Can We Please Share the Road Until Springtime?
For a brief time every winter, we runners are forced onto the roads with the rest of the world. Can't we all just get along and share the road?
Here is a quick look at five key running trends that will emerge in 2026 based on what we saw at The Running Event trade show.
We were at The Running Event (TRE) trade show in San Antonio, Texas, this week, checking out new running shoes, apparel, tech, and accessories that will be debuting in stores in the coming year. With 357 exhibitors spread across nearly 100,000 square feet inside the Henry B. González Convention Center—including 124 first-time brands—the opportunity to get a sneak peak of new running gear was both exciting and overwhelming.
Here is a quick look at five key running trends that will emerge in 2026 based on what we saw. Runners can also expect more technical sophistication in racing super shoes, more lifestyle vibes in running apparel, several new women’s apparel brands (including Pruzan and Mileoff), a few new shoe brands (like Rad and Kiprun), and slightly higher prices in some cases because of tariffs and increased shipping costs.
There are still plenty of top-tier maximally stacked training shoes coming out next year—including Tracksmith’s just-launched Eliot Ryder ($220) with 45mm/37.5mm stack heights and the forthcoming On Lightspray Cloudmonster 3 Hyper ($240, pictured above) with 45mm/39mm specs. However, mega-stacked shoes will become slightly less of a focus in 2026.
There’s a subtle but notable trend of shoes that are lower than the 40mm heel stack height that has been a common benchmark in recent years. Most brands starting to lower the stack heights of new models, and they’re trying to make some of their existing models look “less chunky” or high off the ground. One of the most notable models that reflects that is the Brooks Glycerin Flex ($170), a daily trainer with a 6mm heel-toe offset (36mm/30mm) that is 2mm lower than the in-line Glycerin 22 and is focused on hyper flexibility and enhanced feel for the ground.
Trail running continues to be a fast-growing genre in all aspects. One of the biggest indications is that Nike is going big into trail in 2026, both with the re-launch of the ACG brand and its recent investment in big U.S. races like the Broken Arrow Skyrace and Gorge Waterfalls events. Next-generation trail running super shoes with or without new fangled plates and high-end ATPU, TPEE, or Peba blend foam midsoles will be a big buzz in 2026 (and carry big price tags), including the Brooks Cascadia Elite ($275), Adidas-Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra 2 ($225), Norda 055 ($325), Nike ACG Ultrafly ($280), Merrell MTL Speed Arc Peak ($290), Inov-8 Trail Fly Pro ($195) and Mount to Coast M1 ($195).
Just as interesting and important are everyday trainers that blend durability, traction, and agility, like the Nike ACG Zegama ($190) Puma’s Fastrack 4 ($140) is an everyday trainer, but both feature high-end ATPU foam midsoles.
Salomon and Craft are among the brands going big into the gravel running category with new shoes, apparel, and accessories. While brands see it as a pathway to trail running, it’s starting to be viewed as a category of its own and are banking that many retailers will, too, based on the type of terrain in their region. Like gravel cycling, gravel running is focused on the freedom, safety, and fun of getting off-road, while not necessarily delving into the technical challenges and elaborate gear requirements of trail running. Ultimately it might just be a way to create more excitement for the big but sometimes lackluster road-to-trail shoe category, but with brands putting time, money, and tech into it, those shoes are definitely getting better.
Led by the run club phenomenon, running will continue to be more accessible and more about a social happening than an intensive athletic endeavor. That relaxed vibe is evident in brands like Chickenlegs, RNNR, and Satisfy, which are all focused on the fun, social significance, and human connections of running, and retailers are taking note.
One of the biggest trends in running over the past two years is how athletes have been pushing preconceived norms of carbohydrate, calorie, and caffeine intake in ultrarunning. That’s having a big trickle-down effect to marathoners, even if the 120-150g of carbs per hour would never be recommended or possible for a recreational runner. But as athletes have pushed their limits and experimented with new ideas (like sodium bicarbonate), so too have nutrition brands. Expect to see new ingredient lists and composition values of gels, bars, and drink mixes from brands like Skratch Labs, Never Second, Naak, UCAN, and Precision Fuel in 2026.
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