The Best Trail Running Shoes Right Now Include an Agile Hoka, a Plush Nike ACG, and a Great-Fitting Altra

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July 2026 Update: After testing the trail shoes released during the spring and comparing them to the best models reviewed in our Spring 2026 trail shoe guide, we’ve kept theSaucony Peregrine 16as the best all-around trail running shoe for its agile, responsive, rugged, and comfortable ride. We’ve selected new category winners in theHoka Zinal 3(Best Value), theNike ACG Zegama Trail(Best Max Cushioned Trail Shoe), and theAltra Experience Wild 3+(Best Natural Ride Trail Shoe). We are continually testing and will be updating this list throughout the year.

The best trail running shoes disappear and let us focus on the beauty, adventure, natural experience, and killer workout of an off-road run. Whether we’re charging mountain peaks or rolling across mesas, exploring forests or scrambling scree fields, the shoes that deliver great traction, responsiveness, and comfort are the ones we reach for again and again.

Best Trail Shoes: At a Glance

• Best All-Around:Saucony Peregrine 16 ($150) • Runner Up:The North Face Altamesa 500 v2 ($170) • Best Value:Hoka Zinal 3 ($150) • Best Technical Terrain:La Sportiva Prodigio Pro ($225) • Best Road-to-Trail:Nike ACG Trail Pegasus ($155) • Best Gravel Shoe:Mount to Coast H1 ($160) • Best Max Cushioned Trail Shoe:Nike ACG Zegama Trail ($180) • Best Trail Racing Shoe:Brooks Cascadia Elite ($275) • Best Natural Ride Trail Shoe:Altra Experience Wild 3+ ($165)

Best All-Around

Saucony Peregrine 16

Weight:9.5 oz (men’s), 8.4 oz (women’s)Stack Height:32–28 mmDrop:4 mmSizing:7-13, 14, 15 (men’s), 5-12 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Excellent traction+ Lightweight and nimble– Slippery laces require double-knotting

We’ve tested every version of the Saucony Peregrine since the model’s debut in 2011, and this sixteenth iteration just might be our all-time favorite. The shoe has long been capable of making us feel nimble on rugged terrain, with its great balance of ground feel and cushioning, plus traction on all kinds of trail, wrapped up in a lightweight package. But version 16 takes the Peregrine’s trail capabilities to new levels, earning it our Editors’ Choice award.

The outsole has been upgraded to a Vibram Megagrip rubber that we found grabs onto rocky slabs with aplomb, while the four-millimeter lugs excel at digging into loose or soft terrain (though some sandy-trail testers craved even deeper, toothier lugs). The midsole has a balanced vibe—not too springy, not too mushy, not too thick—that delivered a strong connection to the trail while still feeling responsive and shock absorbing, even during wild descents. The flexible, breathable mesh upper with added toe protection kept out trail debris and warded off snags from roots and branches.

The fit of this shoe somehow made a variety of testers feel like it was custom-made for them. It held heels securely, and the just-roomy-enough toebox allowed toes space to breathe while maintaining control. “The fit is just perfect,” said a tester. “I feel secure and supported from heel to toe, and side to side.”

Testers’ praise for the ride was diverse and unanimously positive: “The Peregrine 16 is burly enough without taking up too much real estate on the ground,” said one. “The cushioning is responsive and allows for changes in speed on the trail,” said another. Another raved about how the Peregrine 16 “hugs the camber on trail and just feels nimble.”

The Peregrine 16 is a shoe that everyone, from beginners to elite trail runners, can be happy in, and it sells for only $150.

Runner-Up All-Around

North Face Altamesa 500 V2

Weight:9.8 oz (men’s); 8.6 oz (women’s)Stack Height:36–30 mmDrop:6 mmSizing:7-13, 14 (men’s), 5-11 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Upgraded midsole is comfortable and responsive+ Highly versatile ride+ Lightweight– Limited ground feel

The Altamesa 500 really hit its stride in this second iteration. “These are some of the most comfortable shoes I have run in in a very long time,” said one Boulder, Colorado, tester—echoing the consensus among the test team. That comfort comes from a full-length, ultralight, nitrogen-infused TPU midsole foam, a significant upgrade from the EVA used in the original.

The comfort, however, does not come at the expense of speed and an efficient and responsive ride. The midsole doesn’t have a plate, but the sole is quite rigid and wide, with prominent sidewalls—which contributes to an extremely stable ride. “This is the best non-plated ultra racing shoe available,” opined a tester. “Transitioning from midfoot to forefoot is, for lack of better words, dreamy.”

