Best Half Marathon Race Shoes: Super Shoes and Plateless Picks by Runner

The best half marathon race shoe for most runners is the Saucony Endorphin Pro 5. It's a carbon-plated super shoe that RunRepeat calls the best option for beginners and for runners uncomfortable with unstable designs, which describes most people racing 13.1 in a plate for the first time. Efficient midfoot and forefoot runners who want something lighter and more aggressive should look at the adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 or the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo. If you'd rather not race in carbon at all, the plateless ASICS Megablast is a genuine race-day option, not a consolation prize.

This page is for runners at the HALF tier. You're finishing, or have finished, a 12-week plan such as Hal Higdon's Novice 1 half marathon program, where the weekend long run builds to 10 miles and running totals about 10-23 miles a week (our arithmetic from the published schedule). Race day asks for 3.1 miles more than your longest training run, so a race shoe earns its place only if it still feels right in those last miles. We ranked the picks on that job and on the runner who will wear each one, not on which shoe is lightest. Still sorting out your training pair? Start with the best half marathon shoes overall, or find your tier in the Level Finder.

Do super shoes help at half marathon pace?

On average, yes, including at recreational speeds, but the size of the benefit varies a lot from runner to runner. Researchers call these shoes advanced footwear technology: a thick, highly resilient foam paired with a stiff plate. These are the studies we read. Every per-mile pace below is our conversion from the speeds the researchers used.

For scale, a half marathon at 10 km/h takes about 2 hours 7 minutes and at 12 km/h about 1 hour 45 minutes (our arithmetic), so the Joubert and Bolliger speeds sit right where many first- and second-time half marathoners race. That's the encouraging part. Two cautions keep it honest. First, averages hide individuals: in the largest study above, 11 of the 64 runners fell below the researchers' 2.5% benefit threshold. Second, these are minutes-long treadmill oxygen measurements, not 13.1-mile race results, so none of them tells you your finish time will drop by a set amount. Our fuller answer is in are carbon-plated shoes worth it.

Steady, aggressive or plateless: how the picks divide

Every carbon racer on this list sits on a tall stack of race foam, and the specs alone make them look similar. What separates them for a half marathoner is how steady they are underfoot and who the maker designed them for.

The steadier super shoes are the Endorphin Pro 5 and the Brooks Hyperion Elite 6. The Pro 5 pairs a forked, four-prong carbon plate with an 8 mm drop, and RunRepeat rates it ideal for heel strikers. RunRepeat also measured just 0.6 mm of outsole wear against a 1.1 mm average, which matters if the same pair will see a few races. The Hyperion Elite 6 has a widened midfoot and medial sidewalls, and Doctors of Running calls it borderline stable neutral, though its stiff forefoot won't suit everyone.

The aggressive racers are the Adios Pro 4, Metaspeed Sky Tokyo, Vaporfly 4 and Fast-R Nitro Elite 3. They're lighter or bouncier, and RunRepeat flags each of them as unstable or unsuited to heel strikers in some way. They reward an efficient midfoot or forefoot runner and punish a tired heel striker in the last 5K.

The plateless option is the Megablast: a 45 mm heel of FF Turbo Squared foam with no plate at all. RunRepeat says it doesn't include a carbon plate, yet it performed as if it did, and it's also a trainer you can wear all week. Here's how the top four compare on published specs:

Which race shoe for which half marathoner

Your first half, or your first race in a plate

Start with the Endorphin Pro 5. It's the most forgiving carbon racer here, and it can also handle intervals and fast long runs, per RunRepeat, so you can test it properly in training. If you'd rather train and race in the same shoe, the Megablast is the other sensible first choice. Compare the Pro 5 with its lighter-plated sibling in our Endorphin Speed 5 vs Endorphin Pro 5 breakdown.

You land on your heels

Stay with the Pro 5 or the Hyperion Elite 6. RunRepeat lists the Adios Pro 4 as unstable for every heel striker because of its narrow heel, and it rates the Sky Tokyo and Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 as poor matches for heel strikers too. If you like ASICS, RunRepeat suggests the Metaspeed Edge Tokyo for heel strikers who find the Sky series unstable.

