Running Shoes 101
Every runner has, at one point or another, experienced decision paralysis after walking into a running store and confronting the wall of shoes. Here’s a breakdown of the perennial question of “What shoes should I be running in?” into types of running shoes and what they’re best for.
Daily trainers are your default running shoes, the ones you lace up unless you have a good reason to run in something else. They’re the most essential (and most “basic”) type of running shoe. While there is a wide variety of options in this category, as the name suggests, you’ll be logging the vast majority of your miles in these shoes. They’re typically well-cushioned, durable, comfortable, and on the cheaper end of the spectrum (relatively). Some shoes on the max-cushion end of things will excel at slower paces and recovery runs, perhaps after workouts or long run days, whereas others will be versatile enough to use for both easy runs and some more uptempo work. But if you only buy one shoe to both train and race in, it should be a daily trainer.
Examples include the Hoka Clifton, Saucony Ride, Nike Pegasus, ASICS Gel-Nimbus, New Balance 1080, Mizuno Wave Rider, and Brooks Ghost.
Race day shoes are for maximum-effort days when you’re pulling out all the stops. There are several subcategories like racing flats or track/cross country spikes, but “super shoes” are what’s getting all of the attention and hype right now. There’s no official definition of a super shoe, but they are typically lightweight, very bouncy, and very stiff with minimal comfort features. The folks at Doctors of Running have suggested a three-item checklist for identifying a super shoe: a large volume of highly resilient/bouncy foam, a carbon plate or another stiffening agent, and a “rocker” shape that helps propel you forward. These exact features can vary based on the distance they’re made for; some excel at “shorter” distances like the 5K and 10K, while some are specifically designed for marathons. They’re aggressive, expensive, and very cool, and as a result, they’re the least durable type of shoe out there.
Examples include the Nike Vaporfly and Alphafly, Saucony Endorphin Pro and Elite, ASICS Metaspeed Sky and Edge, Adidas Takumi Sen and Adios Pro, and Hoka Rocket X.
Tempo/speedwork shoes are for workout days when you want something speedier than your daily trainer but you don’t want to wear out your more expensive race day shoes. They’re typically lightweight with some of the performance features of racers but dialed back to include some of the comforts of daily trainers. They fall between trainers and racers in just about every category: weight, comfort, speed, durability, and price.
Examples include the Saucony Endorphin Speed, the ASICS Magic Speed, the New Balance SC Trainer, Adidas Boston, Hoka Mach X, and Puma Deviate Nitro.
Trail shoes are fairly self-explanatory. While there are also subcategories here—trail trainers vs trail racers with higher stack heights and carbon plates, what they have in common is an outsole with enough traction to handle just about any terrain one could reasonably expect to encounter. Many road shoes can handle trails, especially durable daily trainers, but trail shoes are just the ticket for anything from rocks and roots to mud and even to snow and ice.
Examples include the Hoka Speedgoat, Salomon Sense Ride, Saucony Peregrine, and Brooks Catamount.
I can, and do, nerd out on running shoes so more to come on this topic!