Hit the ground with our edit of the best sneakers of the season from Nike, Salomon, and more.

Whatever your reason for running – fitness, relaxation, maybe there’s a bear on your tail – it makes sense to have a good pair of shoes that are suited to the terrain. Not only will they provide some cushioning for your feet, making you more efficient and your feet less painful, they can also correct problems with your gait, prevent unwelcome injuries and stave off bunions and shin splints.

So what constitutes a good pair of running shoes? Suffice to say there are several factors to take into account: suitability to the surface on which you’re planning to run, how much your foot rolls inwards (or pronates), how much of a heel-to-toe drop you prefer. The list goes on.

The market for sneakers is now so broad that whatever your style of running, there’s almost certainly a shoe for you. The downside of such an abundance of choice, though, is that it can be difficult to know where to start. That’s where we come in. MR PORTER’s sport offering has been bolstered recently by some new arrivals, among them the highly regarded running brand Salomon. Taking into consideration existing brands Newton, Athletic Propulsion Labs and Nike Running, we now find ourselves in the position of being able to offer you a world-class line-up of running shoes.

Here, then, are four of this season’s best pairs (and yes, we’ve done the legwork for you).

FLYKNIT RACER MESH SNEAKERS

The first thing people tend to do when a new pair of Flyknits gets delivered is shake the box to check there’s actually something in there. That’s just how light these things are. But lightness isn’t a sign of flimsiness. The knitted, sock-like uppers of these LunarEpic Low sneakers are shot through with high-strength nylon Flywire threads that act like the cables on a suspension bridge, providing support in all the right places, while the Lunarlon midsoles offer super-responsive cushioning. It’d be remiss of us not to mention just how cool they look, too. Sure, that won’t make you run any faster, but more than four years after the first Flyknit was unveiled at the London Olympics, this game-changing sneaker design hasn’t tired one bit.

TECHLOOM PHANTOM RUNNING SNEAKERS

Marketing 101: sex sells. Marketing 102: the easiest way to make something popular is to ban it. Just ask the founders of Athletic Propulsion Labs, Messrs Adam and Ryan Goldston (progeny of the founder of LA Gear – remember it?), who were given the greatest PR gift a start-up sneaker brand could ask for in 2010 when their very first shoe, the Concept 1 basketball sneaker, was banned by the NBA. According to an official statement, the shoe, which utilises a forefoot spring device known as Load N’ Launch to give players a vertical boost, was deemed to provide an “undue competitive advantage”. Seriously? They may as well have taken a photograph of Mr LeBron James wearing a pair and stuck it on a billboard in the middle of Times Square. The Goldston brothers have since leveraged this momentum to expand the brand, which now also offers a great selection of running shoes. The TechLoom Phantom (pictured) has shades of Nike’s Flyknit Racer, but boasts the neat addition of a geoprene “collar” for extra comfort.

KISMET MESH RUNNING SNEAKERS

Don’t let the vibrant, toytown palette of Newton’s sneakers fool you. This Boulder, Colorado, brand makes serious shoes for serious runners. The range on offer can be a bit mind-boggling, so here’s a quick breakdown for your benefit. The easiest way to categorise Newton’s shoes is by their POP or “Point of Power” rating. This describes how responsive the five “lugs” on the sole of the shoe are (take a look at the bottom of the sneaker to see what we’re on about). When you put weight on these lugs, they compress five small chambers of pressurised air. When you step off them, they spring back. It’s a bit like having five tiny trampolines built into the bottom of your shoe. Shoes with POP 1 lugs, such as the Distance, Gravity and Motion models, have the most prominent, responsive lugs, while POP 2 models offer a softer, more forgiving ride. Got all that? Good. We’d recommend a POP 2 model for beginners, as running in these sneakers can take a bit of getting used to. (Long story short: in order to get the most out of these sneakers, you should be practising a midfoot striking running style, which can feel a little alien if you’re used to landing on your heels when you run.) The Kismet, pictured here, is the brand’s stability model, and provides extra medial support for flat-footed runners, while the Fate II is designed for runners with a neutral gait.

SONIC AERO RUNNING SNEAKERS

Salomon’s wide range of trail-running shoes and hiking boots reflects the brand’s Alpine pedigree. Founded in the French town of Annecy in 1947, it has carved out a niche as one of the most trusted skiing and mountaineering brands in the world, but that isn’t to suggest that it doesn’t also cater to urban explorers. These S/LAB Black WINGS running sneakers will feel familiar to anyone accustomed to the brand’s foot-hugging fit, and the sturdy, grippy rubber soles provide the excellent traction that you’d expect of Salomon shoes. If you’re a keen hiker looking to branch out into road running, this may very well be the shoe for you. It’s worth checking out the brand’s range of trail running shoes, too, which are designed specifically for tough terrain and weather conditions.

**Shop all running shoes here **