You're an efficient midfoot or forefoot runner chasing a time

This is where the Adios Pro 4, Sky Tokyo and Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 make sense. ASICS designs the Sky Tokyo's plate for stride-lengthening runners and the Edge Tokyo for runners who speed up with quicker steps, so pick the one that matches how you run. The Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 is the extreme end: RunRepeat measured 80.4% heel and 82.6% forefoot energy return but rates it extremely unstable, with very limited durability.

You race in Nike

For 13.1, the Vaporfly 4 is the better fit than the Alphafly 3. RunRepeat rates the Vaporfly 4 awesome for 5K, 10K and 21K races, while it frames the Alphafly 3 as the marathon specialist. Both are sold on Amazon through third-party sellers only.

You have wide feet

The Sky Tokyo and Vaporfly 4 both list a wide width alongside normal, and RunRepeat lists a wide Megablast. The Endorphin Pro 5 comes in normal width only, per RunRepeat, so try it on before you commit.

Test it before race day

Hal Higdon's Novice 1 plan suggests a 5K race at the end of week 6 and a 10K at the end of week 9, and says to move them if races at those distances don't fit your calendar. Those tune-up races are the natural dress rehearsals for a race shoe: you learn how it feels at effort, how the laces hold and where it rubs. Add part of a 9- or 10-mile long run in weeks 10 and 11 if you can, so you know it's comfortable past the hour mark. A race shoe you've only worn around the house is a gamble on the one day it matters.

How to choose a half marathon race shoe

1. Start with how steady you need the shoe to be. If you land on your heels or tend to fade late in long runs, favor the Endorphin Pro 5 or Hyperion Elite 6 over the narrow-heeled racers. The carbon-plated shoe roundup covers the full field across every distance.
2. Check the fit before the spec sheet. Several of these racers have narrow, tapered toeboxes, per RunRepeat. A shoe that pinches at mile 3 will be worse at mile 12.
3. Decide between a race-only shoe and a shoe you'll also train in. A carbon racer is a tool for race day and a few key sessions. If you want one fast pair for workouts, long runs and the race, a plateless super trainer like the Megablast does more jobs.
4. Don't pay for weight savings you can't use. The Endorphin Pro 5 is listed at 7.3 oz men's and the Sky Tokyo at 6 oz (maker's specs), and RunRepeat still rates the heavier Pro 5 its best super shoe for beginners. Steadiness usually matters more than an ounce over 13.1 miles.
5. Know the rules if you race at an elite level. World Athletics limits road-shoe soles to 40 mm and allows one rigid plate in elite competition, and its 2021 update says the rules aren't meant to apply to amateur club, school, college or masters-level competition. The Megablast's listed 45 mm heel is taller than that 40 mm figure, which matters only if your race applies World Athletics shoe rules.

Mistakes to avoid

• Buying the most aggressive shoe because it's the lightest. The Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 and Sky Tokyo are brilliant for the right runner and a poor match for a heel striker on tired legs.
• Racing a shoe you've never run far in. Use the week 6 and week 9 tune-up races and at least part of a long run to find the hot spots.
• Wearing the race shoe for every run. Keep it for race day and a handful of key sessions, and let a cushioned daily trainer carry the easy miles. Our running shoe rotation guide shows how the two pairs split the week.
• Picking a short-race specialist for 13.1. Racing flats like the Nike Streakfly 2 are built for the road mile to the 10K, per Nike. For those distances, see our 5K and 10K racing shoes.

Sizing and fit notes

Doctors of Running reports that the Hyperion Elite 6 fits slightly short, so consider your usual Brooks size carefully. RunRepeat describes narrow or tapered toeboxes on the Adios Pro 4 and the Sky Tokyo, and a narrow fit on the Edge Tokyo. If you have a wider forefoot, the wide versions of the Sky Tokyo, Vaporfly 4 and Megablast are the places to start. Try race shoes on with the socks you'll race in, late in the day, and lace them the way you will on race morning.

Running your first marathon next? The shoe logic changes over 26.2 miles; see the best marathon shoes.