With the Frankfurt Marathon just days away, the team checks in on their taper and final training and shares their goals and race plans. Then comes the main topic: building the ideal marathon kit from the ground up. They give their top marathon shoe picks for the year and talk socks, shorts and underwear (comfort, storage and avoiding chafe). They also cover belts, tops, anti-chafe products, sunglasses, hats and headphones.

Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers

Building the Perfect Marathon Kit: Shoes, Fuel and Race-Day Essentials

Every year we do a video covering the best carbon plate running shoes, but this year we're doing things a little differently. In this video (also available as a podcast) we go through (almost) all of the current carbon plate race shoes available and sort them into tiers.

Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers

The Best Carbon Plate Running Shoes 2026 | The Full Tier List

Is there any super trainer that can truly dethrone the Adidas EVO SL? In this episode we catch up on Chamonix, Garmin updates, and what each of us is training for next, then get into the main event: a head-to-head against a stacked field of contenders. We break down why the EVO SL set the bar so high and chat through a list of the versatile dailies that might be able to beat it in a showdown.

Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers

Adidas Adizero EVO SL Killers | Which versatile daily trainers can beat it?

In preparation for this year's Best Running Shoes video, we chat through the shortlist across a range of categories: best race shoe, best daily shoe, best cushioned shoe, best all-rounder, and  best value, mainly to work out if the categories are nonsense.

Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers

Choosing The Best Running Shoes Of 2026 | We talk about judging this year's best shoes so far

Although we'd love to, we don't have a lot of free time to answer all of your questions on the channel. That's why we're bringing Points of Shoe back so we can dedicate a whole podcast to responding to your messages.

In this episode, Tom and Nick answer a whole heap of great questions, from the simplifying brand running shoe lines to our best and worst marathons experiences.

Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1

Your Running Questions Answered | The Points of Shoe Podcast: Episode 3

While football fans are enjoying the World Cup at the moment, the team is hosting their own tournament; The Big Running Shoe Football Tournament 2026 (name still under discussion). 32 shoes go head to head, with the winning brand possibly receiving a spray painted shoe, or something, we're not quite sure yet.

Hosted by a man who knows nothing about football post 1998, it's definitely not A Question of Sport.

Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1

The Big Running Shoe Football Tournament 2026 | 32 Running Shoes. 1 Winner

Although we'd love to, we don't have a lot of free time to answer all of your questions on the channel. That's why we're bringing Points of Shoe back so we can dedicate a whole podcast to responding to your messages.

In this episode, Tom and Nick answer a whole heap of great questions, from training shoes for progressive long runs to our views on using AI to build training plans.

Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1

Your Running Questions Answered | The Points of Shoe Podcast: Episode 2

Although we'd love to, we don't have a lot of free time to answer all of your questions on the channel. That's why we're bringing Points of Shoe back so we can dedicate a whole podcast to responding to your messages.

In this episode, Tom and Nick answer a whole heap of great questions, from whether there should be entry requirements for the London Marathon, to what we'd pick in a two shoe rotation. 

Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1

Your Running Questions Answered | The Points of Shoe Podcast: Episode 1

In this episode of the podcast, the team try to come up with a list of 10 shoes you need to know about by whittling down a list of 70. - and it's not easy.

We also go through some last minute London Marathon tips.

Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers

The 10 Running Shoes You Need To Know About | London Marathon Tips

George Lewis is a stand-up comedian, a social media phenomenon, an author, a family man and now a proud lover of running. This year, he's taking on the London Marathon to raise money for Autistica, the UK’s leading autism research and campaigning charity. 

Tom speaks to George about his prep for his first 26.2 miles in over a decade, from dealing with the increasing training volume to what shoes he's planning to wear for the big day.

To support George in raising money for Autistica, head over to his Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/georgelewis

George Lewis Podcast | London Marathon 2026: training, fuelling, kit and learning to love running

Tom Wheatley (@mikeballet) · Zencastr

Tom Wheatley (@mikeballet)

The Run Testers are a group of experienced running, fitness and tech journalists. We test kit for dozens of different publications, covering everything from running shoes and GPS running watches to smartwatches, headphones, apparel and nutrition. We bring all that testing together in easy-to-digest videos on YouTube – and now a monthly podcast series that you can listen to on your runs.

Subscribe for all the latest news on running shoes, headphones, watches and races.

The Run Testers Podcast