Every year we vote for the best running shoes, watches and headphones to be included in The Run Testers Awards. These are chosen across a range of categories based on a range of factors, but don’t always reflect our individual preferences as runners.
That’s why each also pick out our five favourite new shoes of the year, based on nothing more than how much we liked running in them. Here are Nick’s five picks for the year, which skew towards faster shoes that are great for marathon training and racing.
00:00 – Intro
01:23 – Hoka Cielo X1
02:43 – Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris
04:09 – Hoka Mach X2
05:47 – Nike Zoom Fly 6
07:58 – New Balance Rebel v4
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Hello welcome to run testers my name is Nick in this video I'm going through my Five favorite new running shoes of 2024 This is a series we do on the channel Where we each pick out our favorite Shoes because we all have individual Preferences and sometimes our favorite Shoes aren't necessarily the ones that Would win our Awards or even be top Picks in our best roundups they ones That we just happen to really enjoy Running so we get a chance to flag those Up in these videos so there aren any Rules here like I don't have to try and Build a sensible rotation and that is Important cuz I've not built a sensible Rotation and you can spend any kind of Money it's just that their Road shoes And they came out this year that's the Only kind of real rules we have here in General my favorite kind of shoes that I Really have a lot of affection for are Far shoes whether that's carbon plate Racing shoes or super trainers that you Know you can do a bit of everything in Those are predominantly the shoes that I Have in my top five like I say I'm not Building a sensible rotation they're Just the kind of shoes I love the most And I think about the most compared to Some like s Huracan 24 a shoe I'd love a Shoe I'd put in my rotation I'd Recommend buying but it's not one of my Favorite shoes of 2024 it's just you
Know big comfortable shoe I cruise Around easy runs in I want something That has a bit of Verve to it and all of My shoes certainly have a bit of Verve This year in general I've done two big Marathon training blocks I didn't Actually get to run the second Marathon Because I twisted my ankle but that's Predominately what I've done with my Time so all of these shoes have a place In that kind of training like in Particular doing lots of long hard Workouts that kind of thing and Obviously racing as well so bearing all That in mind and in particular bearing In mind that I might well be picking out Shoes I probably wouldn't recommend you Rush out and buy my first pick is the Hoker cello X1 this is the shoe I've run The most miles in in 2024 because I love Running in it I find it just the perfect Shoe for my marathon training doing lots Of really hard sessions you know Protecting the legs bouncing back doing Another hard session a few days later And I have RAC in it as well I think I've done about 320k in the shoe and it Still feels really bouncy I think it's a Very durable shoe as well which is a Bonus I think it is a little too heavy To be a top tier racing shoe and it has Got a very high price tag which is why I'm not necessarily going to say rush Out and buy this shoe hoker already have
The second version in the works coming Early next year I think which is going To be a fair bit lighter so lots of Stuff point to the fact that this isn't Necessarily a shoe that meets its price Tag but at the same time you I got it Into test and I've just kept running in It and I did so much running head of the London marathon where I set my PB and I've done loads of running it recently Head of Valencia marathon where I didn't Run at all and I think it's a fantastic Shoe and one that I love so that's why I Picked it out here you've got this big Stack of hogus pea foam which delivers a Really bouncy and comfortable ride and Unlike the rocket X2 which I think is an Excellent carbon plate racing shoe I Found that the cell feels great Throughout a long run or a long hard run It gets lots and lots of Bounce all the Way through whereas the rocket X2 Sometimes just doesn't feel quite as you Know explosive at the end of those runs So I do think it's an amazing carbon Shoe for longer Races and also lots of training I think He certainly is good enough to race in It's just I prefer other models but it Definitely merits a place in my top five Like I say it's a shoe I've done the Most running in this year because I love The way it feels so much so definitely Had to include it it's the Hocus yellow
