Running man? Whether it’s a New Year’s resolution to start running for the first time, or you’re prepping for a big event, you need to be sure what’s on your feet matches your ambitions.
This truly is a great time to be a runner because if you walk into any sports shop, you’ll be presented with a dizzying array of options on the running shelves. That said, there are so many choices available that it can be hard to know exactly which shoe is right for you and your training plan.
What you can guarantee is that it will come down to three things: the upper (which is all about comfort and cradling); the midsole (which is where the protection and cushioning happens); and the outsole (which will give you stability and grip). A good shoe will ensure all these elements combine to protect you from injury, without dampening your momentum, and that you get out of the shoe what you put in when it comes to energy return. After all, a good shoe is engineered to put a spring in your step.
If you look down at the feet of everyone on the starting line of a local Parkrun or a major marathon, what’s on the feet of one runner will differ from the next one along. That’s because shoes will sit at different points on the scale between energy return and cushioning, and what’s right for one man’s gait and goals will differ from the next.
That’s why we’ve sought out shoes that match a range of experience levels, whether you’re simply trying to regain your fitness, or you’re adding to the impressive collection of race bling hanging in the downstairs toilet.
How we tested
There’s nothing more exciting for a runner than lacing up a new pair of kicks to see what difference they will make to their run and their Strava profile.
We contacted all the well-known brands (and some less well-known ones) to find out what they had to offer in 2023.
To equalise the testing, we always set out on fresh legs, so we could really put each pair through their paces, but made sure we always went the distance to find out what the shoes had to offer when we started to blow hard and heavy legs set in.
The best men’s running shoes for 2023 are:
- Best men’s running shoes for training and racing – Hoka mach 5: £130, Hoke.com
- Best speedy men’s running shoes – Nike alphafly next% 2: £269.95, Nike.com
- Best men’s running shoes for stability – New Balance fresh foam X 860 V13: £140, Newbalance.co.uk
- Best men’s running shoes for 21k-ers – Hoka Bondi X: £180, Hoka.com
- Best men’s running shoes for longer outings – Adidas adistar 2.0 shoes: £120, Adidas.co.uk
- Best men’s running shoes for cushioning and comfort – On cloudmonster: £160, On-running.com
- Best men’s running shoes for sustainability – Adidas ultraboost 22 made with nature shoes: £165, Adidas.co.uk
- Best pavement pounder – Brooks glycerin stealthfit 20: £150, Brooksrunning.com
- Best maximal men’s running shoes – Salomon glide max: £98, Salomon.com
- Best men’s running shoes for recovery runs – Under Armour HOVR mega 3 clone running shoes: £135, Underarmour.co.uk