7 Best Competition Running Shoes in 2024

How we test competition running shoes

To ensure the objectivity of our reviews, we do the following:

• Buy race shoes using our own money. Every cent invested comes from our pockets.
• We hit the streets in these shoes and do test runs in them. We accumulate 30 to 50 miles in each pair before we log our observations.
• Bring the shoes to our lab. We cut the race shoes in half and measure different parameters using our tools and equipment. We publish 20+ data points on each shoe, including their softness, breathability, stiffness, outsole thickness and hardness, weight, and so on.

Picture this.
You’re running.
You’re giving it your everything.
You’re pushing and you want that new personal best, but your legs are getting tired and you feel like you’re shoes are working against you.
The midsole is soft but not good soft.
There’s a lace bite and it’s hurting your instep.
You want to push harder but you just... Can’t.
Welcome to the crew of people who chose bad race-day shoes.
Now, let’s fix that.

4 features of competition running shoes

You want to run the fastest time and feel good at the same time: no blisters, no discomfort, and no premature leg fatigue. Of course! Here’s what we look for in competition running shoes: 

1. Responsiveness! It’s a must. This means that the shoe propels you forward, the foam is not dull, you don’t need to work extra to bounce off. 
2. Lightweight or featherlight category of shoes. The lighter the shoes, the faster we are! 
3. Stack height of at least 25mm for shorter distances (5k, 10k, half marathon) and at least 30mm for marathon distances. 
4. Stable platform especially if you’re a heel striker
5. New technologies: rockers, carbon plates of different shapes and sizes combined with new foam compounds, see-through uppers, premium insoles, and so on. 

We will explain each of these features below, along with the lab tests we did to test them out and more features that we had to understand along the way. 

What you can expect from race day shoes

Based on the features mentioned above, this is what you can expect from race shoes: 

• Soft yet stiff platform, especially in shoes with carbon-fiber plates 
• They are very cushioned
• Very breathable uppers 
• Not a lot of cozy details like thick tongue padding, heel collar padding, or heel tabs because they all add unnecessary weight 
• They feel and are very lightweight
• Often, the chunks of the midsoles are cut out to save weight
• Thin rubber that often does not cover the whole outsole surface to save weight
• They are not durable which is why they should be saved for the race day 
• They are expensive.

Of course, there are and always will be some outliers. In this guide, we focus on average runners and what works in most cases. You will see people finishing a marathon in Asics Gel Kayano 31 which is a stability daily trainer, or in a minimalist-almost-barefoot Merrell Vapor Glove 6 with almost no cushioning and definitely no fancy tech. 

Cutting a competition running shoe in half in RunRepeat lab 

While it is possible to do such things, new PBs are not achieved in non-race shoes or at least in non-tempo shoes, and if you have no extensive experience and preparation for minimalist shoes, you could end up injured. 

Responsiveness: priority #1 in competition running shoes

The big mistake in finding race shoes and thinking they all work the same is not knowing the difference between standard foams and premium foams. 

Standard foams are great for daily trainers, they are durable, affordable and they simply work. However, premium foams are what we’re looking for in competition shoes. They are insanely responsive, they have the leg-saving feature which makes us capable of running longer/harder, and they are light weight. The downside, of course, is that they are expensive and not durable. That’s why we keep race shoes for the race day. 

What you want in a competition shoe: premium foam that’s maybe even paired with a carbon-fiber plate. 

Since you can’t just look at the shoe and recognize a premium foam vs. a standard foam, it’s best to check the product description and find out if it’s a premium one. We cover this, along with all the possible foam details, in our Ultimate guide on shoe foams (which is where we took the overview below from). 

Premium foams overview

Standard foams overview

How soft are competition running shoes

We’ve already said that the competition running shoes are usually soft and stiff. But just how soft are they? Let’s measure that. 

We use a shore A durometer to measure the softness of the foam. This has to be done on a shoe cut in half; otherwise, the results will be inaccurate. 

The lower the number on the durometer, the softer the shoe. Based on our lab data, race shoes are 8.2% softer than daily trainers. 

In case you want your race shoes to be as soft as possible, here are our top 5 softest shoes (these tables are updated automatically with every new shoe review we publish): 

Stiffness of competition running shoes 

It turns out that the best combination for most of the runners is a race shoe that is soft and stiff. We measure stiffness in our lab using a digital force gauge. We clamp the toebox to a table and then bend the shoe to 90 degrees. 

Testing the stiffness of a race-day shoe in RunRepeat lab

The more force we need, the higher the number on the force gauge and the stiffer the shoe. Looking at all the shoes we’ve tested so far, here are the average numbers for all 3 shoe categories: 

1. Daily trainers: average stiffness 24.5N
2. Tempo shoes: average stiffness 30.7N
3. Race shoes: average stiffness 63.6N 

A carbon-fiber plate plays a significant role here because it makes the shoes stiffer.

Carbon-plated competition running shoes

So, what’s the trick here? There are many shoes now that feature a carbon-fiber plate but if it’s not paired with a premium foam, the results are not as magnificent. Also, these race shoes are more expensive than the ones without a plate. 

It’s important to note that carbon-plated running shoes might not work for you: a faster pace is needed to properly active the plate, some are made for forefoot/midfoot strikers only, and having an adequate weight might also play a role when it comes to experiencing all the benefits those shoes can offer. 

