It’s been another year of fantastic shoes from all the big brands. With more super shoes and super foams, we’ve got great shoes for every surface.
Here we pick the best shoes we tried in 2025.
Best cushioned shoe
Brooks – Glycerin Max 2 – £180.00
This updated max cushioning shoe from Brooks arrived late in the year, but the original version was already a strong contender in the category. The updates to this second-generation model are only minor, but improve the shoe’s fit and overall feel. When it comes to high-cushion models, the nitrogen-infused DNA-tuned foam provides excellent cushioning at impact and a responsive toe, making it a great choice for those steady-paced daily miles.
The shoe provides exceptional levels of cushioning, soaking up shock mile after mile without any noticeable loss of impact protection or spring detaching from its flat toe. When it comes to an everyday training shoe, you want durability, and the Glycerin Max is a shoe that keeps going mile after mile.
Best Performance Coach
ASICS – Megablast – £210.00
Want to speed up those daily miles? Megablast is the perfect shoe for you. Incredibly light and exceptionally bouncy, it transforms your runs by adding an extra spring to every step.
The new FF TURBO SQUARED foam is lighter, softer and more springy than ever before, while being well balanced for a smooth ride and boosting speed. Between a well-fitted racing shoe and a trainer, you can make this shoe a one-stop solution, such is its comfort and performance.
Adding to ASICS’ ever-growing range of ‘speed shoes’, the Megablast is the most versatile and one you’ll want to reach for every day thanks to its lightness, speed and ease.
Best support shoe
Saucony Guide 18 – £130.00
Want a little support? Then the Saucony Guide 18 is a versatile solution at a great value price. Due to the unique geometry of the midsole, the shoe is able to keep most overpronators in a neutral position in a way that feels natural and is very easy to adjust to.
Deep cushioning takes care of impact and the brand’s CentrePath technology makes this shoe one of the most effective on the market to support a wide range of runners. The Guide is a great all-around training shoe for those looking for some stability, and its price point makes it the best model on the market in this category.
Best update
Mizuno – Wave Rider 29 – £140.00
Now in his 29thth years the Wave Rider has always been a reliable everyday training shoe. Perhaps a little forgotten in recent years, this update transforms the shoe and breathes new life into the brand’s most popular model.
With the new nitrogen-infused Mizuno Enerzy NXT midsole, the Wave Rider 29 is softer, softer and a much springier everyday trainer. The upgrades have really put a spring in the shoe’s step and ride. As a shoe in on his 29thth Generation, this update manages to do a great job of keeping the familiar feel, yet staying relevant in the era of super foams and performance trainers.
Best Trail Shoe:
Brooks – Ghost Trail – £135.00
For most runners, a trail shoe should be a do-it-all shoe that can get you from the door to the trail. Here, Brooks has taken its best-selling everyday training model and given it a stiffer upper and go-anywhere sole, providing a versatile solution for trails as well as winter runs.
Cushioning is the same nitrogen-infused midsole as its on-road outsole, and with a 3mm outsole, the shoe can handle the daily tracks and trails it has to encounter. As a go-anywhere model with good, responsive cushioning and durability, the Ghost Trail is a great option.
Best new brand
Mount to Coast – H1 – £150.00
Still only a few years old, Mount to Coast is slowly making a name for itself as a brand with durable shoes that exceed normal expectations. With ultra-distance race wins as well as endurance challenges under their belt, the brand is going from strength to strength.
The H1 is their new all-terrain version designed to tackle a variety of surfaces and terrains. Its unique midsole is created with an advanced supercritical foaming process to foam CircleCELL cushioning. The result is a material with the energy return of PEBA, but with almost twice the durability.
With a soft and bouncy but stable ride and a versatile sole that can handle both road and trail, the H1 is a great all-rounder and the brand’s best model yet. If you’re looking to try a cushioned, comfortable and durable shoe that’s a little different from the usual big brand options, this is the brand to check out.
Best racing shoes (5-10km)
Puma – Fast R3 – £260.00
When it comes to racing shoes, the category is as fiercely contested by brands as it is by road athletes. This has created a very competitive market and increased options technologically.
A few years ago the biggest brand names ruled, but now the selection of the best racing shoe can change from season to season. When it comes to road racers, Puma’s Fast R3 has taken the running world by storm, selling out in multiple colorway iterations this year.
It’s NITROFOAM cushion combined with an aggressive carbon sheet and research-based performance that shows it provides 3% lift, ensuring it’s the choice of many at any distance on the trail.
For us, the shoe felt better over shorter distances, and the more aggressive front foot provides a new level of drive that can be optimized up to around 10k. Sure, many marathoners excelled in shoes, but with so many options now available, you can customize your race day shoes by distance.
Best Running Shoes (10km+)
ASICS – MetaSpeed Edge Tokyo – £240.00
Over the marathon distance, ASICS’ Metaspeed Edge and Sky lead the way in models that deliver a smooth and fast performance that maintains its feel for 26 miles. The difference between the two versions is the shape of the carbon plate, where the sky is slightly flatter inside the shoe and the tip is more curved in the front.
New layers of foam in the FF LEAP and FF TURBO PLUS create a push ‘change’ that makes these ASICS’ springiest marathon shoes to date.
When running a marathon, of course you want to go as fast as possible, but comfort has to play a role, and for us, the Metaspeed Edge manages to feel soft and cushioned, but with a front spring that stays put until the last 385 yards.
Best for Grip
Inov8 – Mudtalon v2 – £120.00
If it’s the handle you need, the Mudtalon does what it says on the box. Deep, 8mm, well-spaced lugs grip the ground and provide exceptional traction on a variety of surfaces, including deep mud. The new and improved STICKYGRIP rubber is now even better in wet conditions with a 36% improvement in slip resistance compared to the previous model.
Cushioning is 18mm deep in the heel and 12mm in the forefoot, so there’s plenty of cushioning for comfort, but the shoe remains light enough for speed. There’s also a 6mm deep BOOMERANG insole for comfort and a little added ‘spring’.
The upper is lightweight, supportive and highly breathable, as well as draining quickly if it inevitably gets wet during off-road adventures.
