The 8 best running shoes for men, tested by experts

To be clear: there is no one ‘best’ running shoe for men. You need to find the one that helps you achieve your running goal, whether that’s training for a marathon, getting faster, or just Best for support. From beginner to expert, road to trail, there are all kinds of excellent men’s shoes. Along with considering what kind of running you prefer, find a pair that feels good on your feet — those are the shoes that’ll help you progress as a runner.

Running shoes have traditionally been designed around male feet, so the only real gender-specific feature for guys to keep in mind is sizing — make sure you get shoes that provide extra support. Beyond that, your best shoe will depend on where you like to run, how far you’ll go, how fast you’ll move, and what kind of sensation you like under your feet. Want to get off the pavement and run through the wilderness? You’ll need a pair of grippy, durable trail shoes. The Adizero EVO SL is the training counterpart to Adidas’s The best max-cushioned running shoes for 2025 will serve you well.

Is your head spinning yet? We'll break down all the criteria to keep in mind when you pick your next pair of shoes, so you can make an informed decision. Plus, you can check out the best running shoes that our staff and wear testers recommend.

What to consider

Fit

Stability

Cushioning

How we test and select

Runner’s World has helped dedicated runners, from sprinters and marathoners to gym rats and guys getting out there for the first time, for more than 30 years. Our running gear recommendations, including men’s running shorts, tops and shoes, are based on the hard work of our test team, which tests the latest and great running gear.

That testing includes taking shoes apart to analyse their materials and construction, as well as miles and miles of running. In 2025, the Runner’s World test team is led by E-commerce Editor Ali Ball.

Our guide to the best running shoes for men features recommendations based on the testing and expertise of our male editors, based on their testing and data from the wear test program.

After putting hundreds of pairs through the wringer and evaluating the data, we’ve determined the standouts that received especially high marks and praise.

The best running shoes for men

Read our full On Cloudeclipse review

An ultra-padded super trainer, the On Cloudeclipse combines a tall stack of soft, responsive foam with a midsole plate — On calls it a ‘Speedboard’ — that stabilises the foam and adds responsiveness to the platform. The resulting ride is ‘soft and peppy, but still controlled’, according to one tester. ‘It doesn’t feel too wobbly or unpredictable underfoot’.

While the Cloudeclipse is cushioned, it doesn’t let your foot sink; while it has a forward-push, but doesn’t force you to go faster than you want.

The mesh upper was adequately wide for our wear testers and breathable as well, although some noted that its lightweight construction meant that runners with narrow feet may suffer from a sloppy fit if they aren’t able to tighten the laces enough.

Generally speaking, you want to save your ‘fast shoes’ for ‘fast days’ — tempos runs, track workouts and races. With the Cloudeclipse, you can wear your go-fast shoe on every single training run.

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Read our full Hoka Mach 6 review

The Hoka Mach 5 received high praise from our editors for its supreme versatility as an everyday trainer: substantial enough to support you for a long run, but quick enough to spur you as you ramp up the tempo for the final few miles. It was so effective, in fact, that we got worried when we found Hoka had reworked the entire design for the Mach 6. It turns out we had no reason to worry: we love the new version too.

Hoka managed to thicken the midsole by 8mm without adding any weight to the shoe – that’s no small feat. The secret sauce is Hoka’s supercritical EVA foam compound, which now composes the entire midsole, rather than only half. More porous than conventional ethylene vinyl-acetate, Supercritical makes the shoe lighter and more responsive, enabling speed without cutting out comfort.

‘They feel very soft, but in a responsive way — not a sink-your-feet-in way,’ said one wear-tester. ‘I got in some pretty solid long runs, which progressed nicely in pace, and these shoes felt great at each one of those paces.’

Hoka put a durable rubber back on the outsole, which should help the shoe grip better and last longer. Our testers also loved the creel jacquard upper, which puts a soft, comfortable layer of polyester near the foot and wraps that with a stretch-resistant polyester exterior to keep your foot secure. It may be too snug for wider feet, though: the shoe’s still relatively narrow, with a pointed shape that may pinch if you have a wide forefoot.

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A solid training shoe for under £120 is rare these days. With a price of just £110, the Sonic 7’s appeal lies largely in its affordability. But its price tag isn’t the only thing that makes this trainer worth buying. According to RW Best Adidas running shoes for going the distance.

‘There were times I would finish my runs and forget they were on my feet because they were so comfortable and light,’ said one.

The Sonic 7 features a midsole made from Hovr, an Under Armour foam produced from olefin wax that generates a firm, responsive ride. While the cushioning lacks the pillowy softness of other brand’s foams, testers felt it absorbed impacts well and provided good energy return for daily training runs or shorter workouts. The Sonic is topped with a jacquard upper that offers great breathability and has padding on the tongue and ankle collar for an irritation-free fit. There’s plenty of durable outsole rubber on the bottom, but testers did experience some slippage in wet conditions. One other potential downside: testers reported the Sonic runs narrow, and because men’s feet tend to be wider, you may need to size up in this shoe.

Is it the most exciting shoe on the market? Definitely not — other training models are softer, lighter, and provide more bounce in each step. But the Sonic 7 serves up a reliably comfortable ride for everyday training and casual jogs, and it’s a standout bargain.

