Which Running Shoes are Best for Wide Feet?
It's a question we receive regularly at Northern Runner and we've got a few suggestions. The majority of these suggestions are 'road running' shoes simply due to there being a wider availability of size variations in that style. This is mainly due to the importance of off-road shoes being snug, so your feet don't slide around inside.
New Balance Running Shoes for Wide Feet
Calling all women runners; to shop for NB with a wider foot you need to look for styles available in D width, like the 1080v6 and 860v7.
Mens wider fittings are 2E (wide) and 4E (extra wide) in New Balance.
Brooks Running Shoes Width Fittings
Brooks shoes for wider feet are labelled very similar to New Balance, as women will need to shop for D-width and men will need to shop for 2E-width.
Altra Foot Shaped™ Wide Toe Box
All Altra Zero Drop shoes come with their revolutionary wide Foot Shaped™ toe box, which is pretty self explanatory! Your foot and toes can splay out naturally compared with your foot being cramped in a tight shoe, letting your feet do what they were truly designed to do. As a result of this innovative shape, we suggest Altra to those with wider feet. However, transitioning to Zero Drop takes a little training and should be done gradually. There's an article on the transition to Zero Drop here.
Inov-8 Width Fittings
If you have wide feet, look for Inov-8 footwear in their 'Standard Width' and avoid 'Precision Fit', which are specifically designed to be narrower and stay snug on difficult terrain. Traditionally specialists in off-road footwear, one of our top selling brands Inov-8 has also recently entered the road running space with their own wider fitting shoes, like the Road Talon.
