The 6 Best Running Shoes for Underpronation
Supination can hurt your stride and wear your shoes out. These do the best job of mitigating the problem with flexible uppers and neutral midsoles.
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Underpronation, also known as supination, happens when your feet and ankles roll away from your center of mass. This means you run on the outer edge of your feet and put less weight on your big toe at the end of your strike. And it comes with less-than-ideal consequences: Ankle sprains, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis are all common among supinators. That’s according to Steven Weinfeld, M.D. and Marci Goolsby, M.D., two physiology experts from New York that contributing writer Jenny McCoy interviewed for our guide to supination.
Luckily, despite stability shoes largely appealing to overpronators, there are plenty of neutral shoes that may accommodate an outward-rolling stride without compromising comfort, energy return, or fit. Spoiler alert: They’re among our favorites we’ve tested as neutral-striding runners, too.
The Best Running Shoes for Underpronation
- Best Daily Trainer: Asics Novablast 4
- Best Value: Nike Winflo 11
- Best for Race Day: New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4
- Best Trail Shoe: Saucony Endorphin Rift
- Best for Recovery Days: Hoka Clifton 9
What to Consider
How To Tell If You Underpronate
One of the first signs of underpronation might not even come from your feet, but rather the shoes under them. Because supination causes you to shift your weight to the outsides of your feet (and land on the outside of your foot, according to Weinfeld), you’re likely to notice uneven wear on the outer edges of your outsoles. It’s an especially good idea to catch this early, because shedding away the outer edge of your shoes will leave more material on the inner edge of your outsole, tilting them further outward.
If you don’t have a well-worn pair of shoes to check, you can take a look at your stride by setting up a camera and filming yourself running away from it. If you notice your ankles swaying outward noticeably on impact, chances are that you’re a supinator. Similarly, you can check your arches by getting your feet wet and looking at the water splotches you make on your bath mat or some heavy paper. If your feet aren’t soaking the ground much around the midfoot, you likely have high arches, which can cause underpronation as well.
Foot Support (Or Lack Thereof)
Unlike stability and support shoes for overpronators, which hold the foot in one place to prevent it from rolling inward, supinators will likely find the best relief in a shoe that encourages as much pronation as possible. In other words, you’ll want a neutral sole with an upper that doesn’t hold your feet too still—think sock-like uppers, for example, which are made of a more malleable fabric and can flex freely. All of this extra movement will encourage your feet to transition to putting weight on your big toe during each stride, fixing your underpronation.
What’s stopping those uppers from letting your ankles supinate more? The answer: wide, durable soles. Extra width will better enable your feet to sit flat on a stable platform instead of tilting over the edge, and extra durability keeps the integrity of the sole intact for longer, mitigating any unwanted shoe geometry changes from landing on the edge of your foot.
How We Selected
For that aforementioned guide to supination, Weinfeld and Goolsby elaborated on the signs and risks of underpronation, as well as the shoe styles that best combat its negative effects. In short, they told us that a neutral running shoe with good cushioning is the best way to narrow the field down. Thus began our digging through tester notes to see which shoes fit this description and wowed us the most. We looked for shoes with good energy return, outsoles that roll through each stride with as little effort as possible, and uppers that feel light and unrestrictive.
We parsed through our top options for daily trainers, racing shoes, and even our budget picks to see which shoes would be the least likely to exacerbate an outward foot tilt. Then, we made sure they were all priced appropriately for their quality and ensured their continued availability. Where applicable, we also looked at new versions of shoes our editors have recommended in the past, paying close attention to changes in fit, weight, and geometry to ensure they’re still reliable.
To be clear, this isn’t medical advice—we recommend trying any and all of these shoes in person before making the jump to purchase a pair, because none of them are guaranteed to fix your feet. If you have a local running store, the employees there will be willing and able to help you figure out exactly what fit you need. These are merely the shoes that have worked for us, and we offer them up as a starting point in your search. If you’re struggling with severe pain, we recommend talking to your doctor before you do anything else.
If you’re ready to see why we think these shoes are worth your attention as a supinator, read on.
Pros
- Wide, stable outsole for a supportive platform
- Constructed to help you roll through your footstrikes more smoothly
Cons
- Oversized heel might feel awkward to heel strikers
Hot off the chunky heels of its editor-lauded predecessor, Asics’s Novablast 4 made a promising first impression with our test team when it debuted in late 2023. One problem test editor Morgan Petruny noted was that the heel allowed a bit more movement than she preferred. In her words, “My only real gripe on fit is that I didn’t get a secure heel lockdown.” But in the case of underpronation protection, that extra movement could actually be a good thing.
Thanks to the Novablast’s wide, chunky sole, you’re safe to clomp the ground without worrying as much about footwork during intense intervals. Because it’s so wide, your feet will flatten out early in your stride, giving you less time to tilt out and potentially twist your ankle. Better yet, the sole is rockered (contoured upward toward the toe) at the forefoot to roll your feet through each stride and shift your weight forward.
