The Best Running Shoes

An injury in my twenties taught me that runners also need to lift weights! With that in mind, I was on the hunt for a versatile cross-training shoe that I could use to walk to the gym, run a few miles for a warm-up, hit a class, or do my Romanian dead lifts afterward. I tried several pairs, like the On Cloudpulse ($150), but I've worn the Reebok Nano X5 for a month now, and it's the best one.

Reebok's Nano series is a classic cross-trainer, and I like several things about it. The sole is flat, so it feels stable while I'm doing my single leg kettlebell dead lifts and pistol squats. It's also grippy, so I'm not slipping all over the floor if I join a HIIT class. One of the upgrades that Reebok made to this shoe was to make it more runnable, with a new EVA foam midsole. I appreciate this, and it's comfortable for my 10-minute walk to the gym and a 15-minute jog warmup on the treadmill. It's not my pick for a fun 5-mile road run, though. Finally, I also like that the collar feels secure around my knobbly ankles, the not-outrageous price, and that it's pretty neutral and stylish-looking (to me, at least). —Adrienne So

Runners are often split into pronators who need stability shoes and neutral runners who don’t. But it’s increasingly accepted that we’re all on a spectrum where some support can benefit all of us. If you need some stability, the ASICS Gel Kayano 31 deploys a combination of elements to support the foot each time it hits the ground. This includes a more pronounced heel bevel, sculpted midsole, and additional foam on the inside of the foot to help guide your foot on landing.

The Kayano 31 shares some DNA with Asics’ other cushioned comfort shoe, the Gel Nimbus 26 ($110), which has sedan levels of comfort. But they've dropped the size of the firmer midsole foam to give you more control as you run. The result is a cushioned, protective running shoe that provides excellent comfort and support for slower daily miles and easier outings. I found the Kayano 31 to be somewhat heavy, and difficult for faster paces, but it’s a robust workhorse of a shoe. After 50 miles, mine barely look touched.

It's worth noting here that the Kayano 31 isn’t a major overhaul over the Kayano 30 ($100), so it’s worth hunting deals on the last-gen shoe.

These are my favorite shoes. I've been wearing one version or another of the Outroads since Altra released them several years ago. If you've tried stability shoes and found that they became increasingly unwieldy and didn't fix your running problems, you might want to try going in the opposite direction and building up your overall leg and foot strength with weight lifting and minimal support instead. These have allowed me to run regularly for years without getting injured after several knee surgeries.

Altra is known for barefoot-style shoes, with a wide toebox to let your toes stretch and splay, minimal cushioning, and a zero heel-to-toe drop that helps me maintain better posture, more stability, and more calf and hip strength. The Outroad is designed for both road and trails, which is great for people who run on the roads to get to the trails, natch. It has trail features, like grippy lugs and a reinforced toe, but still feels comfortable while running on roads. It's not a snappy shoe—you're not going to feel sproinged forward, as you would with some of our other picks—but if you want a shoe that will work anywhere, at any time, and not give your weak knee a suspicious twinge now and again, these are my pick. —Adrienne So

The Brooks Glycerin Max is new to the Brooks lineup and the first time Brooks has maxed out the cushioning on a running shoe.

The huge midsole is made from something called DNA Tuned foam, which enables the designer to tweak the density of the foam in different areas of the shoe. Larger cells at the heel cater for softer, more cushioned landings, while smaller cells at the forefoot return quicker to improve energy return and create snappier toes off. Despite it sounding like yet more running jargon, it really works. The running shoe has everything most runners want in an easy everyday runner, without feeling too soggy. They're delightfully comfortable right out the box too, with roomy mesh uppers, plush padding, and an unfussy fit.

The combination of the foam and rocker help soothe the impact of the road underfoot, and they feel smooth and protective while also managing to be fairly responsive. They feel lighter when running than their weight on the scales suggests (10.8 oz/305 g). While you can push the pace in them, they might not suit anyone looking to really kick on.

The Merrell Agility Peak 5 is a well-cushioned trail shoe that balances comfort with speed and versatility. This workhorse off-road option happily eats up almost any terrain and performs well across a range of paces.

In testing, I covered everything from flatter, tamer terrain to some steeper, more technical climbs and descents, and the ride is brilliantly controlled and consistent. You get balance from the soft, cushioned, and protective midsole, with plenty of energy for clipping along compacted trails. They soak up any road-to-trail miles too. The bigger stack might not suit runners who like to feel more ground contact and connection to the trail underfoot, but the 5-mm Vibram rubber sole with deep lugs offers reliable grip for all.

