Best Marathon Race Shoes 2024: On Cloudboom Strike Spotlight and the Shoes It Goes Up Against

Introduction

This spotlight kicks off a broader look at the top marathon race shoes of 2024, and it starts with a shoe that earned its place through sheer mileage: the On Cloudboom Strike. This list is deliberately subjective. It is not about spec sheets or weight alone, but about how each shoe actually performed across long training blocks, workouts, and race-day decisions, and how well it worked for the everyday marathoners who buy these shoes.

The Cloudboom Strike carries the kind of story runners remember. It anchored a summer of grueling 20-mile long runs leading into a Chicago marathon build, and it did so with a ride that blurred the line between a plush daily trainer and a genuine race weapon. Here is why it lands at number five on the list of the best race shoes of 2024, and which shoes to consider alongside it.

The Standout: On Cloudboom Strike

The Cloudboom Strike is On’s second marathon shoe, following the Cloudboom Echo, but it is the first On race shoe that made runners take the brand seriously at the front of the pack. It is the brand’s first shoe to use a full bed of PEBA race foam without any gimmickry from the CloudTec pods, softened into a beautifully plush step-in feel.

The geometry is where things get interesting. The drop sits at a low 4 to 5 mm, and roughly half of the foam sits above the carbon fiber plate in the form of an unusually thick, removable PEBA insole that measures around 20 mm thick at the front. The shoe weighs about 224 g, dropping to roughly 178 g without the insole, which itself comes in at about 45 g.

Two quirks are worth knowing about before buying. First, that removable insole is more of a cool party trick than a functional feature; some pairs have shipped with the insole glued down, and the thick insole is too bulky to swap into other shoes anyway. Second, the original laces were genuinely problematic: they are very long, they did not bite down well, and they kept coming untied during long runs. Swapping in a set of serrated replacement laces solved the issue entirely. The upper also uses a stiffer material that creases and makes a crinkling sound, creating a bump effect over the top of the foot, though it settled down once the laces were replaced.

Why does it still earn a top-five spot despite those issues? Because the ride is incredible. It is soft, bouncy, and comfortable in a way almost no other race shoe manages, and it combines that comfort with a lightning-fast ground contact time. It handled 20- and 24-mile long runs with balance, stayed lively past 70 to 80 miles, and delivered some of the best workouts of the year, including a brutal 10-mile threshold session. Around a $280 price point, it is the most comfortable race shoe tested, and arguably the first On shoe that actually feels the way people expect On shoes to feel: airy, soft, and cloud-like, but still fast.

The trade-off is real, though. The softness that makes it so pleasant at easy and long-run paces makes it slightly less confidence-inspiring for all-out race effort. If it were about 5% firmer, it would have been the marathon race-day pick. As it stands, it shines best for long runs, marathon-pace workouts, and runners who prioritize comfort above all.

How It Compares: Saucony Endorphin Pro 4

The Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 is the natural benchmark for the Cloudboom Strike, and for good reason. Released in 2022, it proved remarkably ahead of its time; runners are still searching for its best replacement. One tester logged nearly 300 miles in a pair and the outsole rubber held up well, the foam stayed cushioned, and the shoe retained real life even if the pop had faded slightly.

On the scale, the two shoes are nearly identical: the Endorphin Pro 4 came in at about 224 g against the Cloudboom Strike’s 223 g. The spirit is similar too: a nice roll, a soft underfoot experience, and a carbon fiber plate that encourages speed without being overly aggressive. That shared character is a big reason the Cloudboom Strike earns its place on this list at all. If you loved the Endorphin Pro 4, the On is the closest modern expression of that same ride philosophy.

The Aggressive Alternative: Nike Alphafly 3

At the other end of the spectrum sits one of the most aggressive race shoes on the market, the Nike Alphafly 3. It comes in around 220 g, uses a full bed of race foam, and adds a visible air pod under the heel alongside its carbon fiber plate. The Alphafly is slightly wider than the Cloudboom Strike, and its geometry trims foam away at the heel, which encourages a four-foot strike and rewards running faster.

That is the key difference in character. The Cloudboom Strike performs better across warm-up, cool-down, and everyday paces, while the Alphafly 3 comes alive when you push the tempo and want maximum race-day aggression. Runners chasing a personal best and comfortable with a firmer, more demanding ride should look here; runners who want one shoe for the whole training block should lean toward the On.

The Stable Training-Shoe Option: ASICS Superblast 2

Many marathoners in the four-hour range face a genuine dilemma: buy a carbon-plated race shoe, or buy a training shoe built with race foam? The ASICS Superblast 2 is the training-shoe answer. At around 260 g in standard spec (about 279 g with a thicker aftermarket insole), it is noticeably heavier, but it brings extra width and stability that pay off in the later miles of a marathon.

The comparison is closer than the weight gap suggests. The Superblast 2 is a touch wider, but the Cloudboom Strike matches it on support and handled long runs with comfort and balance. The trade is straightforward: more stability and support from the Superblast 2, more bounce and a preferred ride from the Cloudboom Strike. If your priority is staying comfortable and steady for hours rather than pure speed, the Superblast 2 is the safer pick.

View more details for Asics Superblast 2

Comfort Alternatives: ASICS Glideride Max and Adidas Prime X Strung

Two more comfort-first shoes deserve a mention alongside the Cloudboom Strike, because they share its transcendent quality of feeling great across a wide range of paces.

The Adidas Adizero SL2 is the budget-friendly daily trainer pick. At around $130, it uses Lightstrike Pro race foam in the midsole with a higher drop of roughly 9 to 9.5 mm, yet it does not feel like a high-drop shoe. It is one of the most fun do-it-all shoes of the year: comfortable at a 5:30 mile and an 8:30 mile alike, with good bite in both wet and dry conditions and even some light-trail capability. If you like how the Cloudboom Strike rides but not its price, start here.

View more details for Adidas Adizero SL2

The ASICS Glideride Max is the super max stack cruiser. Of all the tall-stack shoes, it stays closest to the Cloudboom Strike in character: tall, soft, and bouncy. It is arguably about 5% too soft for fast paces, which is why similar shoes with a slightly firmer, more bounce-forward tune tend to rack up more miles, but as a long-distance cruiser that takes the burden off your legs, it is excellent.

The Adidas Prime X Strung occupies its own niche: an ultra-stacked shoe with race foam and a very bouncy, keep-going-forever ride. It is not an exact dupe of the Cloudboom Strike, but runners searching for a replacement to the original Prime X for long runs and marathon-pace work will find a lot to like in the On. The Cloudboom Strike runs about 3% softer than a broken-in Prime X Strung, is lighter, more streamlined, and more supportive, and it fixes the lockdown issue once the laces are swapped. Note that the Prime X Strung pushes stack height to the 50 mm legal limit, a geometry category of its own.

Buying Advice

If you want one shoe for a full marathon training block that can also race well, the Cloudboom Strike is the most comfortable choice, provided you replace the stock laces on day one. If you are purely chasing a PR and want the most aggressive platform, the Alphafly 3 rewards faster running. If you are in the four-hour range and value stability over pop, the Superblast 2 covers the later miles best. And if budget matters, the Adizero SL2 delivers much of the same soft, bouncy character for less than half the price.

Conclusion

The On Cloudboom Strike earns its place among the best race shoes of 2024 not because of a spec sheet, but because it finally delivers the soft, bouncy, cloud-like ride On has always promised, wrapped around a carbon plate and full PEBA midsole. It asks for one small compromise, a lace swap, and rewards you with a shoe that is just as comfortable at mile 20 as it is at mile 2. Match it against the shoes above based on what your race actually demands, and you will not go wrong.