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=The Best Running Shoe=
What constitutes the best running shoe will depend a little on what you're looking for. Right now, there are five shoes that I would consider to be 'the best' in their categories.
* '''Best Beginners Shoe'''. [[Saucony Kinvara]] is a great shoe if you're [[Starting to Run]]. It's light, comfortable, and reasonably cushioned. It's also a fairly easy shoe to find due to its popularity.
* '''Best Transition Shoe''': [[Saucony Kinvara]]. If you're moving away from a heavy, over-engineered shoe like the [[Asics GT 2000]], then the Kinvara is a great halfway house on way to one of the shoes below. It's useful to make changes gradually in order to let your body and biomechanics adapt. It will also help you get a feel for what direction you'd like to go – minimalist, optimal, or [[Minimax]]. You may find that like me, you end up with several shoes in different categories for different lengths or types of run.
* '''Best Minimax Shoe''': [[Hoka Clifton]]. This is by far the best [[Minimax]] (minimum drop/maximum cushioning) shoe available. It's remarkably light and remarkably cushioned. So far, nothing else comes close.
* '''Best Optimal Shoe''': [[Asics Gel Hyper SpeedNew Balance RC5000v2]]. The Hyper Speed RC5000v2 is a wonderfully light stunning shoe that, providing more cushioning for its weight than any other I's far better cushioned than you might expectve tested. It's billed as a 'racing flat', but I consider it a wonderful general purpose running shoestill love the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]], proving just what you need and little more. The [[Nike Zoom Streak LT]] and , [[Puma Faas 100 R]] are remarkably close to , and [[Pearl Izumi EM Road N0]], but the Hyper SpeedRC5000v2 is even better. * '''Best Optimal Fastest Shoe''': [[New Balance RC5000]]. So I had to include the The original RC5000 as well as the Hyper Speedis amazingly light, as they are both 'the best'. The RC5000 weights less than half the Hyper Speed and provides barely offering just enough cushioning to be make it efficient. This may not be enough shoe for you, but if you can handle it, It's the RC5000 is a wonderfully fast fastest shoe. I'm happy to run marathon distances in this shoe, but I wouldn't go furtherve tested, and you may want it would be my first choice for a little more cushioning even at that distance (unless you're into a minimalist shoe, in which case it probably has too much cushioningfast marathon.)
* '''Best Minimalist Shoe''': [[Merrell Trail Glove]]. I recommend the trail glove for road running in spite of the 'trail' moniker. It's not a fast shoe by any means, but it's comfortable and will last well.
* '''All Terrain Shoe'''. I don't generally review trail running shoes, but check out the [[Hoka Mafate]] if you're after a shoe with remarkable abilities on a wide range of surfaces.
* '''Honorable Mention''': It's not really a running shoe, but the Vivobarefoot Ra is comfortable, minimalist and can more or less pass as a dress shoe. I've worn mine to weddings with a suit and they've not looked out of place. You can run in the Ra, but the leather means it doesn't breathe well.
=Shoe Categories=
I've classified my shoe recommendations into several categories, each with their own pros and cons.
''Main article: [[Shoe Modifications]]''
[[File:ModifiedShoes.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Clockwise from the top: [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NIK1444/ Nike Free 3.0] (early version) cut open more than most to form a 'running sandal', [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/SCN984/ Saucony Hattori], [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NBA1542/ NB Trail Minimus], [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NIK1444/ Nike Free 3.0] and the [[Hoka Shoe Review|Hoka]].]]
With a few exceptions such as the Mizuno Curoris, I find that most shoes benefit from [[Shoe Modifications| cutting open the toe box]]. This allows the toes to spread out as you toe off, creating more natural biomechanics and preventing toe blisters.
=Shoe Dissection =