Key Specs
| Weight | 9.2 oz. (M), 7.9 oz. (W) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 8mm |
Pros
- Trickle-down tech from the Pegasus, another top-rated daily trainer
- Wide platform
- Pretty comfy foam for just over $100
Cons
- Heavy
Nike’s Winflo line hasn’t disappointed us. While we haven’t performed in-depth testing on the 11 yet, we know from user reviews on Nike’s site that this update involved making the upper roomier—ideal for encouraging movement. Nike widened out the forefoot and opened up the heel, allowing this Winflo to stray from the stereotype that Nikes are all super thin racing shoes that will cramp your feet.
The shoe’s a bit heavy, but that’s because Nike didn’t want to make any compromises with the amount of quality cushioning underfoot. A massive slab of foam provides a stable footprint while also taking the edge off of initial impacts, which should make the occasional errant impact on the edge of your foot feel less horrible.
Key Specs
| Weight | 11.4 oz. (M), 9.5 oz. (W) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 10mm |
Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 Running Shoe
Pros
- Nylon plate offers more flexibility and comfort than carbon
- Trickle-down tech from Endorphin Pro
Cons
- Not as much energy return as a carbon shoe
Fast, stiff, carbon-plated shoes might be a little intense for training days, especially considering their low durability compared to standard trainers. That’s where the Endorphin Speed comes in: It’s the ideal middle-ground, offering the toughness and reliability of a training shoe while feeling snappy enough to add some pep to your step. As Furrer puts it, “It lets me feel a little super-shoe magic similar to the Pro, without wearing down my carbon fiber-plated pair before race day.”
Instead of a carbon plate, the Speed has a nylon plate that flexes slightly more. While this shoe didn’t guide our stride as much or give us the same snappy toe-off, it’s still pretty close. And it’s bound to last for hundreds more miles than a purebred racing shoe.
Key Specs
| Weight | 8.2 oz. (M), 7.2 oz. (W) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 8mm |
Pros
- Paper-thin upper
- Carbon plate guides stride and greatly improves energy return
Cons
- High stack might feel precarious in turns
I raced the 2023 New York Marathon in this shoe’s predecessor, the V3. As someone who wasn’t used to the lofty stack of carbon-plated running shoes, I was surprised by the shoe’s underfoot stability. And this newest version has managed to make a wider, stabler platform with its midsole for an even more confidence-inspiring ride. Your tired legs will appreciate that extra scaffolding.
Rocking the same split heel as its predecessor, the SC Elite V4’s midsole is made to compress considerably when you land on your heel. It then transfers that energy toward lifting you onto your toes via its rockered sole, taking some extra effort out of your stride. Better yet, this shoe’s upper is extremely thin, allowing for maximum movement atop the sole and a breezy ride to the finish line.
Key Specs
| Weight | 8.4 oz. (M), 6.6 oz. (W) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 4mm |
Saucony Endorphin Rift Running Shoe
Pros
- Sock-like upper for maximum mobility
- Adequate heel lockdown
Cons
- Heel collar doesn’t budge at all, which can get uncomfortable
If you’re prone to ankle twists but want some extra freedom to move around on the trail, Saucony’s Endorphin Rift manages to find the best of both worlds with its sock-like upper and secure heel collar. The upper is so thin that we could see the patterns on our socks through ours, which might not seem like a safe shoe for rocky trails. But thanks to an adjustable ankle collar that wraps from the instep to the arch on each side, we could hit some gnarly tech with less worry of twisting.
Better yet, the ankle collar has four eyelets on each side, allowing you to play around with fit if you need a little more room. Fair warning: The collar doesn’t give at all, and you may find that it digs into the tops of your ankles if you do it up too tight. I ended up relacing and retightening mine after my first few miles in them.
Key Specs
| Weight | 8.6 oz. (M), 7.3 oz. (W) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 6mm |
Pros
- Buttery cushion
- Soft upper makes it comfy all over
Cons
- Not very lively due to all the cushioning
There’s no question that Hoka is the king of cushion. All the brand’s shoes are among the most marshmallowy we’ve tested, and the Clifton is no different. It’s not one of the fluffiest, but it still has enough give to keep your impacts blissfully soft without compromising its structural integrity. Test editor Amanda Furrer found that the shoe wasn’t the most energetic she’s tested, but she still enjoyed its “surrounding plushness” that enveloped her foot in soft fabric and forgiving foam.
When you’re starting a run tired, like you might on your recovery day, you’re especially at risk for taking an errant step that will hurt your ankles. Luckily, because this midsole is as neutral as Hokas get, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll wind up slipping over the outer edge of your shoe post-impact.
Key Specs
| Weight | 8.7 oz. (M), 7.3 oz. (W) |
|---|---|
| Drop | 5mm |
Adam Schram is an Assistant Editor of Commerce at Runner's World, though you might see his byline on Bicycling and Popular Mechanics, too. A lover of all things outdoors, Adam's writing career comes after six years as a bike mechanic in his hometown of State College, PA. His journalism experience is steeped in cycling and running gear reviews, and he's also a published creative nonfiction and satire author. When he's not writing, riding, or running, you can catch Adam at home mixing cocktails, watching Star Wars, or trying in vain to do the Sunday crossword. You can check out his latest work below.
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