The Best Running Shoes of 2026

In this category, we zeroed in on shoes that we considered to be our everyday workhorses. Whether you feel like a 20-minute jog around town or you're training for a race and crave higher mileage, these shoes will get the job done in comfort.

Four standout Standard Daily Trainers are the Mizuno Wave Rider 30, Brooks Ghost 18, and the Nike Vomero 18. The Mizuno Wave Rider 30 wins our top pick because of its smooth, supportive transitions, packing a premium feel into a standard trainer. Mizuno pulled out all of the stops for this shoe's 30th anniversary, upgrading to plush foams and an improved WAVE plate to prioritize smooth bounciness for any daily miles. Offered in multiple widths, this shoe offers a secure, comfortable fit that can meet any runner where they're at and start crushing the miles!

At a glance: Mizuno Wave Rider 30

• 9.3 oz | 264 g (Men's size 9)
• 7.9 oz | 224 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 44 mm
• Forefoot stack: 36 mm
• Heel-toe Offset: 8 mm

Stability shoes are a great option for those who overpronate or need added support. The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25 wins our top pick because of the way Brooks' GuideRails holistic support system keeps excess movement in check. It's stability, provided in a way that feels natural to your footstrike.

Top to bottom, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS represents dependable stability, durability, and just enough cushioning to trust mile after mile.

At a glance: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25

• 10.6 oz | 301 g (Men's size 9)
• 9.1 oz | 258 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 39 mm
• Forefoot stack: 29 mm
• Heel-toe Offset: 10 mm

The Daily Trainers- Premium category is all about luxury, elevating your runs with plush cushioning, advanced foams, and detailed uppers. For us, the standout Premium Daily Trainers from this year are the ASICS Gel Nimbus 28, the Nike Vomero Plus, the Saucony Triumph 24, and the New Balance 1080 v15.

When it comes to our top pick, the Nike Vomero Plus takes the cake. It offers a large, glorious stack of superfoam that feels both thickly cushioned and luxurious, but also responsive and runnable. Its ZoomX superfoam feels great, even through long miles, and it's exactly the shoe you want for crushing your mileage volume goals.

At a glance: Nike Vomero Plus

• 9.9 oz | 281 g (Men's size 9)
• 8.6 oz | 243 g (Women's size 9)
• Heel stack: 43 mm
• Forefoot stack: 33 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 10 mm

Max cushioned shoes are ideal for runners and walkers who are willing to deal with a little bit of extra weight in order to ensure the most cushioned experiences on their runs. We reach for these most often for easy days, recovery runs, and slow long runs. This year, Saucony plugged some of their best foam, seen in their pinnacle racing shoes, into a whopping stack height of soft, bouncy goodness.

The Paramount Max is an excellent example of modern-day max cushioning, striking a balance between sinking softness and energy return. This is by no means a fast shoe, but it has a welcome bouncy sensation thanks to that incrediRUN foam. In the best way, this shoe is absolutely massive. It has a wide footprint, substantial cushioning, and a padded upper for any day you're ready to cruise. Overall, the shoe is a great choice for runners who prioritize comfort and protection.

While it may not have earned our top pick, we'd still like to show the KIPRUN Kipride Max some love, bringing a hint of pep and plenty of premium padding to our easy days.

At a glance: Saucony Paramount Max

• 9.9 oz (Men's size 9)
• 9.1 oz (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 46 mm
• Forefoot stack: 40 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 6 mm

Energetic Daily Trainers are shoes we ask to do everything, putting extra pep in each step. They have to be approachable enough for us to slip on every single day, but they'd also better not slow us down. Each of our four standout Energetic Daily Trainer shoes manages to thread this needle, with the PUMA Deviate Pure Nitro, New Balance Rebel v5, ASICS Novablast 6, and HOKA Mach 7 all providing comfortable, zippy rides and facilitating quick turnovers for your workouts.

The PUMA Deviate Pure Nitro tops our list for simple reasons. It's fun, versatile, light, and looks great. This truly is a do-it-all shoe that can cruise through daily mileage, rip workouts, and handle your trials of miles. As one of the lightest options in its category, the Deviate Pure offers one full slab of NITROFOAM underfoot, balancing cushion, bounce, and speed. Our team loves this shoe as a tool that can be taken for any kind of run, any day, and do it in a beautifully simple package.