A seamless, reinforced engineered upper holds the foot like a tightly wrapped burrito. “The upper provided enough space and elasticity for long hours, but snugged down for fast paces and technical terrain,” noted a tester.

The outsole is a proprietary rubber with four-millimeter lugs that are slightly sharper and more angular than the original. From steep, rocky technical trails to concrete roads, the outsole gripped when it needed to and disappeared on hard surfaces. One Montana tester was surprised by how pliable the outside rubber was on cold, wet, and frosty mornings.

Regardless of the tester’s level or where they took the Altamesa 500 V2, they consistently ranked it among the best trail running shoes. Secure and grippy for technical descents, comfortable and protected for long days in the mountains, and springy and smooth on hard pack. Except for those who prefer strong ground feel, testers found this trail shoe checked all the boxes on just about every terrain.

Best Value

Hoka Zinal 3

Weight:8.9 ounces (men’s), 7.7 ounces (women’s)Stack Height:32-27 mm (men’s), 31-26 mm (women’s)Drop:5 mmSizes:7-13, 14 (men’s), 5-11 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Lightweight and fast-feeling+ Agile, low-profile ride– Not the most protective

The value-priced Zinal 3 had testers using words like “nimble,” “agile,” and “athletic” to describe it—not the usual adjectives used for Hokas. But at 32-27 millimeters (men’s) and 31-26 millimeters (women’s), the Zinal 3 has the lowest stack height in Hoka’s line of trail shoes. The midsole’s moderately thin slab of responsively tuned supercritical EVA foam made us feel connected to the trail: We loved the shoe’s groundfeel and how it enabled us to dance lightly among rocks, ruts, and roots. While we felt some terrain features through the outsole, there was just enough protection underfoot to avoid any painful poke-throughs.

The Zinal 3’s foothold also scored high marks among male and female testers alike. The upper, made of a uniquely constructed Leno Weave (fibers are twisted instead of stacked), provided a stretchy, dynamic fit that hugged our feet in the right places, adding to the agile feel.

The brand’s proprietary rubber outsole and toothy, five-millimeter lugs grabbed loose dirt with aplomb and stuck sure-footedly to dry rock. Some felt a little slippage on wet rock, but reported the traction did the job overall.

“This is a really capable shoe for aggressive running on terrain that demands traction and agility,” raved a tester who took on a rugged 8-mile loop above Boulder, Colorado. “I had a lot of fun on rocky descents in this shoe,” he said.

“I love the simplicity and lightness of the Zinal 3,” said a tester who has raced roughly a thousand miles in various Hoka models. “You’re less likely to roll an ankle in this low-riding shoe [than in thicker models], and it’s really nice to feel connected to the trail sometimes.”

Best for Technical Terrain

La Sportiva Prodigio Pro

Weight:8.9 oz (men’s), 7.9 oz (women’s)Stack height:34–28 mmDrop:6 mmSizes:7.5-15.5 (men’s), 5.5-11 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Lively midsole that still allows ground feel+ Great traction– Some pressure on the top of the foot

We’ve kept the Prodigio Pro in our guide for three seasons running because of its soft and lively ride that’s downright fun, combined with stellar traction and a locked-in fit. The midsole—a core of bouncy nitrogen-infused TPU surrounded by a more stable, nitrogen-infused EVA cage—feels snappy underfoot. “Your foot just pops off the ground with each step,” said one tester.

The bootie construction—a sock-like, engineered mesh upper encircling the ankle— successfully kept trail debris from sneaking inside the shoe. The durable upper mesh, made from a mix of polyester, TPU, and nylon threads that the brand is calling “Power Wire,” worked in conjunction with the secure midfoot wrap to anchor our feet comfortably. One knock on the upper: The tongue, with an interesting, tubular padding, caused a little irritation on the top of the foot beneath the laces for some testers. Most, however, found it comfortable overall and a pleasure to pull on.

Underfoot, the outsole, made of La Sportiva’s proprietary Frixion rubber with multidirectional, four-millimeter lugs, does a fantastic job at gripping all surfaces. “This shoe has great traction in mud, slush, dirt, rocks, and roots,” said one tester, who noted that the trail shoe performs expertly on off-camber terrain. “This shoe makes me feel more nimble and quick than most shoes do.”

