Our Five Favorite Recent Running Shoe Releases in 2025
Below we tell you about our five favorite recent running shoe releases in 2025. We will also detail what we like about each shoe and how we are using each one in our current training for a marathon PR attempt. We’ve got a ecovery run shoe with the new Nike Vomero Premium, a standard daily trainer with the Salomon Aero Glide 3 GRVL edition, a faster daily trainer with the ASICS Megablast, and our two favorite workout and race shoes right now—the Puma Fast-R 3 and the ASICS Metaspeed Ray.
This is our list of our five favorite shoes right now—in September of 2025. These are the running shoes we reach for most frequently. This list is heavily biased towards recent releases and highlights our favorite recent running shoe releases.This list is intended to be the shoes of the current batch which we are enjoying the most or are most excited to run in. This list isn’t scientific, it’s just a list of the shoes that our giving us the most joy right now and with each one, we will tell you in which situations and types of runs that we find ourselves pulling for each shoe.
Nike Vomero Premium
Nike Vomero Premium
The Vomero Premium has become our default recovery run shoe. We are liking it more than the Vomero Plus and it’s just nice when you have a shoe like this because it is such a comfortable, max cushion cruiser. The thing about this shoe that keeps coming to mind is how outlandish it is with 55mm of foam in the heel and two Air Zoom units, but the cool part of it, and what brands should take away from it, is that we can use materials—such as the Air Zoom units in this shoe—other than plastic or carbon plates to stabilize a tall stack of squishy foam. While the Mizuno Neo Vista 2 is still probably our max cushion shoe of the year so far because of how much lighter it is than this. The Neo Vista 2 comes in under 300 grams in our Men’s size 10.5 and the Vomero Premium is 360 grams—which is absolutely ridiculous—but it somehow works. It is one of our favorites right now for just going out there and racking up mileage and not worrying about the pace. It has an enjoyable, bouncy, fluffy, cushiony ride and it doesn’t get too soft or squishy. And the more power you put down into it, the more bounce you’re going to get back. It’s definitely not a fast shoe, but the bigger you are, the more bounce you’ll get back.
ASICS Megablast
ASICS Megablast
The Megablast is our favorite shoe for daily miles, for just getting out there and pushing the pace some on days when we are feeling good. This is definitely a fast daily trainer. It’s bouncy and lightweight (around 250 grams) and embodies the exact opposite design philosophy from the Vomero Premium. With this one, ASICS seemed to be trying to figure out how to make the fastest, lightest, bounciest daily trainer without worrying about comfort. In fact, it is probably overkill for what most people need or want in a daily trainer, but if you do want a shoe that is fast, fun, and highly capable of doing a bunch of different types of runs, then you will really enjoy the Megablast. While it is not a comfort-oriented shoe—with its minimal upper and tongue—the geometry makes it comfortable for running at more relaxed paces in addition to the faster paces. It is currently our favorite shoe of the year across all categories, and it is definitely in contention for the best shoe of all time.
Salomon Aero Glide 3 GRVL
Salomon Aero Glide 3 GRVL
We recently took this shoe on a family trip to the mountains and then again on a work retreat. The Aero Glide 3 GRVL is more of a standard daily trainer than the Megablast. It is a lot more comfortable, relaxed, and normal feeling than the Megablast. This one won’t encourage you to pick up the pace like the Megablast will. It just rolls you along with comfort and ease and is great for recovery runs or just stacking daily mileage. The other great aspect of this shoe is the extra rubber coverage you get on the outsole in the GRVL version as compared to the regular Aero Glide 3. This one works well on gravel paths, non-technical trails, and is a great road to trail shoe. The extra rubber doesn’t dampen the ride or feel clunky while running on the roads like you find with some trail shoes. In fact, the extra rubber coverage on the GRVL edition actually makes it more durable since we do have some noticeable wearing of the rubber compound on the standard version after 100 miles. The upper is also very comfortable, although it is slightly different and fits more snugly with a slightly shallower toebox than the standard version, which might be good for some people who thought the standard version fit a little big. The ride is comfortable and bouncy, especially if you are landing on the back of the platform. This is definitely an excellent, lighter weight daily trainer that stands up well to higher mileage training and the long run.
Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
The Fast-R 3 is probably our favorite race shoe of 2025 so far. It’s fast, aggressive, and has a firmer feel than many of the other racers out right now. It’s almost like the plate is the central feature of this shoe. Because of how aggressive this shoe is and how much it forces you onto your forefoot, it really wrecks your calves, which is our only hesitation for taking it the full marathon distance. This one has already outlived the hype cycle too, with each new colorway selling out immediately.
ASICS Metaspeed Ray
ASICS Metaspeed Ray
The Metaspeed Ray is all the way on the other side of the marathon race shoe spectrum from the Fast-R 3. It comes in at an insanely light weight of 140 grams in our Men’s Size 10.5 and it has a much different overall feel. In contrast to the aggressive plate positioning in the Fast-R 3, the Metaspeed Ray’s plate does not even extend up into the forefoot. It’s softer, bouncier, friendlier, and it has this nice fluffy, approachable feel. With all that being said, it is not a relaxed shoe or one you’d want to take on a chill long run or even a 4-hour marathon attempt. Despite having a less aggressive and softer feel to it, the Metaspeed Ray is definitely a fast shoe, but it also doesn’t beat you up as much.
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