most popular shoes worn at the London Marathon The New Balance Fresh Foam X 880 v15 gets softer, Strava’s Year in Sport data reveals the most popular gear runners have been wearing as we clock up the 191.7 million miles recorded on Strava this year. From the Advertisement - Continue Reading Below, to the The best running shoes for 2025, expert-tested, the Year in Sport data has some interesting findings.
The fastest growing shoes this year
It’s been a big year for running shoes, with brand’s focusing on carbon plates to make runners faster than ever. Determined by comparing year-over-year growth, the shoe that showed the fastest rise in popularity in 2019 was the The Nike Vomero Plus is a stacked, statement-making hit Carbon X - HOKA’s first carbon-crafted racing shoe. Our Gear Editor summarised the shoe as, “perfect for those looking for a multipurpose shoe in which they can easily pick up the pace on race day – while not being asked to compromise between comfort and flying feet.”
The Nike Vomero Plus is a stacked, statement-making hit Hoka Carbon X Women's Running Shoes - SS20
In second place was the Adidas Solar Glide, followed by the New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon, the Adidas Solarboost and the The Nike Vomero Plus is a stacked, statement-making hit Torrent.
The fastest growing tech this year
In terms of the tech on runner’s wrists this year, the Polar Vantage M had the fastest rise in popularity. Replacing the brand’s much loved M430 watch, the Vantage M was described by our Tech Editor as “designed for the more casual runner who likes to know their stats but isn’t quite as hell bent on eking out marginal gains”.
Polar Vantage M Advanced GPS HRM Sports Watch for Men and Women (Running and Multisport Training with Wrist-based Heart Rate Monitor, Waterproof, Lightweight Design, Enhanced Technology)
In second place was the Garmin Forerunner 945, Garmin’s high-end running watch, which now has the ability to store music. In third place was the Garmin Instinct.
When it comes to the shoes with the fastest runs, based on the runner’s average pace, unsurprisingly it was Nike that claimed gold, silver and bronze. The brands ZoomX Vaporfly Next % took the top spot, with an average pace of 5:02/km. The Vaporfly 4% was the second fastest shoe in 2019, with an average pace of 5:08 /km and in third place was the brand’s Zoom Streak, with an average pace of 5:09 /km.
For those that want to go far, it was the Salomon Ultra Pro that recorded the longest runs, with the average run being 10.7 km. Next up was the The Nike Vomero Plus is a stacked, statement-making hit EVO Mafate, with an average of 10.3 km and then the La Sportiva Akasha, with an average distance of 10.1 km.