Best Road-to-Trail

Nike ACG Pegasus Trail

Weight:11.7 oz (men’s), 9.5 oz (women’s)Stack Height:39–31 mmDrop:8 mmSizing:6-15 (men’s), 5-12 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Extremely versatile+ Comfortable for all-day wear– Traction could be better

The Nike Trail Pegasus 5 has been our top choice forroad-to-trailruns for several seasons, so we were concerned that its newly branded replacement, the Nike ACG Pegasus Trail, would mess with its winning formula. But as soon as we stepped into the new model, we breathed a sigh of relief. The shoe is just as comfortable as its predecessor and, after testing, has proven to be just as capable on and off roads, continuing its reign as the most versatile shoe in this roundup.

The midsole foam—Nike’s injection-molded ReactX—feels responsive and cushions comfortably on concrete, pavement, and hard-packed dirt. The outsole traction, from 3.5-millimeter lugs made of the brand’s proprietary “All Terrain Compound 2.0,” is tackier on wet terrain than the previous version, but still pales in comparison to Vibram MegaGrip.

What makes this shoe work from roads to singletrack trails is the fit and foothold. Even our most narrow-footed testers felt a secure hold without any pressure points, which allows precise footing on trails, no matter how steep or rocky. This shoe’s versatility makes it a great pick as a one-trick pony for the casual runner who doesn’t need a lighter, faster race shoe, and a solid choice for travel.

Best Gravel Shoe

Mount to Coast H1

Weight:8.5 oz (men’s 9, women’s 10.5)Stack Height:35–29 mmDrop:6 mmSizing:7-13, 14 (men’s), 5.5-11(women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Excellent balance of cushioning, responsiveness, and ground feel+ Lightweight for the amount of cushion underfoot+ Sustainable midsole– Shallow lugs– Upper laces can pinch the top of the foot

Among all the new, indie running shoe brands, Mount to Coast has burst into the limelight quickly. The brand offers solid models for both trail and road, and the new H1 bridges both. It’s built around an all-new supercritical foam called CircleCELL, made from renewable feedstock and recycled organic waste. We’ve tested a lot of “sustainable” foams, and, up to now, all of them have underperformed, yet CircleCELL looks, feels, and acts like the superfoams found in today’s best trainers.

Underfoot, the 35–29 mm stack delivers a ride that’s smooth, responsive, and surprisingly ground-connected. Despite moderate cushioning, the flexible sole lets your metatarsals and ankle joints move freely and actively engage. At 8.5 ounces for a men’s 9, turning over quickly is not an issue—one of Outside’s fastest testers found they performed surprisingly well at 5-minute-per-mile pace.

Like mostroad-to-trail shoes, these feel like road shoes with knobby soles. On pavement, the shallow two-millimeter lugs disappear underfoot. On packed dirt and crushed gravel, they deliver a reliable grip. “It thrives on fire roads, gravel bike paths, and cruisey dirt trails, as the modest lugs work in tandem with a cushy midsole and a rocker design,” noted that same speedy tester. Tackling rocky, twisting descents, however, will push the H1 beyond its comfort zone for control and traction.

A signature feature of Mount to Coast’s shoes is the dual-lacing system, which combines a traditional lace-and-tie on the instep with a pull-string quick-lace system near the toe box. This allows you to tighten each zone independently. It’s simple, but brilliant. One tester said, “The dual lacing system makes it one of the most comfortable fits I’ve experienced, with plenty of room for the forefoot and toes while still keeping my foot secure.” The one complaint: cranking down the upper laces caused some pinching across the top of the foot.

The H1 strikes a middle ground between big cushioning and a flexible, sensitive feel, delivering a comfortable, energetic ride for runners of any level on roads, smooth dirt, or packed paths. “It’s one of my favorite shoes I’ve run in in a while,” said one tester.

Read ourfull review of the Mount to Coast H1.

Best Max Cushioned Trail Shoe

Nike ACG Zegama Trail

Weight:11.9 ounces (men’s), 9.6 ounces (women’s)Stack Height:38-34 mmDrop:4 mmSizes:6-13, 14, 15 (men’s), 5-12 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Comfortable, cushioned, and responsive ride+ Ankle collar helps keep out debris– Not the fastest

Whether running on the rolling, dusty bluff trails of coastal Santa Barbara or the rugged, rocky trails of the Colorado backcountry, we loved the comfort and performance of the Nike ACG Zegama Trail. It’s packed with two layers of midsole foam: super-light ZoomX (Nike’s softest, most reactive foam, also used in the Vaporfly 4) over Cushlon 3.0 (denser, more stable EVA). The stack under the forefoot has a higher percentage of ZoomX foam for greater bounce on push-off. The combination is remarkably comfortable underfoot and impressively responsive.

