Running Shoe Familes Explained
Each running shoe brand offers different lines of shoes for different types of runners, use cases, and price points. Here we take a look at some of the most common running shoe brands, including ASICS, Adidas, Brooks, Hoka, New Balance, Saucony and Nike, and their performance running shoe line-ups and help you navigate the different options.
Every brand builds shoes in families so each lineup covers different needs, from easy miles to race day speed. Once you understand the family, it’s easier to know how models relate, what’s replaced year to year, and which shoe actually fits our training goals. From soft cushion to pure speed every family is different.
New Balance FuelCell
New Balance's FuelCell is a performance family of foams tuned for bounce and speed, ranging from lively 100% PEBA in the SC Elite v5 to smooth, but not particularly exciting PEBA/EVA blends found in New Balance’s speed trainers like the Rebel v5 and SC Trainer v3.
New Balance SC Elite v5
New Balance Fresh Foam X
New Balance's Fresh Foam X line of shoes is optimized for traditional daily comfort, prioritizing impact absorption over excitement and bounce. Fresh Foam X shoes utilize various blends of EVA, tuned for different levels of softness and stability., such as the 860v14, 880v15, and the More v6.
New Balance More v6
ASICS "Blast"
The ASICS "Blast" series is a diverse family of elevated daily trainers offering a range of ride profiles (structured and firm in the Superblast 2, stable and smooth in the Sonicblast, soft and bouncy in the Novablast 5, and versatile and fast in the Megablast.)
ASICS Megablast
ASICS Metaspeed
The Metaspeed shoes from ASICS are a trio of balanced, fast racing shoes designed for various needs: the Sky Tokyo is suited to stride runners, the Edge Tokyo to cadence runners, and the Metaspeed Ray to runners seeking the pinnacle of lightweight, springy race day tech.
ASICS Metaspeed Ray
Brooks Glycerin
The Glycerin is Brooks’ longstanding comfort product silo, with the standard Glycerin, the most recent version being the Glycerin 22, serving as a “max cushion” shoe for traditionalists. In recent years, the line has expanded to include the max stack, supportive Glycerin Max 2, and the highly-flexible yet comfortable Glycerin Flex.
Brooks Glycerin Flex
Brooks Hyperion
Hyperion signifies speed in Brooks’ products, with shoes in the line utilizing elevated foams, plates and more aggressive rockers. The trio of Hyperion shoes includes a peppy, versatile daily trainer in the Hyperion 3, a protective, dual-foam plated speed trainer in the Hyperion Max 3, and a fast, balanced carbon-plated racer in Hyperion Elite 5.
Brooks Hyperion Max 3
Nike Vomero
The successor to the iconic Invincible nameplate, Nike’s new trio of Vomero shoes aims to deliver the ultimate in underfoot comfort, ranging from workmanlike impact absorption in the standard Vomero 18, to versatile cushion in the Vomero Plus, to leg-saving bounce and injury prevention in the Vomero Premium.
Nike Vomero Premium
Nike Pegasus
Nike markets the Pegasus as its “responsive cushioning” line, but in practice, the shoes are harder to neatly categorize. The Pegasus 41 and Pegasus Plus deliver no-nonsense, low to the ground, direct rides, but the Pegasus Premium has a max stack, floaty underfoot feel.
Nike Pegasus Plus
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Saucony Endorphin
Renowned for aggressive rocker geometries and bouncy foams, Saucony's Endorphin series is one of the most iconic and top-selling performance lines in the game. An anchor in the line is PWRRUN PB, Saucony’s tried-and-true beaded PEBA foam that’s fun, resilient, and versatile, which is found in the new Endorphin Azura and the Endorphin Speed 5 and Endorphin Pro 5. In 2025, Saucony branched out to new compounds introducing Incredirun in the Endorphin Elite 2, one of the softest, most bouncy foams of all time.
Saucony Endorphin Speed 5
Adidas Adizero
The Adizero moniker distinguishes Adidas’ performance shoes from their budget offerings. A highly-diverse line, Adizero encompasses Adidas’ range of racing shoes (the accessible Adios Pro 4, the low-stack Takumi Sen 11, and the very expensive Adios Pro Evo 2), speed trainers (such as the Boston 13, Adios 9, Prime X 3 Strung), and daily trainers (like the very popular Evo SL and the beloved SL2), each of which feature partial to full Lightstrike Pro race foam.
Adidas Adizero Evo SL Woven
Hoka "X"
Hoka uses “X” to denote shoes in their lineup that contain a plate, most commonly carbon, as found in the Cielo X1 3.0, Rocket X3, Skyward X, and plastic in the Mach X3.
Hoka Rocket X 3
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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.
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