These Are the Trail Shoes We Personally Use for Our Longest Runs

There’s nothing like the feeling of hitting the open trails with no real pace or agenda, covering ground simply for the sake of seeing the scenery and spending some time on feet. Whether you’re training for a road 5K or a 100-mile off-road ultra, a long run on trails is a great way to build strength, injury-proof your body, and simply breathe. But doing a long run on the trail can pose challenges as varied as the terrain itself.

Knowing that long-distance trail runs can cover a ton of different ground—and that everyone’s local trails and routes are incredibly individual—we asked four editors at Outside what their favorite long-run trail shoes are. We’ve also included mini profiles about our running background, our strengths and weaknesses, and what kind of shoes we wear for non-long run days.

Bearing in mind that the editors have access to literally dozens and dozens of models across almost every running shoe brand that exists (and no bias to favor one brand or model over another), below we describe the shoes we actually reach for when it’s time to spend an AM or PM in the dirt.

Chris Foster’s Favorite Long-Run Trail Shoe

Editorial Director, Outside Endurance

Running Background: Former high school/college distance runner
Strengths: Hilly, technical trails
Weaknesses: Flat, fast courses; runs/races over 15 miles or two hours
Home Trails: Dry, dusty; exposed, very loose rocks; very steep ascents/descents
Most Easy Road Runs With: Mount to Coast P1, Atreyu Daily Trainer 2.0
Most Fast/Tempo Road Runs With: Hoka Rocket X 3 (short, very fast), Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 (longer, tempo)

Favorite Long Run Trail Shoe: Saucony Xodus Ultra 4

This was a tough one. While I really love both the Mount to Coast T1 and the Hoka Mafate X for two very different reasons (the predictability of the former and the energy return/protection of the latter), if I had to pack one pair of trail shoes for a weeklong trip with lots of miles, vert, and an unpredictable variety of terrain, it has to be the Saucony Xodus Ultra 4. Though not as packed with technical features as either the T1 or the Mafate X, the Xodus Ultra 4 has a pile of predictable tread on the grippy Vibram Megagrip outsole, just the right amount of cushion and protection, and has always fit my foot perfectly, no matter what stage of a run (or hike) I’m in.

I know some reviewers have complained about the durability of the Xodus Ultra line for a few years, but I’ve yet to critically damage any of my five pairs since I first started with the line a few years ago. While some may dislike the somewhat high, 36mm heel (6mm of drop), I’ve always liked a more highly stacked trail shoe for the protection and cushioning it provides—and the Xodus Ultra 4 is wide and stable enough to keep the height from feeling tippy.

It’s also on the heavier side (10.9 oz. for men’s size 9; 9.9 oz. for women’s 7), but I’ve also always liked a more “robust” trail shoe for long runs. I rarely roll an ankle with this shoe, never take any damage from sharp rocks, and have put in plenty of road miles, so I know the cushioning is legit enough for even the longest runs.

Susan Lacke’s Favorite Long-Run Trail Shoe

Senior Editor, Triathlete

Running Background: Former smoker and alcoholic turned triathlete and ultrarunner
Strengths: Stubbornness, enthusiasm for very bad ideas
Weaknesses: Speed
Home Trails: Whatever’s outside the van I sometimes call home
Most Easy Road Runs With: Mount to Coast R1
Most Fast/Tempo Road Runs With: Mount to Coast R1

Favorite Long Run Trail Shoe: Hoka Challenger 8

Let me be very clear here: I do not have a “quiver” of shoes. I live part of the year in a tiny apartment, and the other part in a van, which means space is at a premium. My nomadic lifestyle also means the trails I run are as varied as the places I visit. One week, I’ll meander through a lovely forest in the Pacific Northwest; the next, it’ll be the hot, dry landscape of South Dakota’s Badlands National Park. I also like to say I train by feel—as in, “What do I feel like doing today?” Sometimes that means I run 13 miles to check out the view from an interesting lookout point, while other times I run three miles into town to cash in a Scoopie Token at Culver’s.

I need a shoe that can do it all, and the Hoka Challenger has proven a reliable companion for my running adventures. It’s the Goldilocks of shoes, with a well-cushioned midsole that protects but doesn’t blunt, a lug pattern that holds its own on trails but doesn’t feel overbuilt for roads, and an outsole rugged enough to withstand wear and tear without suffocating my feet. I’ve worn them for training runs, ultramarathon races, and week-long backpacking trips, and they’ve consistently come through—to the point I feel a little sad when I have to retire a pair, because we’ve shared so many good memories.