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While the Hoka Mach 6’s lower weight and peppy feel give it the edge as the best overall shoe for men, the Ghost is still an amazingly versatile workhorse trainer and an ideal ‘just get this’ solution for so many runners. Durable, cushioned, responsive, and offering a great fit, the Ghost has long been a common pick for everyone from total beginners to experienced athletes looking for a reliable training shoe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below high-performance upgrades. The midsole is now made from nitrogen-infused DNA Loft v3 foam, which gives the Ghost improved shock absorption and energy return. The Ghost also wears a new mesh upper with a well-padded tongue and ankle collar for a secure, comfortable fit. The shoe has plenty of rubber on the bottom for confident footing on the pavement and high-mileage durability, and the outsole is segmented to boost the shoe’s flexibility, so you get smooth transitions in each stride. It all adds up to a shoe that feels good through a wide range of paces and helps you glide through training miles, and RW Best for speedwork.

Note: Brooks will soon release the Ghost 17, and we’re currently testing it. We’ll update our recommendation for the best overall shoe once we’ve finished testing the 17th iteration, but for now we recommend the Ghost 16.

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Read our full Asics Superblast 2 review

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What’s a super trainer? In a nutshell, it’s a shoe that utilises some of the top-shelf features found in elite racing models, like a thick wedge of high-performance foam, but adapts them for the grind of daily training. As its name implies, the Asics Superblast 2 falls squarely within this exciting category, and it’s a must-try for anyone who wants maximum plushness and men’s running shorts.

The Superblast 2 features a revamped midsole with two of Asics’ latest and greatest foams: FlyteFoam Turbo+ and FlyteFoam Blast+ Eco. The Turbo+ variant is made from polyether block amide (PEBA) — a lightweight, soft, and propulsive material that’s become the standard for premium racing shoes. Blast+ Eco is made with olefin block copolymers (it also utilises bio-based ingredients, hence the ‘Eco’ moniker), which gives it good flexibility and bounce as well as improved durability —always important for a training shoe. Together with the Superblast’s rocker sole shape, these foams generate a supremely smooth, well-cushioned ride with lots of propulsive energy return at toe-off.

The Superblast is topped with a new seamless mesh upper that’s optimised for low weight and airflow, so your feet stay cool, and Asics also swapped in a tougher rubber compound on the outsole, improving the Superblast’s longevity and grip. Overall, testers raved about the Superblast 2, with multiple runners praising its smooth and spunky ride and versatility— they found it’s great for easy jogs, long runs, and tempo workouts.

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Credit: Trevor Raab RW testers describe it as a Goldilocks shoe: a cushioned trainer that works well at a wide range of paces.

Testers universally praised the 880’s cushioning, with one comparing it to ‘running on pillows’. The shoe features a midsole made from Fresh Foam X — New Balance’s softest EVA-based foam — for a well-cushioned ride. Although it’s a neutral shoe, the 880’s stable, planted ride and snug fit earned the appreciation of our testers, with multiple runners saying they felt ‘very secure’ while wearing it. The engineered mesh upper is accented with generous padding around the ankle collar and on the tongue, which contributes to that comfy, secure feel. On the bottom, patches of rubber under the forefoot and heel provide solid durability and decent grip (though a couple of testers reported slips on wet pavement).

Overall, the 880 is a down-for-anything trainer that, in the words of one tester, ‘strikes the perfect balance between comfort, support, and performance’. It feels great through all kinds of workouts, from easy jogs to long runs and uptempo efforts — a rare feat that makes this model a particularly strong choice in the crowded daily trainer category.

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The Adizero EVO SL is the training counterpart to Adidas’s The 8 best Brooks running shoes for 2025, but that doesn’t mean it’s second best: this versatile trainer is a delight to run in, with a well-cushioned feel and great responsiveness for faster paces.

In fact, the EVO’s simplicity as one of its best overall qualities. The midsole is a single, thick layer of Lightstrike Pro cushioning, a thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPE) foam that offers good shock absorption with plenty of bouncy energy return. There’s no carbon fibre plate, but Adidas did include a nylon shank to stabilise the thick block of soft foam under the foot. Thin rubber outsole patches at the forefoot and heel give the EVO SL solid grip while saving weight (compared to a full-length rubber outsole). And the shoe is topped with a single-piece mesh upper. That upper was the only downside. According to testers, it felt a bit loose at the midfoot, and the tongue tended to slide around while running. But those are small issues, especially considering the shoe’s sublime overall ride.

One tester logged over 250 miles on their test pair, using them for everything from easy jogs to long runs and speed workouts. They found the EVO SL to be especially peppy and fun, the kind of shoe that encourages you to pick up the pace.

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Read our full Saucony Tempus 2 review

The Tempus represents a new take on stability: a supportive shoe that doesn’t slow you down. With its ‘structured cushioning’ it cradles your foot without the need for thick, stiff support foams in the midsole, and the latest version continues in that vein with a supportive design and a surprisingly lively ride.

Like the previous version, the Tempus 2 features a dynamic duo of cushioning foams in its midsole. The first is Saucony’s Pwrrun PB foam, a polyether block amide (PEBA) material that offers a soft feel, low weight, and bouncy responsiveness. For support, a ‘frame’ of firmer EVA foam is layered over the Pwrrun PB and contoured to match the shape of the foot, so it cradles the foot and supports the arch. The sole has a rocker shape, which promotes smooth, even transitions from landing to toe-off. And generous padding around the collar and tongue create a close, comfortable fit.

It serves up a smooth, planted ride with a great balance between soft impact absorption at landing and firm bounciness at toe-off. And they’re definitely stable: handling angled pavements and even wet cobblestones without issue. Want stability without the usual drawbacks? The Tempus 2 is the shoe for you.

From: Runner's World US