STEP UP TO THE PLATE

When there's a PB on the line and you want that faster feeling, we lace up the carbon-plated running shoes that come alive when hitting top speeds

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A running shoe with a carbon plate packed inside of it will be on the feet of runners that dominate race podiums whether it's the Marathon Majors or at your local half marathon.

Some call them cheat shoes, but these legal racers feel nice to go faster in. You now have more options than ever to choose from and you don't have to be team Nike or Adidas to put on a good bit of carbon.

The big names and newcomers are pushing the boundaries so that you can do the same. So, we've tested six carbon plated running shoes that you'll want to fulfil your need for speed in in 2025.

The best carbon plated running shoe overall

If you want the best carbon running shoe that's built for speed and racing, we'd pick the Nike Alphafly 3. While it's not the lightest carbon option available, it marries bouncy ZoomX foam, a full-length carbon plate and two Zoom AirPods to give you something that's fast yet surprisingly stable, making it ideal for PB chasing both shorter and longer distance races.

Other carbon racing shoe recommendations

Best value carbon plate running shoe: The Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3 is one of the cheapest carbon plate shoes and paying less doesn't get you an inferior shoe. It's still lively, light and packs one of the grippiest outsoles to keep you steady in wetter running conditions.

Best carbon running shoe for shorter distances:

The Hoka Cielo X1 2.0 is now much lighter than the first Cielo and, with some smart design changes, brings a wilder ride to make it a better fit for 5k-10k runs.

Hoka Cielo X1 2.0

Hoka is making good ground on the running shoe establishment, whether it's a comfy option for soaking up daily mileage or a serious racer like the Cielo X1 2.0.