X1 my second pick is my actual favorite Racing shoe and the one I have Recommended in multiple videos you've All seen it a lot on the channel if you Do watch it is the aex metas speed Sky Paris this is my favorite racing shoe of All time I've run my Marathon PB in this Year of 227 I run my half marathon PB The first time I've gone sub 70 even run A park Ron PB in the shoe as well even If it wasn't my my actual 5K PB and it's Just perfect for me it's very indicative Of the way I think Super Shoes are going To go which is that they're going to be Really lightweight while still having a Full stack of foam Under Foot still Giving you all that bounce and repulsion But this now comes in at around 190 G in My UK size 9 obviously the addas proo One kind of spearheaded this charge of Lightness but it's not a u tested and I Think it's still pretty hard to get hold Of in general the Met speed Sky Paris Like I say it was comfortable all the Way through that Marathon I did in London it's got plenty of pop off the For foot more so than the edge Paris Which is the other shoe that you could Compare it to in the aex range I prefer The sky Paris myself and as a high Cadence Runner you quite Shuffle stride Just find the lightness and the pop and The way it feels very easy to get kind Of life out of the plate in the shoe
Just makes it really good for racing I Feel really good at the back end of Races in it and at the start of them It's also pretty comfortable and Protective maybe not quite so much as The C X1 if you can do loads of training But this feels much more like a shoe That you'd be saving for race day Durability is a bit of concern with the Strips of rubber not going all the way Back at the hill the the pair I've used Most I've done about 250k in does have Some you know kind of cosmetic wear and Tear there but the performance is Certainly still there yeah 100% was Always going to make my list this shoe Is my favorite racing shoe met speed Sky Paris okay for my third pick we're going Back to Hoka we're going for the Hoka Mac X2 this is my favorite super trainer I wasn't really a big fan at all of the Original Hoka Mac X I just found it an Okay training shoe one that wasn't that Lively or that much more verstile than a Standard training shoe but the Mac X2 is A proper super trainer hoker beefed up The stack made the shoe lighter gave it A very racy upper more on which later More people F in the mid sole it now has A really bouncy ride it feels very f you Put it on although you can throttle back And run easy in this shoe I do find it a Very versatile shoe myself and I've done Lots of really hard training like you
Know when I wasn't using cell X1 I was Probably using the Mac X2 or another Super trainer for those hard sessions During marathon training this obviously Is a fair bit cheaper than cell X1 was Delivering you know some of that fun and Bouncy ride and do think it is fast Enough to also stand in for a carbon Plate racing shoe if you don't want to Spend big money on something like the Clo I do think it's a really good and Far shoe whilst also having the extra Versatility for easy runs as well I've Done some very easy stuff in the shoe Took it out on holiday as well and Really like using it for a bit of Everything drawback is certainly the Upper for some people so reason I love This shoe so much and it probably is my Favorite overall new shoe of the year is That I don't have any trouble with the Upper it fits me well but the heel is a Bit sparse and thin and it has you know Got a reputation for rubbing people and Cutting their Achilles so that can Happen but if it doesn't you're getting An amazing all round shoe that can do Really every kind of run but a really Fast super Tru I think it's the fastest Super trainer which is important for me If I'm going to use that kind of shoe For lots of really hard sessions instead Of a carbon shoe but it does have that First ility as well I think the hoko Mac
X3 is going to be a similar shoe with a Redesigned heel so that'll probably be More or less perfect we're going to see That shoe next year but the Mac X2 Certainly one of my favorites of this Year next up we have a late and Unexpected I think it's fair to say Addition to my top five I didn't expect To like the shoe this much it's the Nike Zoomfly six I said I didn't expect to Because the last two models of the shoe Just have really not Flo my boat they Just been big heavy shoes that don't Feel fast don't feel that enjoyable for Easy runs even and were fairly expensive Whereas the zoom 6 is a proper super Trainer like it's a shoe where Nike made A lot of the changes people are asking For with the line you've got more zoomx Foam in there it is now the Fresh zoomx Foam rather than the Recycled stuff used In previous models shoes a lot lighter Than the previous model it's got a Higher stack it's you know slightly more Rocket to me it feels a little bit more Smooth in transition and in general You're now getting a super trainer that Is a worthy addition to the range that You know you can use alongside Top Class Races like the Nike alphafly or the Vaporfly so sh I used a lot at the back End of marathon training I put about 112 115k on it over a couple of weeks I did Like 70k in it in 4 days across three