At a glance: PUMA Deviate Pure Nitro

• 7.5 oz | 213 g (Men's size 9)
• 6.6 oz | 187 g (Women's size 9)
• Heel stack: 37 mm
• Forefoot stack: 29 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 8 mm

Long-Run focused Performance Trainers are especially fun to run in because they get to showcase maximal stacks of each brand's latest and greatest superfoams and features. The MEGABLAST wins the category for us thanks to its incredible under-foot feel, its game-changing foam composition, and its versatility.

With a TALL stack of incredibly bouncy foam on display, ASICS encourages you to fly through your next workout. The MEGABLAST is plenty quick enough to tackle our fastest interval workouts. Need to get some recovery miles in? Good news, the MEGABLAST is plush and bouncy enough to let us cruise around those miles in casual style. Want to do a long run in them? There’s enough foam here to keep your feet happy for however long you're hoping to go.

On a similar note, the Topo Athletic Specter 3 is another great option with high-performance foam, responsive bounce, and a speedy sensation for your long runs.

For faster, long runs in the 90-minute range, the New Balance SuperComp Rebel v1 is one of our new favorites, providing a smooth race-like experience in a daily training package.

At a glance: ASICS MEGABLAST

• 7.8 oz | 221 g (Unisex Men’s size 9/Women’s 10)
• Heel stack: 45 mm
• Forefoot stack: 37 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 8 mm

Performance trainers are designed to combine the speed-ready feel of a racer with the durability needed to handle repeated use. The Evo SL wins the category for us thanks to its incredible light weight and the zippiness of its Lightstrike Pro-based midsole. Also, the wide variety of upper configurations (Standard, Woven, AND Exo) available lets you customize your ride in a way that's wholly unique to the Evo SL.

Blending inspiration from adidas’ Adizero and Boston lines, the Evo SL features a minimal design with a racing superfoam underfoot for an ultra-responsive ride. A nylon-reinforced midfoot adds structure and encourages smooth transitions while minimizing weight, so you can put in max effort with less strain on your legs. Whether you're pushing a tempo run or even lining up for race day, the adidas adizero Evo SL is engineered to handle it all with easy speed.

At a glance: adidas adizero Evo SL

• 8.1 oz | 230 g (Men's size 9)
• 7.2 oz | 204 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 37 mm
• Forefoot stack: 30.5 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 6.5 mm

Super shoes have undergone a revolution in the past decade. Low-Stack Super Shoes are more grounded, keeping their focus on shorter races. Perfect for racing a road mile, 5ks, and 10ks, these shoes are built for one thing: pushing you faster, and faster, and faster.

The PUMA Fast-FWD Nitro Elite 2 is a razor-sharp road racing shoe that brings all of the fun technologies you love, shrinking it into a more grounded package. Coming in at 4.6 oz for a men's size 9, this shoe is wicked light and wicked fast. With PUMA's premium racing foam and carbon fiber PWRPLATE, this shoe is built for your fastest short-distance races and toughest workouts. The result is a fast, flexible, and responsive feel that can redefine your PRs.

If you're hunting for the best value low-stack super shoe, we're also big fans of the adidas adizero Adios 9, offering a non-plated, responsive shoe to hit top speeds for a bargain.

At a glance: PUMA Fast-FWD Nitro Elite 2

• 4.6 oz | 130 g (Men's size 9)
• 3.9 oz | 111 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 30 mm
• Forefoot stack: 22 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 8 mm

Super shoes combine lightweight builds, high-performance foam and midsole plates to maximize energy return and running economy. The four standout High Stack Super Shoes are the PUMA FAST-R Nitro Elite 3, the ASICS Metaspeed Ray, and the Nike Alphafly, and the Adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 3. The PUMA Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 wins the category for us thanks to its pure, unmatched performance capabilities.

Let's not overlook the sub-2-hour marathon record in the room. The adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 is the lightest super shoe on the market and has broken incredible records. While we fully acknowledge the vast glory it has earned, due to EXTREMELY limited availability and the premium price point, we opted to make our top pick something slightly more available to the masses.

Designed for race day speed, the PUMA Fast-R 3 pairs a lightweight, ultra-breathable upper with high-performance NITROFOAM for responsive cushioning and efficient energy return. Underfoot, a full-length carbon PWRPLATE extends past the toes to drive powerful toe-offs and to create a smooth, propulsive ride from start to finish. This impressive balance of performance features and user comfort offers an explosive, energy-sustaining ride that's sure to make a difference at your next competition.