When you hit lumpier ground there’s good stability, and you can move across most terrain with confidence. There’s also a rock plate—as used in their hiking boots—which adds protection from gnarlier lumps underfoot. It’s well built, with robust durability, and there are some really nice little details, like the wrap-around tongues. Check out our guide to Trail Running Shoes for more.

Yes, another Asics on this list, but the Metaspeed Sky Paris is brilliant for speed over any distance from 5 km to the marathon. It features a familiar super-shoe combination of lightweight uppers, a big springy superfoam midsole, full-length carbon plate and strategic rubber outsole for grip and protection in high-impact areas. They're pricey but feel wonderfully energetic, snappy, and fast. It balances cushioning and stiffness from the plate, and it springs nicely. I love the narrower midsole that makes it much more agile than the bigger high-profile racing shoes, like the Nike Alphafly 3 ($285) and the Adidas Adios Pro 4 ($250).

The just-right cushioning dampens road impact without completely disconnecting you from it. Be warned though, there’s not much stability here, because everything is stripped back and designed for speed. Running in the Metaspeed Sky Paris definitely demands good form. This is not a shoe for beginners.

When it comes to fit, there’s no surprises, and compared to many carbon race shoes, it is easy to slip on and has secure comfort and excellent grip. As they say in the business, they “disappear” easily. During testing, I managed to run both a marathon and 5-km personal record (PR) in the Metaspeed Sky Paris. While I can't guarantee you a PR, this is a super fast and reliable option.

It shouldn't be that hard to find running shoes for a kid who runs all day anyway. Still, I have started to drag my 7- and 10-year-olds to races with me, and they need better shoes than the beat-up Vans they wear to school. This is the downscaled version of the iconic Salomon XA Pro trail shoe ($140), and it's a great pick for kids, since durability and stability matter a lot more than speed and comfort.

It has many of the features the grown-up shoe has, including the sticky, durable Contagrip outsole, mudguard, quick-lace system, and protective toecap. The midsole has been downgraded to a different, but still comfortable, EVA cushion (as far as I can tell, since I can't fit my own foot in there). The upper is padded, so the tension from the quick-lace system is distributed evenly, and my son can pull them on and tighten or loosen them in a pinch. My 7-year-old racks up between 15,000 and 20,000 steps a day, if you can believe it, and these are the only running shoes he will wear. I've seen him run straight up a fallen tree trunk wearing these. If your kid is also the cutest little hair-raising speed devil you've ever seen, these are a good pick. —Adrienne So

Many, many people at WIRED run, with their own personal preferences. Reviewer Scott Gilbertson and I are both huge proponents of barefoot running, which is the practice of running, well, with almost no protection on your feet. Feet are meant to flex and roll, and barefoot running strengthens both your feet and your stabilizer muscles. Running in barefoot shoes once or twice a week has helped me personally recover from years of shin splints, tendinitis, and incipient plantar fasciitis.

The shoe that both Gilbertson and I recommend for starting barefoot runners is the Merrell Vapor Glove series. These make a good intro to barefoot running because they're still fairly shoelike (you don't have to go straight to Micah True-style homemade huaraches), but with a wide toe box, to let your toes spread out, and tight heel cup. They have zero drop (the heel is the same height as the forefoot) and minimal padding. It's a solid, comfortable shoe that will fit a wide range of feet and stand up to all the abrasion. Gilbertson's only complaint is that even for a barefoot shoe, these wear out pretty quickly—after about 300 miles, or six months of use. —Adrienne So

We would be remiss in our running shoe coverage if we did not nod to On Running, which is the fastest-growing company in the business right now. The On Cloudrunner 2 ($150) are one of my favorite everyday shoes—they're incredibly comfortable and strike a good compromise between weight, cushioning, style, and price. However, the most buzzed-about shoe that On makes is its lightest shoe ever, the Cloudboom Strike LS (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which is the company's spray-on running shoe. (They're not currently available for purchase, but On says the shoe will be released soon.)

The shoes weigh 6 ounces, or slightly less than a pair of the already light Nike Vaporfly. Reviewer Boone Ashworth notes that the spray-on construction lends itself to an exceptionally flush seal around the top of the foot, which feels secure on almost every kind of surface—pavement, trails, or sandy beaches. That flush, lightweight construction means that the shoes also don't have laces, which is both very convenient and makes them almost translucent. However, Boone says that shoes are also very delicate—he tore them after his fourth run, getting them off. Once they're on the market, the shoes also have the potential to be much more sustainable than standard shoe manufacturing—no leftover fabric scraps to toss in the trash. —Adrienne So