How cushioned are competition running shoes

Cushioning (stack height) of race shoes depends on the distance, but, overall, it’s safe to go with a minimum of 30mm at the heel. Here’s what we recommend: 

• For marathon: minimum of 30mm at the heel
• For half marathon: minimum of 25mm at the heel
• For 5k and 10k races: minimum of 25mm at the heel

We measure the heel stack height and forefoot stack height in our lab, honoring the guidelines from WorldAthetics. This means that we a) cut the shoe in half b) measure at the center of the shoe c) measure the heel stack height at 12% of the inner shoe length and d) measure the forefoot stack height at 75% of the inner shoe length. 

This gives us accurate numbers that often deviate from what the brands are promoting. 

In case you want to go as high as possible, here are our top 5 highest competition running shoes. Just keep in mind that 40mm is the legal barrier and shoes with a higher heel stack height than that are forbidden in some races. 

Stability of race day running shoes

When we talk about the height of the platform we can’t oversee the stability. If midsoles are high and narrow, they are often unstable, especially when the foam is very soft. 

This brings us to the width of the platform. Yet another thing we measure in our lab. 

This stability is especially important if you’re a heel striker because that’s where the foam is often cut in an angle to save weight or the heel bevel is an extreme one making it not cushioned enough for heel strikers. 

The lighter, the better! 

It’s a known fact that heavy shoes can slow us down. This is why reducing the weight in race shoes is heavily prioritized. This can go as far as having:

• less midsole (chunks are cut out to save weight)
• having very thin outsoles
• avoiding comfy padding in the tongue or around the heel 
• avoiding tongue gussets
• avoiding a heel tab or structural upper enforcements. 

In our shoe lab, we weigh all the shoes in men’s US 9. 

In case you want the featherlight competition running shoes, here are our top lightest picks: 

Keep in mind that the weight can also depend on the distance because we need more durability for longer distances. Because of this, we use these reference points: 

• Up to 270g for marathon running shoes
• Up to 270g for half marathon running shoes
• Up to 230g for 5k/10k running shoes. 

Superb breathability of competition running shoes

There are 2 reasons why race-day shoes are breathable: first, because they are cutting weight so thick uppers don’t make sense, and second, because nobody wants soaked feet that would end in blisters (to start with). 

Testing the breathability of a race shoe 

We test breathability of running shoes by pumping the smoke into them. Then, we watch at the smoke that comes out: how fast does it come out? How much of it? Where exactly is it coming out - at the toebox, at the sides, or through the eyelets only? Based on this observation, we rate the breathablity of the shoe on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the most breathable and 1 the least. 

We don’t stop there, so we also look at the uppers under our microscope. 

This allows us to understand better what’s happening, why the smoke isn’t coming through the upper in some places and why it’s sometimes flowing out as if nothing’s stopping it. 

Rocker: a highly wanted feature in race shoes 

Many runners look for a rocker in competition shoes. While having a geometry that mimicks a rocking chair sounds great, it is not recommended for everyone. 

In the lab, we put the shoe against an L-shaped ruler which allows us to see how big of an angle the forefoot rocker has in each shoe. 

Outsoles: foot strike and durability 

What does foot strike have to do with outsoles? Well, some competition running shoes are made for forefoot strikers. This does not mean that they don’t work at all for heel strikers, but if you look at the rubber placement, it is obvious that forefoot/midfoot strikers were favored. 

It’s important to keep this in mind because of the a) grip needed to run safely and b) durability. The exposed midsole is not grippy; it just slides over wet surfaces, and it is not durable at all. 

Testing the durability of the outsole

To test the durability of the outsole, we press our dremel against it. We have standardized this test, we always use the same pressure, RPMs and the same time duration.

What helps here is having more rubber to go through before you reach the midsole. This means more time for wear and tear. To check this as well, we use a digital caliper to measure the thickness of the rubber. 

Dealing with a lace bite: tongue thickness 

Lace bite is the pain or pressure we experience on our instep when we tighten the laces. It most often happens because the tongue is too thin. 

Competition running shoes are known for lacking any extra material, including tongue padding. Many race shoes feature a very thin tongue which is why you might experience a lace bite while trying to achieve a secure lockdown. 

If this is your pain point, our tongue-thickness measurements come to the rescue. We always measure the thickness of the tongue so you can know in advance what to expect. 

Racing in cold weather: which shoe to choose?

If you plan to race in very cold weather, we suggest choosing a shoe that 

1. You have already tested in cold weather and are happy with its performance 
2. Does not change its properties significantly when tested in cold weather. 

When it comes to the bullet #1, that’s on you. When it comes to the bullet #2, it’s where we enter the scene. 

We repeat 2 tests after freezing the shoe: softness and stiffness. These are the most important ones when it comes to the change in temperature and in the shoe’s performance. 

Below, we list the shoes that had the smallest change when comparing room-temperature results with post-freezer ones. 

Can you race in tempo/speed shoes? 

Of course. It’s just a matter of your goals. As mentioned above, some people finish marathons in daily trainers. However, doing a race in a speed shoe is much better than doing it in a daily trainer. Speed shoes overlap more with race shoes. 

If you race in a tempo shoe instead of a competition shoe, you might miss out on that little extra, a small push that could knock off a few seconds/minutes of your finish time. This can be attributed to the reduced weight of a race shoe, cutting-edge technologies that push you forward and save your legs, and so on. 

Many tempo shoes are race shoes at the same time.