At a glance: PUMA Fast-R Nitro Elite 3

• 6.0 oz | 170 g (Men's size 9)
• 5.2 oz | 147 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 39 mm
• Forefoot stack: 31 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 8 mm

When choosing a trail running shoe, it's important to identify the types of trails you will run on and the amount of cushioning you prefer underfoot. In this category, we are looking for trail running shoes that can do a bit of everything—smooth fire roads, more technical terrain, or even road to trail.

The biggest selling point for the Salomon Genesis 2 is its all-day versatility. Whether you're flowing through fast singletrack, charging technical climbs, or navigating rooty, rocky descents, this shoe delivers the perfect blend of agility, protection, and all-day comfort. The premium Matryx upper is incredibly breathable, and the ActiveCHASSIS helps to stabilize your foot for maximum security. Altogether, the Genesis 2 is a great option to grab and go for any day on the trail.

At a glance: Salomon Genesis 2

• 10.1 oz | 286 g (Men's size 9)
• 9.4 oz | 266 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 34 mm
• Forefoot stack: 26 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 8 mm

Performance Trail running shoes are designed to be nimble and agile. They tend to be light and are the preferred choice for many who run sub-ultra trail races. The adidas Terrex Agravic SL wins the category for us thanks to its versatility.

Borrowing its namesake and inspiration from two of adidas' best shoes, the Terrex Agravic SL harnesses race-day inspiration with a top-tier midsole, so you can bring speed and excitement to long bouts on the trails. It's fast and smooth, has a broad platform, and is approachable for runners of all levels. Finished with deep lugs and a comfortably secure upper, the adidas Terrex Agravic SL is an energetic trail running shoe that inspires confidence and speed in equal doses.

At a glance: adidas Terrex Agravic SL

• 1.9 oz | 281 g (Men's size 9)
• 8.9 oz | 252 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 37 mm
• Forefoot stack: 31 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 6 mm

Max cushion running shoes have exploded in popularity in recent years, so it only makes sense that high stacks are starting to pop up more frequently out on the trails. Max cushion trail shoes are designed for off-road runners who prioritize comfort and stability while still seeking high durability and performance.

The HOKA Speedgoat 7 is one of the most beloved trail shoes of recent years, topping the podium of daily trail trainers. It excels as a long-lasting, protective, cushioned trail option that you can slip on foot for any number of miles. It's built to serve as a do-it-all trainer, leaning into the soft, cushioned feel you need for all-day comfort. With a world-class Vibram Megagrip outsole and a sturdy upper, the Speedgoat 7 is ready to tackle anything from ultramarathons to hikes, and any adventure in between.

At a glance: HOKA Speedgoat 7

• 9.6 oz | 272 g (Men's size 9)
• 8.6 oz | 244 g (Women's size 8)
• Heel stack: 38 mm
• Forefoot stack: 33 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 5 mm

Super trail shoes are built to speed up the best trail runners in the world, though you don't have to be elite to benefit from the cutting-edge technology these shoes have to offer.

The Brooks Cascadia Elite is a carbon-plated trail racing shoe packed with the ultra-resilient cushioning needed to deliver speed and protection over long distances. It's sculpted in a way that provides approachable stability for any runner, but also lends super shoe levels of speed and responsiveness for race day. With some of the best outsole traction in the game and a comfortable, durable upper, the Cascadia Elite feels like a shoe that does everything right.

At a glance: Brooks Cascadia Elite

• 9.5 oz | 269 g (Men's size 9)
• Heel stack: 41 mm
• Forefoot stack: 35 mm
• Heel-toe offset: 6 mm

Once you identify the right shoe for you, it's also vital that you choose the correct size. While running, your feet tend to swell. With that in mind, it is typically recommended to go up half a size as compared to your street shoe size.

This will depend on the shoe you are wearing. The shoes on this list should last anywhere from 300-600 miles. Some telltale signs that it is time to replace your shoes are if they feel “dead” underneath your feet, have creases in the midsole, or if the rubber on the outsole is worn down.

If you are newer to running, one shoe that can do a bit of everything is perfect. If you are looking to train for a race, improve your speed, or run on different terrains, you may consider owning several pairs. This answer will depend largely on your running routine.

Daily trainers provide balanced cushioning and moderate speed for everyday miles and easy runs, while performance running shoes are lighter with less cushioning to enhance speed. Consider what matters most for your runs, comfort for mileage or responsiveness for races, to pick the right category.

While not completely necessary, trail running shoes offer better traction, protection and durability than road shoes for off-road runs. Using a trail specific shoe, such as the Nnormal Cadi or the HOKA Challenger, helps increase performance and reduce the risk of injury.