Running Shoes Reviews

Because running shoes are such an individualized item, well known consumer magazines like Consumer Reports don't review them (although the magazine's editors did cover walking shoes back in 2006). The places for the best research are specialty running magazines and running stores that offer user reviews.

Runner's World offers the best review of 2008 running shoes. In fact, it's hard to beat Runner's World's coverage, period. For the magazine's latest article, 27 new or revised running shoes are tested mechanically and with 350 wear-testers in four cities; each tester wore shoes for a month before delivering a verdict. More running shoes are covered in earlier issues. Runner's World selects a handful of running shoes as Editor's Choice or Best Buy picks, but there's no overall ranking of shoes. They, like all other reviewers, divide the shoes into categories and list a few choices for each, along with any special characteristics each shoe possesses.

Outside magazine also publishes reviews of running shoes, but testing methodology isn't as well documented as it is at Runner's World, and Outside doesn't review nearly as many running shoes. Editors hadn't yet covered 2008 running shoes at the time of our visit, but there's coverage of 2007 shoes and more recent articles on trail runners (covered in our separate ConsumerSearch report on trail-running shoes). Runner's World and Outside magazine don't always test the same shoes, but when they do, it's interesting to compare opinions. RunningTimes.com also posts shoe reviews, mainly written by the same contributor that writes reviews for Outside magazine, Brian Metzler.

A juicer and lawn mower can be graded by how well they do their jobs, regardless of the person using them. A running shoe, however, is graded by how well it does its job relative to the foot of the person wearing it. Choosing a great running shoe for the wrong type of foot will naturally lead to that shoe being panned by an individual reviewer. For that reason, reviewers emphasize that reviews can only take you so far when choosing a running shoe. Reviews can help you narrow the field to a handful of models that might best fit your foot type, but trying out shoes yourself is the only way to judge. Most good running-gear stores will let you run around the store, or better yet, on a treadmill in the store. Clerks at the better stores can be fonts of knowledge, letting you know which shoes have worked best for others with your foot type. Lastly, if you don't have a good running shop nearby, online shoe stores have adopted free return shipping policies so you can exchange shoes without a shipping penalty.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

In a topic as subjective as running shoes, finding an absolute best for all runners is impossible. Reviews focus on finding the best shoe based on personal considerations. For the purposes of this report, we looked for shoes that are highly rated in publications that perform shoe tests, including Runner's World and Outside magazine. We then cross-referenced those picks with reviews at Running Times and other magazines and websites that perform less rigorous testing. The running shoes included in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers represent the shoes you should try first, as representatives of their type. They are not the only shoes that deserve consideration.