Running Shoes of the Year 2023

Published November 15, 2023 04:00PM

Hundreds of new running shoes hit running stores this year with new midsole foams, new upper materials, new colorways, and new designs that helped make running more comfortable, more stylish, and more energizing than ever.

We, the editors of Women’s Running, Trail Runner, and Outside, wear tested dozens of road and trail shoes in 2023, and these were the models we liked the best.

Road Running

Altra Rivera 3 | $140

Altra has built its reputation with shoes that have a level or zero-drop platform and a spacious toe box. The brand’s founders pursued that design paradigm to encourage runners to have a more natural, uncompromised gait that, they claim, will reduce the propensity for overuse injuries. The Rivera 3 has the classic Altra geometry and a medium-thick midsole that provides a good amount of cushioning and exceptional proprioceptive feel for the ground.

The Rivera 3 is a versatile, do-almost-everything training shoe capable of tackling moderately long runs, short recovery runs, tempo runs, and faster workouts. It features a sleeker version of Altra’s Footshape Fit, giving it both a lower-volume interior and a slightly narrower footprint while retaining a wider forefoot. All of that combines for a light, soft, smooth, agile and completely unrestrained ride.

Asics Gel-Nimbus 25 | $160

The Asics Gel-Nimbus 25 is the poster child for the hot 2023 trend of super-max training shoes with thick midsoles that are both extremely cushy and very responsive. The revamped Gel-Nimbus serves up a high-off-the-ground ride with plush interior coziness, an ideal mix for an everyday trainer for any level of runner.

The foam used in the GEL-Nimbus 25, called FlyteFoam Blast+ Eco, is a more sustainable compound that incorporates 20 percent bio-based material. It produces a soft and bouncy sensation that is surprisingly energetic as well as plush, but it’s not just midsole foam that makes the new Nimbus special. There’s a lighter and softer formulation of Asics’ signature gel cushioning additive, now called PureGEL, embedded in the heel, and the Nimbus 25 no longer features a midfoot Trusstic system (shank) because the new midsole formulation provides a smooth transition from heel to toe without the need for supplemental torsional rigidity.

All of those design elements contribute to the velvety smooth ride, but so too does the slightly lower heel-toe offset. Whereas last year’s Nimbus had a 13mm heel-toe drop, this year’s edition now has a much more moderate 8mm offset, which, combined with the bouncier cushioning under the forefoot, feels a lot more lively.

New Balance Fresh Foam X 1080v13 | $165

The 13th edition of the New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 is a cushy everyday training shoe that serves up a soft, buttery ride. As comfortable as your favorite sweatshirt on a cool, fall day, it also does a great job at combining shock-absorbing cushioning and smooth heel-toe transitions in every stride. The revised Fresh Foam X midsole is not exceptionally energetic, but it’s soft and mildly responsive and it feels just as good in the last mile of your long runs as it did in the first mile.

The 1080v 13 features plush interior comfort, with extra padding around the heel collar, a soft, thick tongue and a premium sockliner under your feet. Despite its cushioning and support, the Fresh Foam X 1080v13 is relatively lightweight, making it ideal for long runs, recovery runs and longer up-tempo efforts. It features a denser, but still very breathable mesh upper that offers a more ocked-in fit around the heel. The lighter weight, softer sensation, modest rebound and more distinct rocker shape of the 1080v13 make it worthwhile are definitely reasons to check out the new edition, even if you weren’t totally inspired by the recent editions of this shoe.

Nike InfinityRN 4 | $160

Soft, stable, and sublime, Nike’s InfinityRN 4 is a modern marvel of a stability shoe. It relies on simple strategies (and not rigid structural components) to provide stability: a wide platform flared even wider under the forefoot, sidewalls surrounding the heel up to midfoot, and, most uniquely, a deep groove running the length of the lateral sidewall. That groove, which lets the base of the sole collapse upon landing, is designed to eliminate excess inward torque and creates a super-smooth transition from touchdown to toe-off.

The cushioned, responsive, but not overly squishy ReactX midsole catches, supports, and centers the foot. The foam is thicker than ever (5mm more in the heel, 4mm more in the forefoot), and bouncier, delivering a luxurious yet sporty ride—think Lexus Sports Sedan rather than Cadillac Town Car. The early rocker encourages a quick toe roll and works together with the foam’s rebound to keep strides from wallowing in the thick platform, but the shoe’s weight keeps it from being very speedy. A stretchy knit upper contributes to the plush feel, yet, surprisingly, doesn’t make the fit sloppy, thanks to some thicker-knit ribs around the instep and a gusseted tongue.

Saucony Endorphin Elite | $275

Saucony continues to make some of the speediest shoes on the market. Coming on the success of its race-ready Endorphin Pro 3, the Endorphin Elite is a racing shoe with a carbon-fiber plate embedded in a hyper-responsive midsole. It’s built on an energetic platform of Saucony’s new firmer and more responsive PWRRUN HG midsole cushioning and a softer, springy footbed enhanced by a layer of PWRRUN PB (both Pebax-based foams) under the sockliner. In short, it has an electric vibe that inspires quick stride turnover for races from 5K to the marathon.

Unlike the Endorphin Pro 3, which creates a smooth, rolling sensation, the Endorphin Elite serves up a feeling like your foot is falling off an edge just before you reach the toe-off phase of a stride. Besides having a more aggressive rocker, the Endorphin Elite’s plate is forked: it originates from a solid piece under the heel but then separates into four long narrow flanges under the forefoot.This allows your foot to move with its own natural dynamic patterns instead of being forced into a movement pattern dictated by a solid plate. The upper is thin and the interior feels sparse like a lot of race-day shoes, but it more than compensates for a lack of creature comforts in high-performance execution.

Trail Running

Craft Pure Trail | $170

While it’s hard to pick the best singular aspect of the Pure Trail, its combination of resilient cushioning, reliable traction, and a secure fit make it a great all-around trail running shoe. Think of it as a luxury SUV with plenty of creature comforts that also has the technical acuity to tackle off-road terrain. It features a single layer of Craft’s high-rebound supercritical Cr midsole foam that provides a soft, responsive, and stable ride. Although it’s not a featherweight model, it’s not heavy, either, and the weight isn’t noticeable on especially rocky, technical terrain.

With near-maximal midsole heights, it serves up a well-cushioned and moderately energetic ride. It has a flexible plastic rock plate embedded in the midsole of the forefoot that, along with the thick foam, helps mitigate the impact of pointy rocks underfoot. Even with the protective plate, the shoe still has an easy-flexing forefoot and isn’t at all laterally tippy like some shoes with carbon-fiber plates. The dynamic structure of the airy one-piece TPU mesh upper is both highly breathable and exceptioally supportive, but it isn’t very protective on the top or sides. The reinforced toe bumper does a good job protecting against stubbed toes, but it left testers’ feet a bit vulnerable to sidewall abrasions.

Hoka Challenger ATR 7 | $145

This seventh iteration of the Challenger ATR looks more like the brand’s rugged trail models than the mild-mannered Challengers of the past. The 4mm lugs are smaller in the center of the outsole and larger around the perimeter (a strategy inspired by gravel bike tires that lets the shoe both roll over roads and dig into dirt), and the new outsole rubber does a slightly better job on technical terrain than previous versions of this shoe. There’s more compression-molded EVA cushioning than in earlier versions, too. The signature Hoka cush—and the brand’s notable rockered geometry—runs more like a monster truck than a ninja: it lets a runner just roll over rocks instead of picking their way around them. Yet it’s still exceptionally light, soft and smooth.

The updated Challenger ATR 7 is a great road-to-trail hybrid shoe that excels at a wide variety of terrain, everything from paved roads and concrete bike paths to dirt trails and semi-technical routes with roots, rocks, and other obstacles. It offers the comfort and cushiness of your favorite road running shoes with reliable traction and stability needed for the uneven and always-changing terrain of the trails. It’s not the most flexible shoe, but it is inherently stable, comfortable, and capable.

Give the runner in your life the gift of lightweight, supportive, and responsive footwear. The SCOTT Ultra Carbon RC is designed to provide the right amount of agility and ground feel on uneven terrain with a pace-controlled stiffness response thanks to its Carbitex Dynamic Carbon Plate. Whether running on rolling trail or navigating sharp turns, the Ultra Traction Outsole assures optimal traction and grip at all times. And to top it off, the Efficient Rocker promotes a dynamic running position, reducing heel strike impacts and increasing efficiency for faster running with less energy.

Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 | $200

Merrell built the Skyfire 2 from the ground up based on considerable input from its elite trail racing team, and the result is a lightweight shoe that’s well-engineered for running fast over smooth, soft, and moderately technical terrain. Unlike max-cushioned trail runners with pillowy midsoles, the low-to-the-ground MTL Skyfire 2 feels light, nimble, fast, precise, and ideal for up-tempo training or short-distance trail racing. The step-in feel is sparse—with a thin sockliner, thin tongue, and modestly padded heel collar—but the locked-down fit and ultra-light construction inspires nimble strides and all-out speed.

The thin but responsive midsole provides sufficient cushioning for runners who are light on their feet and, thanks to the full-length plastic-composite flex plate, also gives a bit of energetic pop. It doesn’t offer much trail-specific protection—however, the plate keeps you from feeling every pebble on the trail—but it allows for heightened proprioceptive interaction with the ground, which will allow you to run with more precision, more power, and more speed. There are plenty of other great features—including recycled materials and a treatment for natural odor control—but it’s the combination of the outsole, midsole, and upper that make the MTL Skyfire 2 so exceptional.

New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trail | $200

The SuperComp Trail was engineered to be an agile, high-performance trail runner for short- to moderate-length runs at faster paces—and it delivers. It’s a lightweight shoe that offers soft, resilient cushioning and a firm (but not rigid) carbon-fiber plate for a bit of propulsion and protection, all alongside a low-profile outsole that delivers good grip on most types of terrain. Although the trail running super shoe category is still rapidly evolving—at least compared to the seven-year evolution of carbon-fiber marathon racing shoes— the New Balance Fuel Cell SuperComp Trail is on the short list of really good plated trail shoes that offer a good combination of soft, responsive foam, reliable traction and modest trail-specific protection.

The soft, energetic FuelCell midsole compound is evident the moment you start running, especially on firmer or more consistent terrain. It’s the same supercritical foam formulation New Balance incorporates into its road running shoes, but the stack height isn’t as high in the SuperComp Trail and it’s not nearly as bouncy. It has near-maximal cushioning under the heel, but the stance is considerably lower to the ground at the forefoot, and that’s one of the key reasons this shoe feels so nimble and maneuverable. The low-profile directional lugs of the Vibram Litebase rubber outsole provide reliable traction for running on loose dirt, sparse gravel, and both wet and dry solid rock faces (but are not ideal for muddy trails or coarse pebbles), while the cushy, plated midsole offers great underfoot protection. However, this shoe doesn’t offer a lot of toe box or sidewall protection, even though the SC Trail’s upper and toe bumper are modestly reinforced.

Nike Ultrafly | $260

Although Nike is one of the biggest names in road running shoes, it wasn’t until this year that the brand really established itself in the world of trail running. The mid-summer release of the lightweight, stable, grippy and stable Ultrafly earned rave reviews for its soft, lively and agile vibe on mild to moderate trail terrain, crushed gravel paths and fire roads. Although the Ultrafly is not quite a max-cushioned shoe, it features the same ZoomX found in Nike’s high-end Vaporfly and Alphafly marathon racing shoes. It’s soft and responsive like a road running shoe, but not marshmallowy (thanks to the nylon mesh-reinforced wrapping of the midsole foam) and with a wide forefoot profile, it provides a good amount of inherent stability on off-camber terrain. That springy midsole, combined with a carbon-fiber propulsion plate—shorter than the road version and shaped like a two-pronged fork— put a noticeable spring in every step, while the lower-to-the-ground forefoot provides an excellent proprioceptive feel for the trail that makes it conducive to quick footsteps and sharp cornering at faster speeds.

The Ultrafly is a little less at home on technical trail terrain, although the Vibram Litebase outsole rubber—a huge upgrade from all previous Nike trail running shoes—and interior plate do a good job at keeping under-foot stingers from sharp rocks at bay. The rip-stop micromesh upper is modestly reinforced (but barely so around the toe box), and it could make your feet vulnerable to sidewall abrasions and stubbed toes on more rugged terrain.