The engineered mesh upper proved breathable on toasty early summer runs, and the stretchy collar that extends just past the ankle bone helped keep out sand, dirt, and pesky twigs. A Vibram MegaGrip outsole with four-millimeter lugs made us feel surefooted and secure on scrambles over loose gravel and large, rocky slabs alike.Unlike many Nike shoes, the forefoot of the Zegama is roomy enough to allow our toes to splay and to add stability. Despite the width, our feet didn’t slide around inside the shoe, thanks to a stretchy band at the midfoot that creates a locked-in feel.

We’ve reached for this shoe for everything from multi-hour rambles on steep and rocky terrain to mellow jaunts on smooth-rolling dirt, and enjoyed it at every step. “The Zegama might not be the fastest-feeling shoe,” said a tester, “but it’s become my go-to for almost every kind of run.”

Best Trail Racing Shoe

Brooks Cascadia Elite

Weight:9.5 oz (unisex)Stack Height:40–34 mmDrop:6 mmSizing:5-12,13 (men’s), 6.5-13.5, 14.5 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Extremely lightweight for a 40 mm stack+ Great stability– Premium pricetag

Brooks has a reputation for building a great shoe and sticking to that formula, giving loyal fans a consistent ride, model after model. The tradeoff? It can make the brand seem boring. The all-new Brooks Cascadia Elite shatters that mold. It’s one of the most exciting shoes Brooks has launched in years, and arguably one of the most exciting trail releases of the year.

Despite sharing a name, the Cascadia Elite is nothing like the everyday, cushioned Cascadia trail runner: It’s atrail racing super shoethat is lighter, faster, and more nimble. The standout feature is the 100% PEBA midsole paired with a carbon-infused PEBAX plate that strikes a perfect balance between a springy and stable ride. On smooth, flowy single track in Santa Barbara, CA, running in the Cascadia Elite felt almost effortless, and a ton of fun.

40 millimeters under the heel is a lot of foam to deal with, but the ride never felt squishy or bounced me around in off-camber footing. A wide platform, paired with a flexible, embedded horseshoe-shaped plate, keeps the Cascadia Elite from being tippy. That width does come at a cost, though; picking tight lines through technical terrain requires precise footplants to keep from getting wedged between rocks.

The upper is a Matryx-engineered woven fabric, reinforced with Kevlar fibers and topped with a soft bootie that extends high on the ankle. The built-in gaiter feels neither excessive nor intrusive and adds a nice layer of protection from trail debris. The Vibram Litebase Megagrip Elite outsole with 3.75-millimeter lugs performed well across all surfaces, providing secure traction on all but the softest terrain.

We’ve been testing running shoes for more than a decade, and the Cascadia Elite stands out as one of Brooks’ best-performing shoes ever, road or trail.

Best Natural Ride Trail Shoe

Altra Experience Wild 3+

Weight:11.4 ounces (men’s), 9.1 ounces (women’s)Stack Height:32-28 mmDrop:4 mmSizes:5-13, 14, 15 (men’s); 4-12 (women’s)

Pros and Cons+ Comfortable and secure fit+ Great traction– Can feel a tad squishy

The Altra Experience Wild 3+ provides the classic Altra fit with a roomy forefoot that allows natural toe splay, but testers found it secures the foot better than other Altras. “I had great lockdown through the midfoot and heel cup,” said one. “The tongue gussets made sure my foot stayed in place, so I didn’t ever have to stop and adjust.”

A cushioned ankle collar and tongue provided comfort in a range of conditions: A Boulder, Colorado tester raved about the hold on rough, rocky singletrack, and a tester who took the shoe to the high country said, “The padded ankle collar is comfortable even on the serious steep switchbacks of Winter Park.”

A Vibram Megagrip outsole (an option indicated by the + on the name) added security on off-camber trails and wet rocks and roots, while the Altra EGO P35 midsole foam—a blend of polyolefin elastomer known for its bounce and Altra’s resilient EVA-based EGO Max foam—is lightweight and airy-feeling, with a lively ride that made testers feel simultaneously connected to and floating over the trail.

The Experience Wild 3+ has a four-millimeter drop instead of Altra’s classic zero, enough to ease the stress on the Achilles of runners accustomed to larger drops but still a more even platform underfoot than most running shoes. We enjoyed the balanced ride and the rockered shape, which seemed to help us roll through every step.