Abby Levene’s Favorite Long-Run Trail Shoe

Senior Editor, Outside Run

Running Background: Ran cross country and track in high school and college, have run more trail races and ultras than can be considered sane
Strengths: The longer and more uphill, the better
Weaknesses: Technical descents
Home Trails: Everything from buttery singletrack to fifth-class off-trail rock faces
Most Easy Road Runs With: Nike Pegasus 41
Most Fast/Tempo Road Runs With: Nike Vaporfly 3 (for focused speedwork)

Favorite Long Run Trail Shoe: Nnormal Kjerag 02

Trail running shoes for me over the past decade have been defined by maximal cush and volume. I’ve run more ultras in the Hoka Speedgoat and Mafate than I can count. They mow right over rocks and roots, are surprisingly stable, and protect my increasingly achy joints. So no one was more surprised than me when I found myself perpetually turning to the relatively minimal Nnormal Kjerag 02 for basically every trail run this summer—long runs included.

That’s because the Kjerag 02 can do it all. It’s grippy and nimble on scree fields and rock faces, peppy enough on buttery singletrack and dirt paths, and precise on technical downhills and tight switchbacks. The highly breathable Matryx upper keeps my feet cool and relatively dry on hot summer days, which is absolutely imperative for preventing my absolute least favorite feeling on long runs: an unbeatable burning sensation underfoot. The relatively roomy forefoot also prevents my second-least favorite long run feeling: an ache under the balls of my feet from being squished from the sides. My feet have zero complaints in the Kjerag 02, and for that reason alone they receive the highest praise.

The midsole—a thicker slab of TPEE foam than the Kjerag 01—provides enough cush and pep to inspire faster efforts and sustain long alpine adventures alike. And the Vibram Megagrip Litebase outsole and relatively low profile (26 mm – 20 mm stack) give me confidence on rocks, roots, and ridgelines. And at a featherlight 7.3 oz. for a women’s 7.5, it’s easy to forget they’re even on my feet. In a world increasingly saturated with carbon-plated shoes—which, in my opinion, are great for certain but not all applications—sometimes you just want to feel the ground under your feet, man. And in an era of increasing shoe specialization, it’s refreshing to find a pair of “normal” trail running shoes that work for everything.

Jonathan Beverly’s Favorite Long-Run Trail Shoe

Senior Running Editor, Gear

Running Background: Runner since freshman year of high school, marathoner since junior year of high school, 48 years of consistent running and racing
Strengths: Tenacity, stamina, hills
Weaknesses: Speed (especially since right knee cartilage wore out)
Home Trails: Sandy double track over rolling hills between windmills
Most Easy Road Runs With: Whatever I’m testing or Topo Cyclone 3
Most Fast/Tempo Road Runs With: Whatever I’m testing or Puma Deviate Nitro 3
Typical Average Home Long Trail Run Pace (Actual; GAP): 12:00/mi; 9:45/mi

Favorite Long Run Trail Shoe: Topo Pursuit 2

When I’m going long on the trail, my two greatest shoe priorities are fit and balance, and the Topo Pursuit 2 excels at both. The fit is classic Topo: snug and secure from heel to ball, then spreading out to accommodate full toe splay (even when wearing Correct Toes toe spacers), without ever feeling wide or sloppy. As for balance, the Pursuit presents a clear contrast to the plethora of thick, soft, squishy trail shoes that dominate today’s market (and make my knees hurt as I try to stay upright and keep everything moving forward). The Pursuit’s ride isn’t minimal, with 28 millimeters of foam underfoot from heel to toe, but it delivers firm, responsive feedback from the trail below, with no delay or disconnect between landing and connecting with the ground.

Topo’s proprietary ZipFoam indents enough to contour around the bony parts of my feet and spread the force, then firms up quickly and pushes back, providing a stable, supportive stance and push-off platform (enhanced by the wide forefoot). While the zero-drop geometry seems to encourage a more balanced, midfoot landing under my body, it isn’t glaringly obvious during the stride, perhaps because of the early rocker, which rolls away quickly as soon as my weight moves onto the ball of my foot.

I’ve run in these often on the sandy, rutted trails out my back door in western Nebraska, and appreciated that the shoe didn’t add more squish and instability to the soft, shifting surface underfoot. And I’ve danced up and down smaller peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park on rocky, rooty trails where every foot plant differed. No matter what I stepped on, I felt protected from the resilient foam, able to interact with the surface and land and launch nimbly. And the nearly full-coverage Vibram Megagrip outsole with large, multi-directional, widely spaced lugs held securely on both surfaces, gripping smooth rock faces and digging into soft dirt.

The only setting where I’d want a more cushioned, bouncier ride is a smooth, well-packed path or gravel road. But for any trail, I can’t think of another shoe I’d rather have on than the Pursuit, that draws no attention to itself but quietly protects and lets my feet act like feet.