Roundup
Running shoes by use: daily miles, tempo, long run and trail
· By Redacción HYPEIBIZA
Start with one daily trainer. Add a lighter shoe for fast days, more cushion for long runs, and lugs if you leave the road.
Buy a daily trainer first. It covers easy runs, most workouts and your first race. Add a second shoe only when you know what the first one does badly: fast sessions, long Sunday runs or dirt paths.
The groups below follow how each brand sells the model. Inside a group, the right pair depends on your foot and your taste in softness, so try two if you can.
- Daily: medium cushion and a durable outsole. Pegasus 42, Novablast 6, Supernova Rise 3, Clifton 10.
- Tempo: lighter, springier foam. Endorphin Speed 5, Adizero Boston 13, FuelCell Rebel v5.
- Long run: the most cushion on a stable base. Vomero 18, Bondi 9, Gel-Nimbus 28.
- Trail: lugs and grippy rubber. Speedcross 3, Speedgoat 7, Peregrine 16.
- Race: a carbon plate and very little weight. ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 4.
Daily trainers: the shoe for most of your kilometres
A daily trainer has enough foam to protect your legs at an easy pace and a rubber outsole that lasts. It is not the lightest shoe, and it does not need to be.
The Nike Pegasus 42 is the classic all-rounder, with a firmer, familiar ride. The ASICS Novablast 6 is softer and bouncier. The adidas Supernova Rise 3 is a stable, plain option, and the Hoka Clifton 10 gives a thick, light midsole with a rocker that rolls you forward.
Product
Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 42 Black White
Style code: IB1873-001
from93,00 €
Cheapest today: 11teamsports, Top4running, Pro:Direct Sport
View productDaily trainers:
Tempo shoes for intervals and fast runs
A tempo shoe is lighter and feels more responsive when you push. Some have a plate in the midsole, but not carbon: the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 uses a nylon plate, and the adidas Adizero Boston 13 uses glass-fibre rods.
The New Balance FuelCell Rebel v5 has no plate at all. It is light and soft, and it works for both fast days and easy runs if you want one shoe that is quicker than a daily trainer.
Tempo shoes:
Long-run shoes with the most cushion
After an hour and a half, your legs care more about protection than speed. Long-run shoes have the tallest stacks of foam and a wider base so the extra height stays stable.
The Nike Vomero 18 is one of Nike's most cushioned road shoes. The Hoka Bondi 9 is Hoka's maximum-cushion model and also suits long walks and long shifts on your feet. The ASICS Gel-Nimbus 28 is the plush option with a soft upper.
Long-run shoes:
Trail shoes: lugs for dirt, mud and rock
Off the road, grip matters more than foam. Trail shoes have lugs on the outsole and a tougher upper. The deeper the lugs, the better they bite in mud, and the worse they feel on asphalt.
The Salomon Speedcross 3 has deep, aggressive lugs for soft and muddy ground. The Hoka Speedgoat 7 pairs a thick midsole with a Vibram Megagrip outsole for long mountain days. The Saucony Peregrine 16 is lower and more versatile, good for mixed paths.
Trail shoes:
Many trail and road models also come in a Gore-Tex version. A waterproof membrane keeps rain and puddles out, but it also keeps heat in, so it suits winter more than summer.
Race shoes come last
Carbon-plated shoes such as the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 4 are built for race day. They are fast, but the soft foam wears out sooner and they feel less stable at easy paces. Buy one when you have a goal race, not as your first pair.
Race shoe:
On size, many runners go half a size up from their casual shoes, because feet swell on longer runs. Check the brand chart on our size pages before you choose the row.
Browse every running shoe we list, the reduced ones, and the size charts:
More on these products
- Every Nike Air Zoom colourway
- Every ASICS Novablast colourway
- Every adidas Supernova colourway
- Every Hoka Clifton 10 colourway
- Every Saucony Endorphin Speed colourway
- Every adidas Adizero colourway
- Every New Balance FuelCell colourway
- Every Nike Vomero 18 colourway
- Every Hoka Bondi 9 colourway
- Every ASICS Gel-Nimbus colourway
- Every Salomon Speedcross colourway
- Every Hoka Speedgoat colourway