“My ideal trail shoe would be invisible,” said a longtime tester. “I don’t want to notice them, pay attention to them, or devote any energy to thinking about them; I just want to run. Of all the recent shoes I’ve tested, these came the closest to meeting that goal.”

Trail Shoes Comparison Chart

*Mount to Coast H1 weight spec listed for Men’s 9 / Women’s 10.5.**Brooks Cascadia Elite weight spec listed as unisex.

How to Choose a Trail Running Shoe

If you’re in the market for a trail running shoe, first consider the type of trails you run on regularly: do you tackle rugged, mountainous terrain, or stick to mellow dirt paths? Some trail shoes can handle both adequately, while others are specialized and excel in one or the other. Shoes with smaller lugs are generally better on smoother, firmer terrain, whereas shoes with deeper, more aggressive outsoles are optimized for steep, muddy, or rocky trails. If you like to feel the trail and dance around rocks and roots, you’ll likely prefer a light, more minimal shoe, but if you’d rather let the shoe roll over trail variations, cushioning and protecting while you zone out, you should look for a shoe with a thicker midsole.

Once you’ve narrowed the search to a certain type of trail shoe, you need to find a pair that complements your unique body and stride. Every runner’s body, gait, speed, experience, and ride preferences are different, so every runner will interact differently with each trail shoe. The shoe that your best friend or your sister-in-law loves may be uncomfortable for you and make running feel slow, sluggish, or even painful. Finding the perfect pair of trail running shoes is a seriously personal affair.

The process for choosing the best running shoes is a matter of finding the models that both fit your foot and also feel best when you’re running. To determine fit and feel, there’s no substitute for trying the shoes on and running in them.

Fit: Match Your Foot Shape

When assessing fit, first pay attention to length. You need room at the end of your toes as your feet lengthen during their dynamic movements on the run. A rule of thumb is to allow a thumb’s width between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. Runners often wear a running shoe a half or full size bigger than their street shoes.

Ensure that the shape of the sole and the upper matches your foot shape. The sole should be as wide or wider than your foot for the whole length, and match the curve of your arch comfortably. The shoe should hold your foot securely over the instep, while allowing the ball of the foot and the toes to splay and flex when you roll forward onto them. Your heel shouldn’t slip when you lift it, and the arch should be able to dome and lengthen naturally. Nothing should bind or rub as you roll through the stride.

Feel: Match Your Movement Path

If the shoe fits, it’s time to take them on a short run on a treadmill, around the store, or, ideally, down the block and back. Every trail running shoe has a unique ride created by the type and density of foam in the midsole and the geometry of that foam: its thickness, width, heel-to-toe drop, molded sidewalls or flares, and forefoot flexibility or rocker shape (plus, in an increasing number of models, the presence of and type of embedded plate). Each of these elements interact with each other and your stride to determine how the shoe reacts on landing, how much it cushions, how stably it supports, how smoothly it transitions from landing to toe off, and how quickly and powerfully it rebounds.

The best way to choose trail running shoes that complement your body and stride is to find the ones that feel right on the run. Benno Nigg, the world-leading biomechanics professor whoproposed this method of shoe selection, calls it the “comfort filter,” but makes clear it is far more than how plush the shoe feels when you step into it. What you want to assess is whether the shoe allows and supports the way your feet want to move, what Nigg calls your “preferred movement path.” In the right shoe, while running at your normal pace, you will touch down where you expect to land, roll smoothly and stably through the stride without noticing the shoe, feel both cushioned from and connected to the ground, and push off naturally, quickly, and powerfully. When this comes together you’ll know that you’ve found your pair.

It’s likely that several shoes will feel good on your feet. To find the most comfortable, it helps to compare them back to back, like an eye doctor will do with corrective lenses: flipping between “A” or “B,” “1” or “2.” You may also find that different shoes feel better at different paces or level of fatigue, and you may want more than one pair. In fact, research shows that wearing a variety of different shoes is one of the fewproven waysto reduce injury risk as it appears to vary the stresses on your feet and joints.

What About Injury Prevention?

Running shoes have long beenmarketed and sold as prescriptive devicesto help runners stay healthy, but there islittle scientific evidencecorrelating shoes, or any specific shoe properties—like cushioning or pronation control—with running injuries. Medical professionals say that it is highly difficult to determine whether a runner needs a certain type of shoe, and studies have shown that prescribing shoes using traditional methods like treadmill gait analyses or wet-foot arch height tests don’t consistently reduce injuries.

