Best Running Shoes Ranked by AI Models for Man living in the USA who runs about 20-25 miles per week for fitness and occasional 10K races (2026)

Key Takeaway

For a recreational fitness runner, AI still routes to a tight core - ASICS, Brooks, Nike, HOKA, New Balance - but this run is the first where the four models disagreed on the single best pick, returning four different #1s. ASICS is the only brand in all four top-3 lists and Novablast 5 remains the SKU-level default, so the category leadership is intact even though the unanimous-#1 streak broke. Marketplace-strong brands Mizuno and Skechers remain entirely absent.

Top Brands Summary

ASICS and Brooks tied for most-mentioned this run (12 each), but the top-pick consensus that held for five straight runs broke: the four models returned four different #1 picks - ChatGPT led with HOKA, Claude with ASICS, Gemini with Brooks, and Perplexity with New Balance. ASICS remains the only brand in every model's top 3 and the SKU-level Novablast 5 is still the single most-recommended shoe, but no brand held a unanimous #1 this run. Nike (10 mentions) and HOKA (9) round out the high-consensus tier.