The Running Shoe Dataset — 2026
Every number behind the SoleHunt fit engine, free to use: lab measurements and tracked pricing for 216 shoes across 14 categories. Licensed CC BY 4.0 — use it in articles, research, or your own tools, with a link back.
More foam no longer means more grams
All 66 running shoes in the database, plotted by weight against heel stack height. Road shoes average 262g vs 289g for trail. The lightest (ASICS Metaspeed Sky+ Paris, 186g) and the tallest (New Balance Fresh Foam More v4, 41mm) show how far modern foams have pushed the envelope.
What shoes actually sell for, by category
Average list price (MSRP) against the average lowest verified street price across tracked retailers. The discount column is the gap between the two — how much the category really discounts. All prices USD.
| Category | Models | Avg MSRP | Avg street low | Avg discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football | 8 | $242 | $217 | 10% |
| Boots | 5 | $200 | $185 | 8% |
| Hiking | 16 | $168 | $150 | 11% |
| Wide & orthopaedic | 8 | $153 | $138 | 10% |
| Road running | 48 | $153 | $136 | 11% |
| Basketball | 19 | $147 | $131 | 11% |
| Work & safety | 11 | $144 | $127 | 12% |
| Trail running | 18 | $143 | $128 | 11% |
| Tennis | 7 | $136 | $121 | 11% |
| Gym & training | 16 | $132 | $118 | 11% |
| Walking | 18 | $126 | $112 | 12% |
| Healthcare | 6 | $109 | $96 | 12% |
| Sneakers | 28 | $106 | $94 | 11% |
| Kids | 8 | $66 | $57 | 14% |
How running brands differ on the bench
Running-shoe brands with three or more models in the database, ranked lightest to heaviest. Averages across each brand's road and trail models.
| Brand | Models | Avg weight | Avg stack | Avg drop | Energy return | Avg price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nike | 6 | 258g | 35.2mm | 9.2mm | 67% | $148 |
| Saucony | 8 | 259g | 33.9mm | 7.8mm | 65% | $131 |
| Adidas | 5 | 263g | 34.8mm | 8.8mm | 70% | $155 |
| ASICS | 7 | 264g | 36.6mm | 9mm | 64% | $147 |
| New Balance | 8 | 269g | 35.8mm | 8mm | 64% | $127 |
| Hoka | 6 | 270g | 34.5mm | 4.5mm | 61% | $135 |
| Brooks | 5 | 277g | 32mm | 9.6mm | 57% | $108 |
| On | 5 | 278g | 35.2mm | 7.4mm | 67% | $150 |
| Salomon | 3 | 291g | 31mm | 8.7mm | 59% | $127 |
Download the full dataset
One CSV, 216 rows, 18 columns: identity, category, MSRP and current street price in USD, and the full lab sheet — weight, heel drop, heel and forefoot stack, midsole hardness (Shore C), energy return, toebox width, breathability, grip, flexibility, and sustainability scores.
Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free for journalism, research, and commercial use — attribute “SoleHunt” with a link to solehunt.app. Lab figures aggregate published measurements from independent testing (see sources); prices are our own tracking, updated continuously.