5 Best Running Shoes of 2025 So Far - Mid-Season Awards
Here are the best running shoes of 2025 so far. Below we will give awards to the Nike Streakfly 2, Adidas EVO SL, Salomon Aero Glide 3, Mizuno Neo Vista 2, and the Hoka Bondi 9. See who got named most improved, fastest, best max cushion, best new shoe, and overall best shoe of the year.
Here are the best shoes so far this year. Welcome to the Supwell 2025 Mid-Season Awards. We’ve officially handed out our hardware for the first half of the year—crowning our mid-season MVP, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved, Offensive & Defensive Players of the Year, and the biggest letdown so far.
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MVP: Salomon Aero Glide 3
The Aero Goat 3 has captured the hearts and minds of hobby jogger nation this year as it’s filled up the box score in every statistical category. Lightweight? Check. Bouncy? Yessir. Great for long runs? BANG. This is the unanimous first team All-Mileage shoe right now—a versatile workhorse that offers fun and comfort in equal doses. The one downside is the highly grippy but quick-wearing outsole, which heavy rubber scuffers have worn through within 100 miles. But Salomon even has an answer for that: the Aero GOAT 3 GRVL edition, which boasts a thicker rubber outsole designed for light off-road terrain (it’s stellar in the rain as well).
Salomon Aero Glide 3
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Salomon Aero Glide 3 GRVL
Most Disappointing Shoe of the Year: Saucony Triumph 23
In NBA terms, the Saucony Triumph 23 is the guy who gets cut from the roster and has to sign with the Shanghai Sharks in the offseason. It’s time for the Triumph 23 to download Duolingo because it’ll be spending the next season in China. Last year, it showed up to training camp slow and out of shape. While it shed some weight this year, it’s bricking shots with the same janky jumper as the 22—a flat and uninspiring version of PWRRUN PB that never should’ve left the G League. It should’ve been in the gym all season working on its off-hand finish. Now it’ll do that in China.
Saucony Triumph 23
Rookie of the Year: Adidas EVO SL
Initially releasing in small batches early in 2024, the EVO SL was hyped non-stop by testers (and by Adidas’ marketing team). If the shoe was an NBA prospect, think Zion at Duke or LeBron in high school levels of hype. Now that the EVO SL has officially stepped into the game in 2025, its backing up the hype with legitimate performance. An affordable nameplate for the masses with top end race day technology that’s introducing countless new runners to the sport? That’s rookie of the year material right there.
Adidas Evo SL
Most Improved Player: Hoka Bondi 9
The Bondi 8 was the aging point guard relegated to the bench because he couldn’t shoot threes, guard the perimeter, or adapt to the modern game. It was a best-seller in the max cushion category but had an outdated, polarizing ride—comfortable for walkers and runners who preferred firm, supportive cushion, but an un-runnable brick to many others. The Bondi 9 fought its way back in the league this year with a bouncy supercritical EVA midsole that’s smooth, supportive and capable of stacking serious mileage. Nursing home shoe no longer.
Hoka Bondi 9
Offensive Player of the Year (Best Speed Shoe): Nike Streakfly 2
The Streakfly 2 shows what happens when you let dreamers dream. When you’ve been putting up shots all summer and you finally get a chance to let it fly on the big stage. Nike’s design team hit the gym big time for this one, crafting the most aggressive road running shoe we’ve ever tested. It’s light as a feather, aggressively angled for powerful toe-offs and is as streamlined as you can get while still offering the benefit of soft and bouncy ZoomX foam. If you need a bucket during the dog days of summer, pass it to the Streakfly 2.
Nike Streakfly 2
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Defensive Player of the Year (Best Max Cushion Shoe): Mizuno Neo Vista 2
Released last month, the Mizuno Neo Vista 2 is a late entrant onto this list. It’s like the second year wing called up from the G-League who locks down the opposing team’s star in the playoffs. This is the current reigning champ for protective and fun miles. The ride is soft and bouncy, with more than enough give for comfortable landings but not too much squish for long hours on the roads. The upper is sloppy and the 50mm stack is funky, but the good outweighs the annoying. Think prime Pat Beverly—a wacky defensive stalwart on a team that’s on the rise.
Mizuno Neo Vista 2
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