker for a soft and protective ride. It’s cushy, cradling and soft but pleasantly energetic and excellent at smoothing out the road underfoot. A good balance of cushioning and energy with control and consistency, it’s not the fastest marathon race shoe, but it will look after you the whole way round.
4. Saucony Endorphin Azura
Also Available at
Zappos
Dropping the Azura in here again because Saucony’s non-plated daily trainer has the stack and softness to keep feet happy and the rockered energy, smooth transitions and consistency to keep you moving well from mile one to the finish line.
The Azura is the kind of shoe that’ll feedback what you put in, so when you’re moving well, it’ll respond with spring and propulsion but if you need to drop the pace, it won’t send too much of that road impact up the chain. The uppers, fit and weight also add up to a nicely natural ride that lets you get on with the task at hand.
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