July 8, 2026

Every Running Shoe Brand's Biggest Achievements

Below we are outlining every running shoe brand's biggest contributions to the industry. We are covering everything from Adidas making the lightest racer on the market, Mizuno pioneering the plated daily trainer, On developing a laceless upper, to Li-Ning making the bounciest daily trainer of all time.

Yowana Wamala

Every brand has something they’ll always be remembered for, whether it’s creating an entirely new category, pushing innovation forward, or simply making reliable shoes that runners keep coming back to year after year. These aren’t necessarily each brand’s best shoe, but the accomplishment that best defines their legacy and biggest contribution to the running shoe world. We know there are plenty of arguments to be made, so let the debate begin.

Adidas

Adidas' most recent achievement was that they designed the Adios Pro Evo 3, a sub 100 gram race shoe that helped break the 2 hour marathon barrier.
They also ushered in an entirely new category of non-plated race foam daily trainers with the Evo SL.
With the Adios Pro 3, Adidas released a legendary accessible racer that combined speed with stability.
While niche in its use case and not easy to purchase, Adidas did design the ultimate long distance shoe—the Prime X Evo—that helped smash the 100km record.

Daily Trainer

Adidas Evo SL EXO

Variant of the iconic Evo SL with a more structured upper

Price

$150

Plated?

Foam

TPEE

Weight (oz)

8.3

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Nike

Nike revolutionized the game with the first carbon-plated super shoe in the Vaporfly 4%.
With the Vomero Plus, Nike designed arguably the greatest, most versatile max cushion shoe of all time.
Even though we've been waiting a long time for an update, Nike released a legendary race day weapon with unprecedented staying power in the Alphafly 3.
With the Vomero Premium, Nike engineered the ultimate injury prevention and recovery shoe.

Max Cushion

Nike Vomero Plus

Max cushioned running shoe designed for high mileage and versatility

Price

$180

Plated?

Foam

Not disclosed

Weight (oz)

9.9

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Max Cushion

Nike Vomero Premium

Super max stack shoe designed for comfort and bounce

Price

$230

Plated?

Foam

Undisclosed

Weight (oz)

12.3

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

ASICS

Wtih the release of the Megablast, ASICS perfected the super trainer formula, perfectly balancing protection and race-day speed.
The Metaspeed Ray release lead the charge in the new wave of featherlight, high stack marathon racers.
ASICS, with the release of the Novablast 6, created a fun daily trainer for the masses, helping runners move on from mid shoes like the Pegasus.
With the Superblast 3, ASICS released the ultimate max stack daily trainer, blending stability with springy bounce.

Daily Trainer

ASICS Novablast 6

Daily trainer designed for bounce and versatility

Price

$155

Plated?

Foam

Not disclosed, ATPU

Weight (oz)

8.9

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Max Cushion

ASICS Superblast 3

Max cushioned training shoe designed for long runs

Price

$210

Plated?

Foam

ATPU, EVA OBC Blend

Weight (oz)

8.4

Drop (mm)

Support

Mild Stability

see details

HOKA

Hoka saved the world from minimalist shoes by ushering in the max cushion era with the Bondi line.
With the release of the Cielo X1 OG, Hoka designed a legendary rockered, bouncy racer that many runners still pull for today.
Hoka also perfected the super shoe formula with the Cielo X-1 3.0, combining speed with max stack protection.
With the Skyward X, Hoka released one of the bounciest max stack long run trainers ever made.

Race Day

Hoka Cielo X1 3.0

Cushioned race shoe designed for speed and comfort

Price

$275

Plated?

Yes

Foam

PEBA

Weight (oz)

7.0

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Puma

Puma designed the Fast-R 3, the most aggressive, propulsive marathon racer of all time.
With the Deviate Nitro Elite 3, Puma released a hobby jogger-certified banger, delivering PR-ready speed in a reliable, stable package.
The OG MagMax helped push stack height boundaries beyond 40mm, revolutionizing max cushion shoes.
With the Velocity Nitro 4, Puma introduced bouncy ATPU foam in a versatile, affordable daily trainer.

Race Day

Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3

Marathon race shoe designed for speed and lab tested to be more efficient than anything else on the market

Price

$300

Plated?

Yes

Foam

ATPU

Weight (oz)

6.0

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Daily Trainer

Puma Velocity Nitro 4

Lightweight everyday running shoe designed for speed and versatility

Price

$140

Plated?

