The Best and Worst Running Shoes of the Year: Our 2021 Awards Roundup

Introduction

After a full year of running in everything from max-cushion daily trainers to carbon-plated racers, some shoes earned their place in the rotation and others fell short. Here is our awards-based rundown of the best five shoes we ran in this year, plus the three that did not work out, to help with your buying decisions heading into the new year.

The Awards Lineup

Each of our top five picks earned its award for a specific strength: value, daily cushioning, comfort, fun, and outright speed. That framing matters more than any single ranking, because the right shoe depends entirely on what you will actually use it for.

Best Value Shoe: Reebok Floatride 3

The Reebok Floatride 3 was one of the first shoes of the year and one of the few worn completely out, which says a lot on its own. At around £75, with discount codes commonly bringing it closer to £50, it is fantastic value for how well it performs.

It is a genuinely good all-rounder: solid on speedwork, comfortable on easy runs, and usable in races. The only real downside is lateral stability when cornering, which is a minor complaint at this price. For anyone after one shoe that can do a bit of everything without stretching the budget, this is an easy recommendation.

Best Daily Shoe: Nike Invincible

The Nike Invincible was the shoe we logged the most kilometers in this year, comfortably into the thousands. It is super comfortable and super cushioned, and for easy runs it was the one to grab every time thanks to its maximum cushioning.

It is expensive, and its role is specific: absorbing impact on high-mileage days. But if you run a lot and want your legs feeling fresh after big weeks, that cushioning justifies the price in a way few other shoes managed this year.

The New Balance 1080 v11 deserves a mention here as well. It has a touch more cushioning than the Invincible, is often available on offer, and currently sits at around the same £130 price point. It is a bit big, a bit clunky, and slightly on the heavy side, but legs felt great after big miles in it, making it a strong alternative for the best daily shoe award.

Most Comfortable Shoe: New Balance RC Elite v2

The New Balance RC Elite v2, the purple shoe of the summer, was the most comfortable shoe of the year. It handles every distance well: 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, and even ultras. For a 90K road ultra like Comrades, it would have been the pick.

The carbon plate is present but not too aggressive, so you can happily run easy runs, steady runs, sessions, tempos, and races all in the same shoe. It is pricey, with offers hovering around the high £180s down from about £210, but for pure comfort over long distances nothing matched it. A new version is expected early next year.

Most Fun Shoe: New Balance Rebel v2

The New Balance Rebel v2 was described as almost perfect in testing, and it wins the most fun shoe award. If you are not a fan of carbon plates, you can do much worse than this.

It is super light with a genuine turn of speed. You can cruise along at an easy pace and then flip straight into strides, a session, or reps without changing shoes. The absence of plate tech is part of the charm, and it is also on the more affordable side.

Best Race Shoe: Nike Vaporfly Next% 2

The top spot goes to the Nike Vaporfly Next% 2, largely because of the updated upper. It locks the foot down nicely with no slippage and is really comfortable for a pure racer.

This is the fastest shoe of the year, but it is a session and race shoe only. Do not plan on logging easy miles in it, because it is not built for that. When you need the fastest shoe in the closet for a key workout or race day, it wins all around.

The Worst Shoes of the Year

Not everything worked out. Three shoes in particular fell well short of expectations, and each failed for a different reason: outdated foam, a mismatch of plate and cushioning, and unnecessary tech stuffed into a beloved line.

The Nike ZoomX 4 disappointed with its foam, which felt dead and dated, well behind what rivals are offering in the mid-range. The Hoka Bondi X paired a carbon plate with foam that could not support it, at £180, and heel slip could not be corrected because the tongue was too short. And the Adidas Boston 10 was the biggest fail of the year: stiff, hard maximum foam plus a carbon plate that the shoe simply did not need, a stark drop from the much-loved Boston 8.

Shoes Worth Watching

A few notable shoes did not get full testing this year but are worth keeping on your radar. The Hoka Rocket X remains one of the best shoes around, and an update would be very welcome. The Hoka Mach 4 has been widely praised and is on the test list, the Saucony Endorphin Speed is set for a version 3 next year, and the Asics Metaspeed Sky remains on the wishlist.

Conclusion

The takeaway for the new year: match the shoe to the job. The Floatride 3 for value, the Invincible or 1080 v11 for daily cushioning, the RC Elite v2 for long-run comfort, the Rebel v2 for fun, and the Vaporfly Next% 2 for race day. Skip the ZoomX 4, Bondi X, and Boston 10 unless something changes dramatically with their next versions.