Don’t assume that you need more cushioning or more stability if you have sore joints, or if you’re a heavier runner, or if you’re a beginner—evidence doesn’t support many common beliefs. The best way prevent injury is find two or three different pairs that feel right on the run, ease into using them, and vary your shoes, your running surface and your pace regularly (plus avoid rapid increases in your training load and work onimproving your mechanics).

How We Test Trail Running Shoes

• Number of testers:27 • Number of shoes tested:84 • Number of miles:22,000+ over a year • Most Memorable Trail Run:A toss-up between a moose encounter in Rocky Mountain National Park, and climbing 13,229-foot Mt. Audubon in a late-summer blizzard.

To test trail running shoes, we begin by researching every brand’s new offerings for the coming season. We wind up with dozens of samples of the models (84 throughout the year, 42 trail running shoes this season) that are most promising, and distribute them to 27 testers who range in age, ability, running form, geographical location, terrain, and preferred shoe types. We try to put each tester in shoes from within the same category (all rugged, backcountry trail shoes, or all road-to-trail crossovers) so everyone can test apples-to-apples.

After three to six months of running in each model on varied terrain and in all conditions, our crew members report back with their assessments of fit, comfort, traction, cushioning, flexibility, stiffness, pop, what type of running the model is best used for, how the shoe compares to other models, and more. We also run in every trail running shoe ourselves, and, combining all the tester feedback with years of personal experience, hone in on the best. We then weigh this season’s bests against the heroes from previous seasons that are still available and choose winners and honorable mentions for each category.

Meet Our Lead Testers

Lisa Jhung

Freelance journalist, editor, and authorLisa Jhunghas researched, tested, and written about running shoes for the past decade and a half, much of that time for Outside. She coordinates a fleet of female shoe testers out of Boulder, Colorado, and says her home office is a perpetual obstacle course of cardboard boxes and piles of running shoes. Lisa’s written about gear of all kinds for numerous national magazines as both an editor and freelancer, including a stint as the shoes and gear blogger and trail running microsite editor for Runner’s World.

A high school jumper and occasional sprinter/hurdler, she started running—really running—after walking off the collegiate volleyball team, and moved on to road and trail races of any distance, triathlons, adventure races, and mountain running. She’s happiest testing rugged trail shoes on gnarly terrain, and also loves a good neighborhood jaunt…but is almost always looking for ribbons of dirt. Lisa is the author of Running That Doesn’t Suck: How to Love Running (Even if You Think You Hate It) and Trailhead: The Dirt on All Things Trail Running.

Cory Smith

Cory’spassion for running started over 30 years ago in high school when he became the number six ranked runner in the nation at 3000 meters his senior year. After high school, he competed at Villanova University, earning two NCAA Division I Championship showings. Today, he’s determined not to let age slow him down and competes on the national master’s circuit, running a 4:12 (4:30 mile pace) 1500 meters and 9:04 (4:52 mile pace) 3000 meters in 2021 at age 43. He prefers a hard track workout or tempo run over an easy long run any day but also appreciates a challenging trail or mountain run.

His obsession with running shoes started in 2014 when he wrote his first shoe review for Gear Institute. Since then, he’s tested and reviewed hundreds of running shoes, clothing, and gear for Outside, Runner’s World, Footwear News, and other outlets. He has a soft spot for speedy shoes over heavy trainers but loves dissecting all shoes equally and thinking like a product engineer to explain the why behind every design detail. Cory is the Founder ofRun Your Personal Best, an online running coaching business, and since its inception in 2014, has coached runners’ to over 100 Boston Marathon Qualifying times.

One of Cory Smith’s go-to routes for testing trail running shoes:

Jonathan Beverly

Jonathan fell in love with running his freshman year of high school and quickly became fascinated with finding the perfect pair of running shoes. That quest got a boost when he became editor ofRunning Timesin 2000 and started receiving every new model as they were released. The parade of shoes continued while he served as shoe editor forRunner’s World, then editor of PodiumRunner, and currently fitness gear editor at Outside. Having now worn nearly every running shoe created in this century—and a fair amount of those dating back to the early models of the ’70s—he’s given up on finding the one best and now relishes the wide variety of excellent options.

Once a 2:46 marathoner regularly doing 50+ mile weeks, recent injuries and his age have reduced his volume and slowed his pace—but he still enjoys an uptempo workout or two each week. Beverly is the author of the bookYour Best Stridewhich explores how each individual’s gait—and thus shoe preference—is unique. He enjoys getting scientists’ take on new shoe trends and trying to describe the nuances of each shoe’s ride.

One of Jonathan Beverly’s go-to routes for testing trail running shoes: