Whether you are a casual runner or serious enthusiast, the right pair of running shoes is of vital importance. If you don’t protect your feet properly, you may experience discomfort or even a disorder such as Plantar Fasciitis. In this guide, you will discover the Top 10 Best Men’s Running Shoes to buy online:
- Best Beginner’s Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 34
- Most Versatile Shoes: Brooks Ghost 10
- Best For Road Running: Adidas Supernova
- Adapted For Trail Running: Salomon Speedcross 4 GTX
- Marathons & Long Distance: Saucony Freedom ISO
- Designed For Track Running: Puma Evospeed
- For The Gym: Reebok Crossfit Nano 8.0 Flexweave
- Ideal For Power Walking: New Balance 840 V3
- Best Maximal Shoes: Hoka Ona One Bondi 5
- Injured & Sensitive Feet: Asics Nimbus 20
If you’re looking for a particular pair for your needs, use the links above to jump ahead.
Furthermore, we’ll provide a detailed guide of the type of running shoes to look for according to your needs.
Quick Buyer’s Guide
If you’re in a hurry, you can use our Quick Buy Guide below to make a quick purchase of the shoes you need according to your requirements. Nevertheless, if you have the time, you can learn more about each pair below.
What Are The Best Running Shoes For Men?
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- Style: Sneakers
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $90 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Overview
Whilst Nike Airs are the bread and butter standard of sneakers, anyone looking to start running should aim for something that’s a cut above. In that light, the Pegasus 34 running shoes are the perfect choice when starting out.
Key Features
With its flymesh upper construction and Zoom Air units in both the forefoot and heel, the Pegasus 34 offer a lot at a fair price. Furthermore, the premium ST cushion gives you comfortable support with a Fitsole that moulds to your foot shape.
Best Colors
One of the highlights of the Pegasus 34 is the wide plethora of various colours that you can choose. This makes them ideal for the fashion-conscious runner who likes variety when buying new shoes.
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- Style: Sneakers
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $120 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Overview
For those who follow numerous activities but only want to depend on a single pair of quality sneakers, Brooks offer some of the best shoes available. Although not as famous as other brands, they feature a dependable construction that can be used almost anywhere.
Key Features
With a neutral support frame, you can wear these for pretty much any activity. They also come with a removable foam insole for extra adjustment as well as full-length Segmented Crash Pad for variable foot landings. Lightweight synthetic overlays and Omega Flex grooves allow natural forefoot movement.
Best Colors
As they’ve been out for a while, some colours are running low on stock. Nevertheless, the most widely-available black and blue two-tone is our favourite, which has a white mid-sole for extra contrast.
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- Style: Sneakers [Road Running]
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $103 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Overview
As much as we love the feeling of freedom, road running can play hell on your needs and feet. Therefore, you need extra cushioning and support in order to be protected. The Adidas Supernova sneakers are perfectly adapted for these conditions and will give you an extra few miles on your routine runs.
Key Features
Featuring a Stretchweb rubber outsole, wearers will experience extra support along with the Boost cushioning for a protected stride. Furthermore, the engineered mesh upper is lightweight and breathable for a secure yet comfortable fit.
Best Colors
Our preferred colour is the vapour blue with a lime green sole, which gives the wearer a stylish and visible contrast in low visibility. Otherwise, a full range of colours is equally available including cyan “Slime”, “Scralet” purple and Utility black mixed with a “Solar” orange.
- Style: Sneakers [Trail Running]
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $160 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Trail running exposes your body to different surfaces and terrains, which can change in an instant. Whether running down country paths, rocky surfaces or marshland, the aptly-named Wildhorse from Nike is a well-designed shoe which provides protection and comfort.
Key Features
With Salomon’s proprietary Premium Wet Traction Contragrip outsole, you can face any terrain with these shoes. These dense and prominent chevron-shaped lugs are ideal for muddy conditions and the Gore-Tex membrane ensures that your feet stay dry. OrthoLite insoles provide excellent arch support and cushion too.
Best Colors
Whilst we’re fond of the Fiery Red colour with orange soles, there’s also Hawaiian Blue and black. However, stocks seem to be low on Zappos and we can only see the black pair for now. Nevertheless, they’re still very stylish.
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- Style: Sneakers [Long-Distance Running]
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $114 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Overview
Long-distance and marathon runners know the importance of robust and reliable shoes. Your feet experience extensive and prolonged punishment, which will require true protection. Saucony is renowned for making quality shoes that provide the necessary comfort and support during long exposure to running.
Key Features
Designed with long-distance running in mind, the Freedoms feature Everun cushioning, which provide natural yet responsive impact protection. Furthermore, the crystal rubber soles offer ideal traction and durability with flexibility in mind.
Best Colors
As you can expect, there are a number of colour options including lime green, turquoise blue and orange as well as many more. We’re fond of the turquoise and the contrasting lemon and orange crystal rubber soles.
- Style: Sneakers [Track Running]
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $110 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
For short, high-speed sprints, track shoes are absolutely essential. Lightweight and usually featuring spikes, they ensure firm traction and high performance. Saucony offer the best option on the market for truly premium track and field shoes that will leave competition in the dust.
Key Features
Equipped with a floating support cage and Saucony’s ISOFIT technology, the midsole features a stretchable air mesh that moulds to the foot shape like a sock. This provides ideal support with a barefoot feel for heightened responsiveness. Meanwhile, the 10-pin Pebax spike plate is extremely aggressive for high-speed starts and stops with a pyramid design.
Best Colors
Despite their high performance and stylish presentation, the Saucony Showdowns are only available in two colours. You can choose either from a mid-blue with white and black accents or white with black accents. We’re particularly fond of the blue.
- Style: Sneakers [Crossfit Training]
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $130 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Overview
Whether you’re hitting the treadmill or undertaking a CrossFit-style cardio exercise regimen, you need shoes adapted for the gym. The Reebok Crossfit range is designed with this specifically in mind and the Nano 8.0 is their most advanced offering so far.
Key Features
With optimal stability in mind, the Nano features a minimal drop outsole, which can handle multiple surfaces from ropes to treadmills. Meanwhile the external heel counter adds to stability for lifting and reps. A wide toe box ensures comfort during powerful movements and the flexweave is both durable and flexible.
Best Colors
With their more urban design, the Crossfits tend to come in either black or white with dark grey accents. However, there is also a white option with navy accents for a splash of colour.
- Style: Sneakers [Power Walking]
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $120 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Intensive walking requires a very different technique to running or countryside strolls. Therefore, it’s important to consider this when picking out the most adapted shoe. New Balance’s 840 V3 features the perfect balance with a construction best adapted to power walking.
How To Wear
New Balance’s ABZORB midsole offers blend foam cushioning and compression set best designed for power walking gaits. Furthermore, the full-length EVA strobel board ensures comfort during long-distance walks. Finally, a breathable mesh and synthetic upper materials keep you dry during intense work.
Best Colors
Surprisingly, New Balance offers limited options for their 840V3 shoes. Buyers can only choose from a grey colour with black, grey and blue accents or black with a few white and grey accents. We prefer the ones with blue accents for a slight pop of colour.
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- Style: Sneakers
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $150 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Some years ago, it was fashionable to wear minimalist shoes that were low to the ground and simulated running barefoot. However, after a number of reported injuries, new brands introduced the complete opposite. Leading the charge was Hoka One One, which offered extremely high and cushioned shoes.
Key Features
The Bondi 5 is an exceptionally comfortable shoe. Offering maximum cushion, the footbed is made from moulded Ortholite. The slightly rounded sole promotes propulsion and provides a smoother heel transition. Finally, the 3D Puff Print Frame overlays offer superior structural support.
Best Colors
Most colour palettes are variations where you can choose from blue and lime, blue and grey or two shades of blue. There’s also a grey pair, black pair and, our favourite, a black and grey pair with red accents.
- Style: Sneakers
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $160 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Overview
If you’re a serious runner, you’ve probably experienced injury along the way. Alternatively, you may have a disorder, which could be indirectly due to or unrelated to intense running. Either way, whether it’s plantar fasciitis or overpronation, you may need extra cushion and support.
Key Features
Firstly, the ASICS Nimbus range is known for offering excellent orthopaedic protection. Whether it’s the lightweight Flytefoam midsole with exceptional bounce or rear and forefoot gel providing shock-absorbant transition, the Nimbus 20 is their safest and most comfortable shoe yet.
Best Colors
Like other varieties of running shoe, the ASICS offer various hues for their footwear. There’s a plethora to choose from such as Sulphur Yellow or Island Blue. However, we’re quite fond of the classic black with contrasting white midsole.
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How To Choose Running Shoes According To Your Needs
When seeking out the best possible running shoes, know that they don’t necessarily exist. Unfortunately, there’s no Holy Grail running shoe that is superior to everything else. In fact, the best running shoes to buy are going to be the ones that best serve your specific needs.
As you may have noticed in the list above, each of the top 10 shoes was the best for a reason. They were all given a qualifier in how they excelled. However, few are compatible for every discipline and specialization.
For instance, the Saucony Showdown 4 are perfect for short and intense sprints on the track. However, they’d be terrible beyond 400 meters. Similarly, the Adidas Supernovas are fantastic road running shoes but are too flexible for trail running.
Of course, there are more well-rounded shoes as we’ve highlighted above. Whilst they perform admirably in a wide variety of activities, they’re not designed to excel in anything particular. If you’re an enthusiast in a particular type of running, you’ll need something more specific.
Each activity has particular requirements whilst every shoe features different characteristics. In this guide, we’ll take a look at what to look for according to your running preferences.