Foam

Not disclosed

Weight (oz)

8.0

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Mizuno

Mizuno designed one of the best dual-foam, plated long run cruisers of all time—the Neo Vista 3.
With the Wave Rider series, Mizuno introduced plastic plates to the running shoe market in 1997.
With the Hyperwarp Pure, Mizuno released a modernized racing flat with a low-to-the-ground, direct, yet bouncy ride.
Mizuno delivered one of the smoothest, softest max cushion rides in any daily trainer with the release of the OG Neo Zen.

Max Cushion

Mizuno Neo Vista 3

Max cushioned training shoe designed for long runs

Price

$200

Plated?

Yes

Foam

TPU, EVA

Weight (oz)

9.4

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Race Day

Mizuno Hyperwarp Pure

Race shoe designed for lightweight speed

Price

$300

Plated?

Yes

Foam

PEBA

Weight (oz)

4.9

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Brooks

Brooks has delivered predictable, reliable comfortable mass-market shoes, such as the Ghost 17, for decades.
With the OG Glycerin Max, Brooks came out with one of the most iconic max stack shoes of this generation.
Brooks released a mileage cheat code super trainer with exceptional durability and versatility with the Hyperion Max 3.
With the Ghost Max, Brooks designed one of the cleanest performance silhouettes of the 2020s.

Max Cushion

Brooks Ghost Max 3

Cushioned everyday running shoe designed for comfort and reliability

Price

$160

Plated?

Foam

Supercritical EVA

Weight (oz)

10.7

Drop (mm)

Support

Mild Stability

see details

New Balance

With the 1080v13, New Balance set the gold standard for how soft max cushion shoes should feel.
New Balance revolutionized the training shoe market, delivering 47mm of bouncy foam in the SC Trainer v1.
In the SC Elite v5, New Balance perfected the “PEBA with a plate” racer formula, providing a soft yet snappy ride.
With the Rebel v3, New Balance delivered non-plated TPEE in a low stack daily trainer that was way ahead of its time.

Race Day

New Balance SC Elite v5

Marathon race shoe designed for speed and comfort

Price

$265

Plated?

Yes

Foam

PEBA

Weight (oz)

7.3

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

On

First seen in the Cloudboom Strike LS, On engineered top-tier, groundbreaking laceless upper technology.
The launch of the Cloudmonster introduced CloudTec, which has become a cultural icon signifying comfort for the masses.
With the standard version of the Cloudboom Strike, On poneered drop-in insole tech for next-level softness and bounce in a marathon shoe.
On delivered upon the performance potential of CloudTec, releasing the ultimate daily trainer, the Lightspray Cloudmonster 3 Hyper.

Daily Trainer

On Lightspray Cloudmonster 3 Hyper

Super trainer with an ultralight upper

Price

$280

Plated?

Foam

PEBA, EVA

Weight (oz)

7.2

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Saucony

With the launch of the Endorphin Speed series, Saucony changed the game by combining race foam with a plastic plate in a training shoe.
Saucony engineered one of the softest, most energetic race foams ever in IncrediRun, the race foam found in the Endorphin Elite 3.
With the OG Endorphin Elite, Saucony released a firm PR-weapon race day shoe that runners still wish would return.
Saucony designed a shoe—the Endorphin Pro 3—that had the marathon racer market on lock for 2022 and 2023.

Race Day

Saucony Endorphin Elite 3

Marathon racer with a soft and bouncy ride

Price

$290

Plated?

Yes

Foam

Supercritical TPEE

Weight (oz)

7.5

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Li-Ning

Li-Ning released the Red Hare 9 Ultra, the bounciest, most fun daily trainer of all time.
With the Feidian 6 Elite, Li-Ning ntroduced a soft, bouncy, highly capable new marathon option.
Li-Ning designed the ultimate shoe sicko hyper shoe, featuring a monstrous super boom capsule with the Feidian 6 Ultra.

Max Cushion

Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra

Max cushioned shoe designed for bounce and comfort

Price

$150

Plated?

Yes

Foam

Not disclosed

Weight (oz)

8.5

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Dynafish

Dynafish rapidly went from being virtually unknown to iconic in the enthusiast community, delivering the Xiaonian, the ultimate lightweight super trainer for high mileage training.

Speed Training

Dynafish Xiaonian

Lightweight super trainer engineered for speed

Price

$150

Plated?

Foam

TPEE

Weight (oz)

7.3

Drop (mm)

Support

Neutral

see details

Supwell Shoe Matcher

Whether you're looking for a reliable easy run shoe, pampering comfort on recovery days, a long-run cruiser, or a race day weapon, check out our Shoe Matcher tool to get matched. We've done the extensive testing, so you don't have to.