What is the best running shoe in 2020? A lot of shoes are starting to release, and some are seemingly being delayed *cough* *cough* Nike Tempo, dragonfly, air victory ect… We thought now would be a good time to give our opinion on what we think the best shoes on the market are. In the past we did a “is Nike the best running brand in 2020” which is similar. However, this takes into account all brands. We have to base our opinion on shoes which are accessible globally. So we will not include the Nike tempo next% in this. But the new track spikes will be included.
What is the best running shoe in 2020 (Our opinion)
So far, this has to go to the Saucony Endorphin Speed. We have done a full review of this shoe on our youtube channel. Click here to view
The best Mileage shoe
When the average person asks what is the best running shoe? They usually mean “what is the best running shoe for mileage?” or “what is the best running shoe for road” as they tend to purely do casual runs and run on road a lot. Because of this, mileage shoes are probably the most important product to the majority of runners.
The big names for mileage shoes tend to be the; Nike Pegasus, Hoka Clifton, Brooks glycerinc, Nike Vomero and other contenders from brands like Adidas and Asics. Most, good options, however, I wouldn’t say any have the title of the best mileage shoe.
From personal opinion the best mileage shoe goes to the Hoka elevon 2. For me it’s the perfect mixture of responsiveness, support, weight and comfort. It weights 10 oz and has a stack height of 35mm at the heel. Other shoes such as the Pegasus 37 and Hoka Mach 3 seem faster but for me I couldn’t confidently use them for long runs, since i like a really supportive shoe.
Other acceptable options are; Hoka Clifton 7, Saucony endorphin shift, adidas slar glide and the Pegasus turbo 1 if you can handle less support
The best Session & Threshold Shoe
Having a good training shoe is crucial. You need enough support, along with responsive/speed. Without support, your legs can easily develop impact injuries and without the responsiveness you’ll feel sluggish in your sessions.
From doing extensive research and recommendations from pros/shoe gurus, for me, there is a standout winner. That is the Saucony endorphin speed. It has a composite plate, so it’s less aggressive than the carbon plate shoes, which really helps the Calfs and Achilles stay injury free.
The Saucony endorphin speed feels very very fast and is really light. It by far outranks the zoom fly in every category. The only issue is the shoes availability.
Other acceptable options are; Nike turbo 2, New balance fuel cell, Brooks tempo and Skechers razor 3
The best shoe for Speed sessions
If you do your speed sessions on the road then the only shoe that I can confidently recommend would be the Streak Lt, it’s a very aggressive racing flat and will allow you to go at full speed on the road. This shoe can also be used on the track for faster sessions.
The best shoe for the faster track workouts in our opinion is the Nike flat/spike shoe. It has the model of the streak lt, but also has a a matumbo spike plate for extra grip. I would choose this shoe over the average spike as it has more support and is more comfortable. If you are doing a full out speed session, maybe switch to a spike like the mamba v or the Avanti.
The best shoe for Track races
Ok, so a bit of the controversial one, but if you aren’t wearing the Nike air victory or the Nike dragonfly, you’re at a disadvantage (unless you’re Shelby Houlihan). These spikes seem to optimise your performance in order to meet your potential. Nike seems to be the first company to revolutionise track spikes, so maybe in a year’s time we will see other brands start coming out with their competitors.
We understand these spikes aren’t out yet, as of mid-July 2020, so we need to include other options here. These are the Mamba v, Matumbo and the Hoka one one rocket. Non of which we believe will be the best running shoe in 2020 because of the new spikes entering the market very soon.
The best shoe for Road races
For us, there are currently 4 big players within the road racing scene. And unless you run the marathon or half marathon, the Alhplafly isn’t needed. The other 3 shoes are the; Nike Next%, Saucony endorphin pro and adidas adizero adios pro.
We don’t really have to say much about the Next% as I sure you’re all aware of how good that shoe is. However, the other two aren’t as well known to be super shoes. The endorphin pro is amazing and probably the most underrated shoe. Adidas has recently released the adidas adizero adios pro, which technology looks crazy, with the carbon plate in the back and foot rods in the forefoot.
the best running shoe in 2020 On a budget
Running shoes can be expensive and we get a lot of questions asking is there a way we can use a shoe for sessions and easy miles. Obviously using a single shoe for everything can have some limiting factors as they’re optimum for a specific purpose and the shoe would wear out quickly.
Hoka Mach 3 – The Mach 3 is a lightweight, high stack, responsive shoe. It’s a great shoe and i’ve found them useful for long runs to tempo runs and at a push they could also be used for track sessions. I’d say it is a slightly tight fitting shoe, but that adds to making it feel more responsive.
Pegasus 37 – The pegasus is always a popular shoe and is probably the most common running shoe people wear from Nike. It is a fairly lightweight/responsive shoe, but has enough support to provide comfort during the longer milage days. I haven’t used the pegasus 37, but after seeing Matt Boling bash out a speed session the the peg 36s I’m sure they can suffice for the track stuff.
Infinity run (react) – Nike’s revolutionising injury prevention shoe is also capable of doing both long runs and track sessions. We’ve seen elite runners like Yomif Kejelcha wearing them on the track and on his longer runs. This shoe is mainly designed for milage, but due to it being lightweight and bouncy, it’s more than capable of going at those faster paces
The best running shoe in 2020
So far, this has to go to the Saucony Endorphin Speed. We have done a full review of this shoe on our youtube channel. Click here to view
What is your best running shoe in 2020?