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* '''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 Speed]]. The Hyper Speed is a wonderfully light shoe that's far better cushioned than you might expect. It's billed as a 'racing flat', but I consider it a wonderful general purpose running shoe, proving just what you need and little more. The [[Nike Zoom Streak LT]] and [[Puma Faas 100 R]] are remarkably close to the Hyper Speed.
* '''Best Optimal Shoe''': [[New Balance RC5000]]. So I had to include the RC5000 as well as the Hyper Speed, as they are both 'the best'. The RC5000 weights less than half the Hyper Speed and provides barely enough cushioning to be efficient. This may not be enough shoe for you, but if you can handle it, the RC5000 is a wonderfully fast shoe. I'm happy to run marathon distances in this shoe, but I wouldn't go further, and you may want a little more cushioning even at that distance (unless you're into a minimalist shoe, in which case it probably has too much cushioning.)
* '''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.
* '''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.
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.
[[File:BestRunningShoe.jpg|none|thumb|500px|The best running shoes. The Kinvara (top left), RC5000 (middle left), Hyper Speed (lower left), Clifton (upper right), Trail Glove (middle right), and the Ka (lower right, and yes, I know it's not really a running shoe.]]
=Shoe Categories=