Ones really hard runs and I just think It's been amazing like I've done you Know mile reps down the track done a Steady long run where I went through a Half marathon about 115 and it just Feels really good around and I think What makes it stand out for me compared To like the Mac X2 which I do think is a Faster shoe the zoomfly is a really Comfortable super trainer so you've got A lot of speed here you can do hard runs And you go and do hard sessions it's not Quite as fast as the macx for really Hard sessions or if you're looking at Shorter races or something but it is a Lot more comfortable not just for the Heel design in general the upper is Really accommodating and it makes the Shoe very nice to on for easy runs you Really notice if you do a session in Something like the zoomfly compared to Something like the macx whereas you know The session feels great as you'd expect From a super trainer but the warm-ups And cool downs and the zoomfly are Really comfortable it feels very easy to Run slowly and you know relaxed in the Shoe which isn't always the case with Some of the faster super trainers so so Certainly one I look forward to using a Lot more next year as well the zoom F 6 Makes my list this year as one of the Top new super trainers and a massive Return to form for a shoe line that been
Pretty underwhelming for the last couple Of years so it's fair to say up until This point the four shoes I've got in my Top five were all locks they were all Very easy picks for me ones that Definitely stood out even more than some Of the other shoes I've left out here But the fifth one was very hard to me There were lots of shoes I could have Gone for here like you know it's not Suing indin speed 4 and pum velocity Nitro 3 are just extensions of shoe Lines that I really loved and still Continue to really love and HX 6 would Have had a really good case if I'd not Already picked two other Hoka shoes can Have three in and there's the atic super Blast 2 which I've not picked and I know People will be annoyed by that but I Don't tend to get on with it as well as Other people I just find it a little bit Too boatlike at times like I think it's An amazing shoe but it's not made my top Five what has made my top five is a new Balance Rebel V thought because it's all About like affection I think this top Five so I was just thinking about shoes And thinking about my gut reaction to Them and I have so much affection for The New Balance Rebel line in general I've really loved all of the versions Today but the four really hit the spot For me because the previous versions Know they were really good at what they
Did they were quite narrow Nimble shoes They weren't that you know protective And that was great but it meant I could Use them up to a certain point whereas The rebel V4 is a shoe that I could use For everything it's just got that little Bit more foam a slightly wide design and It just means it's more comfortable for Long run so enjoy doing long run in the Shoe but it's still really lightweight For what is you still a pretty chunky Shoe it's really lightweight shoe I've Gone down the track in it it's a shoe That basically just lets you go out and Run you can do whatever you want in the Shoe it's not giving you a load of Assistance like the other shoes I've Picked with plates and massive stacks of Very bouncy Foams it just feels good Under Foot and it just gets out the way So you can go do a really easy run in it You can go and do a hard long run you Can go and do reps to the track you can Even race in it like I would choose the Other shoes for racing obviously but it Is just a shoe that I think the Simplicity really appeals to me I like The way it looks I like all the Colorways of it especially the white and Teal one which I think gives it some Value as kind of a holiday shoe as well And it's really good value which you Know it's not something I've that fast About when I'm picking this top five but
It just all helps to create the image of The shoe in my mind where I really like It and that's why it's made my top five Ahead of some of those other shoes other Ones I probably want to shout out to be Fair are things like the aex NOA boss 5 Which you might have made it in if we' Had it a bit earlier for testing I'm Just finishing off testing now but I Think it probably wouldn't have cracked The top five but a very good shoe the on Cloud boom Striker less is amazing one Of my favorite races but you know I've Done more enjoyable and more runs in the Aex and the hoker this year and there Auna n Vista great shoe Puma devi8 Nitro Elite 3 amazing you racing shoe but yeah Those are my top five I say four Absolute locks the rebel gets in just Purely in the bases of a shoe I just Really like and I do think it's one I Would recommend to lots of people as Well because it is good value and can do So many types of run very well at a much Lower price than lots of the big super Trainers out that you are looking at Like the super blast or the New Balance Ballos so yeah Rebel rounds out my top Five C yellow metp Paris Mac X2 Zoom 6 Rebel V4 what a year for shoes very have Got to test all of them and love so many Of them and hopefully it be just as good 2025
