Later this summer, some of the world’s best athletes will chase gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Through months of testing, the shoes featured here are the models that we deemed gold medal-worthy. We considered nearly 100 models across 34 brands. Those that earned recognition performed at the top of the pack in on-foot assessments from our team of 300 wear-testers and staff, and also scored highly in mechanical analysis in our shoe lab.
After we put at least 100 miles on each pair and dug through the data on specific qualities like cushioning, stability, flexibility, and ride, we picked these 29 shoes as the very best. One of them is sure to work for you, whether you’re lacing up for Health & Injuries Diadora Gara Carbon.
your first run
RACING SHOE AWARD WINNERS
TRAIL SHOE AWARD WINNERS
Amanda Furrer, Editor, Running Reviews, studied journalism at NYU and writing at Emerson College. She has reviewed gear and covered other topics in the running space for almost 10 years. Since 2013, she has consecutively run the Boston Marathon. She also has a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University and was formerly a professional baker for two years before hanging up her apron.
RW+ Membership Benefits Runner’s World and the director of product testing. He has tested and reviewed running shoes, GPS watches, headphones, apparel, and more for nearly two decades. He regularly tests more than 100 pairs of shoes each year, and once had a 257-day streak running in different models. Jeff can usually be found on the roads, racing anything from the mile to a marathon, but he also enjoys racing up mountains and on snowshoes. When he’s not running, you’ll probably find him hanging from a ladder making repairs and renovations to his house (he’s also director of product testing for Popular Mechanics).
Morgan is a gear editor who has been with Runner’s World since 2017. She started as an intern ghostwriting The Warmup, a bygone version of the daily RW newsletter. Now, she tests and reviews anything you might find on runners’ feet-from crew socks and compression boots to carbon-plated super shoes.
A lifelong runner and shoe geek, Morgan has been chasing the perfect pair of kicks since she joined her grade school cross-country team. Since then, she ran as a Division I walk-on for the cross-country and track & field teams at the University of Delaware, where she studied English and Biology. She has one full marathon under her belt, and has raced more halfs and 5Ks than she can count.