Road Running
As the name suggests, road running is the practice of running in the street. It’s quite a popular type of running as it usually consists of those who live in cities and large towns, which account for a significant percentage of the population.
Furthermore, more often than not, it involves jogging medium to long distances.
As you’re running on either tarmac or concrete, your feet are exposed to hard surfaces. Given the distance and regularity of road running, it can put significant strain on your feet and legs.
Without proper protection, you can face health issues such as knee injuries. Alternatively, you could even experience foot disorders like Plantar Fasciitis, which are small micro-traumas beneath the heel.
Therefore, it’s important to have some support as well as extra cushion in order to absorb shocks against the hard surfaces. This will lessen the burden on your knees and avoid injury in the long term.
Trail Running
Conversely to road running, trailing is a more all-terrain running activity. Whilst it most commonly takes place in a park or along country paths, more intensive enthusiasts take it to the next level.
For instance, some runners will seek out natural paths such as fresh water sources or even run across marshland and rock surfaces. As the terrain can vary quite wildly, it’s important to have a shoe that offers the maximum level of protection.
The sort of protection required involves extra support and a sturdy construction. This superior level of support is necessary to prevent spraining the ankle when tackling uneven surfaces.
Furthermore, the best shoes for trail running often feature rock plates or other protective strips along the sole. When running on stony surfaces, it’s easy to have sharp rock stab through low protection and damage the underside of your feet.
Such protective plates ensure that this doesn’t put an early end to a run. Similarly, extra cushion is often needed more than in any other sport.
Given that you may encounter low-friction surfaces due to wet environments or even the weather, you need extra grip. High traction soles provide the necessary grip to prevent slips and falling.
Long-Distance Running & Marathons
In recent years, marathons have grown in popularity. Just take a look on Facebook and you’ll notice at least a few friends that have proudly brandished their medals or selfies at the finishing line!
Preparing for marathons requires considerable training. However, it’s vitally important to find the right footwear for before and during the event. Regular joggers need to consider cushion but this becomes even more important when running exceptionally long distances.
Not only will your knees take a lot of punishment, but it’s also important to think about the fit and breathability of your shoes. Since you will sweat a lot, a significant amount of moisture can build up in the shoes, which can cause blistering and sores in low-quality sneakers.
Therefore, you need an almost sock-like fit to reduce friction and rubbing as well as engineered mesh to keep your feet dry.
Don’t forget superior cushion and some decent support to reduce the shock to your knees, hips and feet.
Track & Field
If you’re an athlete that prefers short-distance sprints, then you also need a shoe that’s adapted to this activity. Track and field shoes are probably the most specialised by being specifically engineered for sprinting.
Firstly, you want to reduce cushion as much as possible in favour of stability. This ensures a far more reactive shoe that doesn’t absorb the energy from your stride.
As such, the soles are usually very thin with a very precise fit for an almost sock-like fit and “barefoot” feel. Furthermore, these shoes will often feature spikes in order to maximise traction and improve your grip on the track.
Remember that because these shoes are so specialised, they’re almost unwearable for everyday running activities. Therefore, you’ll need a regular pair of running shoes as well.
Crossfit Training
A popular activity for improving your level of fitness in a well-rounded way, CrossFit is mostly an indoor activity. You can probably get away with regular sneakers for this. However, something more adapted to your needs will improve your experience.
Workouts in the gym consist of a wide variety of different exercises and needs. One minute you may be running on a treadmill and the next minute you’re doing squats.
Shoes specifically designed for CrossFit and gym training are usually engineered with stability as a key feature. This is because you’ll be lifting heavy weights or making large and powerful movements.
Therefore, your shoes need to be stable to avoid falling over. As such, they are designed with minimal drop soles and heel counters as well as wide toe boxes in order to maintain balance.
Power Walking
Although a somewhat unusual activity, Power walking is said to have a number of benefits as opposed to jogging for managing weight. Given that you undertake large and intense movements rather than short running strides, it burns a lot more calories and can be less tiring.
Given that your gait will be very different to running, your shoes need to have stability in mind to avoid losing balance. As such, the best shoes for power walking often feature developed cushioning as well as wide and flat soles for stable traction.
What Next?
Now that you’ve read about the best men’s shoes for running, you may be interested in some of our other related shoe guides:
"This changed my whole fitness life. I despaired at the thought of running but now look forward to it with the right shoes."Rating: 5.0 ★★★★★
Shoe Content
Very essential and informative post!! When it comes to running shoes, most runners really do try to understand all the latest and greatest technologies. But you shouldn’t need an advanced physics degree just to buy yourself a decent pair of running shoes. It’s time to think about a simpler method of finding the best running shoes.
Hi Monjil,
Thanks for the comment. I know, right? It shouldn’t be quite so complicated! Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of marketing vocabulary flying around and brands use their own terms, which can become very confusing. Unlike traditional dress shoes, the techniques aren’t quite as established or standardised so it feels much harder to learn.
Best,
CP