Top 5 Most Impactful Running Shoes of 2025
As 2025 comes to an end, we are looking back at the 5 performance running shoes that have had the biggest impact on the running community and industry. Find out below why the ASICS Megablast, Nike Vomero Premium, Adidas EVO SL, Puma Fast-R 3, and the ASICS Metaspeed Ray made our list.
The year is coming to a close, so it’s time to highlight the running shoes that truly impacted 2025. This lineup represents the pairs that we think impacted the running world more than anything else this year. From potentially the most hype running shoe of all time, the EVO SL, to the refined precision of the Metaspeed Ray, each model brought something new to the run community. Even daily trainers like the Megablast and race options like the Fast-R 3 proved how fast the industry is evolving. These weren’t just popular shoes—they set the tone for where the running shoe industry is headed next.
Adidas EVO SL
In a world where even basic daily trainers are climbing in price, Adidas delivered a $150 shoe with a race-tuned geometry and a bouncy, fun Lightstrike Pro midsole. Brands have been playing catch up in the back half of 2025—the recent wave of non-plated uptempo daily trainers like the new TYR Maverick-V1 Runner and the R.A.D UFO are all trying to capture what makes the EVO SL so special.
Adidas Evo SL
ASICS Metaspeed Ray
The Metaspeed Ray represents the new frontier in marathon shoe innovation: the race to create the lightest possible viable pinnacle shoe. Weighing in at only 129 grams while still delivering elite-level energy return, the Metaspeed Ray has set the standard for lightweight marathon racers going forward.
ASICS Metaspeed Ray
Nike Vomero Premium
Accounting for the greatest number of barefoot mafia tears this year, the Vomero Premium hit the market with over 55mm of stack and dual Air Zoom units—one in the heel and one in the forefoot. Nike’s max stack behemoth pushed the boundaries of what a recovery running shoe can be, while also achieving astronomical levels of hype that we haven't witnessed before in the running shoe industry.
Nike Vomero Premium
ASICS Megablast
The greatest running shoe of all time. Full stop. ASICS took the formula of non-plated race foam from the EVO SL and perfected it, offering a geometry that works for all and a ridiculously versatile midsole. We’d be comfortable lacing up the Megablast for any type of run—from a recovery jog, to a threshold session, to a marathon—it’s that good.
ASICS Megablast
Puma Fast-R 3
This year, we dubbed the Puma Fast-R 3 the “Kingslayer” after it dismantled the Alphafly 3 in head-to-head testing. With its wildly aggressive geometry and lightning-fast foam, the Fast-R 3 redefined what it means to be a demon time shoe in 2025.
Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
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