7 Best Tempo Shoes in 2025

How we test tempo shoes

Before they make it to the list, each tempo trainer goes through a myriad of tests in our own RunRepeat shoe testing facility. And to stay objective, we buy them with our own money. 

To step it up, we also: 

• Run in them in different conditions, both on the treadmill and outdoors. We do many pace variations to accurately sense when the shoes work well and what they're not able to do. 
• Cut the tempo shoes open. We examine and measure their parts and features using different tools, including durometers, calipers, tire tread gauges, smoke machines, and Dremel. We do this to back our assumptions and observations up with hard pieces of evidence. 
• We publish all the data, along with our first-hand experience, in our in-depth reviews. We also make all the shoes comparable by 20+ metrics such as energy return, shock absorption, traction, breathability, and so on.

6 features of running shoes for tempo training 

You can and should expect tempo running shoes to be:

1. Responsive because anything else (boring and dull midsoles) would not propel you forward and help you reach higher paces 
2. Lightweight. They are usually lighter than daily trainers and heavier than race-day shoes 
3. OK for racing as well!
4. More durable than race shoes because they endure all the tempo sessions that are a part of preparations for the big day
5. Breathable because having sweaty feet while doing sprints or fartlek is on nobody’s wish list
6. Stable, especially at fast paces and cornering. 

Energy return of tempo running shoes 

Responsiveness is all the craze, as it should be when it comes to the speed. We’re not (yet) able to measure it in our lab, but we do know how foams feel and perform. For that, see our tables at the end of this chapter! 

If there’s one thing you should take from this guide regarding energy return, it is to choose tempo shoes with premium foams, if you can. Premium foams are way more responsive, they are super light, feel super fast, and are most often featured in premium race shoes. 

However, standard foams are more durable, stable, and affordable, but they lack the leg-saving features that we all so welcome. If foams are now raising your eyebrows and you’re about to open a new tab to look for more details, worry not, we’ve covered it all here: The ultimate guide to running shoe foams. The overview that follows was taken from that guide!

Premium foams overview

Standard foams overview

Weight of running shoes for tempo workouts

Looking at our lab database, these are the averages across 3 different categories (at the moment of writing this guide): 

• Daily trainers: average weight 9.9 oz or 280g
• Tempo shoes: average weight 8.2 oz or 231g
• Race shoes: average weight 7.3 oz or 208.4g

Of course, you should always look for a lighter tempo shoe, whenever possible, because heavy shoes weigh us down. It’s a matter of what you can live without because, to make shoes lighter, brands have to remove some things - chunks of the midsole, rubber parts on the outsole, heel tabs, padding in the tongue or around the heel collar, fancy insoles, and so on. 

How durable are tempo running shoes

When brands tend to cut the weight, they also tend to make the rubber on the outsole thinner or even smaller so it covers less of the surface. 

So, the rubber that we have at our disposal better be durable! In the lab, we press a dremel against it, always at the same pressure, RPMs and duration, and then we look at the damage. 

Outsole durability test performed in RunRepeat lab 

Then, we use a tire tread gauge to measure the depth of the dent. The shallower the dent, the more durable the outsole and vice versa. 

We also test the durability of the toebox and heel padding using the dremel. But, in these 2 cases, we can’t precisely measure the depth because it’s fabric, loose threads and so on. So, we assess the damage on a 1-5 scale, where 1 is the least durable. 

Can you race in tempo running shoes?

Of course! Many running shoes are made for speedwork AND competitions!

Breathability of tempo running shoes

Tempo running shoes are, when it comes to breathability, between the daily trainers and dedicated racers. Race-day shoes cut the weight in all the possible ways, including making the upper thin and airy. Daily running shoes often feature knit upper which are very soft, cozy, and not so breathable. And tempo shoes are somewhere in between. 

Testing the breathability of tempo shoes in RunRepeat lab 

We test the breathability of all shoes in our shoe lab. We do it by pumping the smoke into the shoes and then observing: where the smoke comes out? How fast? How much of it is pumped through the upper? Based on this, we assign a 1-5 breathability rating to each shoe. 5 stands for the most breathable and 1 for the least breathable (or winter-friendly). 

Let’s look at the fresh lab data: 

• Avg breathability of daily trainers: 3.6/5.0
• Avg breathability of tempo running shoes: 4.3/5.0
• Avg breathability of race running shoes: 4.7/5.0

We also examine the uppers under the microscope to discover if there are any ventilation holes, how big they are, if they are for show only or they actually work, are there patches of another fabric which means there are 2 layers on the upper, and so on. 

Wobbling while cornering is a NO

Shoes are getting higher and runners still prefer softer midsoles. Combining height and softness can go bad if the platform is narrow. Then, it’s not stable, especially if the shoe does not feature a full-length rubber outsole (or at least a decent all-footstrikes surface coverage). 

To find out how high off the ground tempo running shoes are, we cut them in half and measure their forefoot and heel stack heights. 

In the lab, we also measure the softness of each running shoe midsole. We do it by cutting the shoe in half and sticking a shore A durometer into the foam. 

With this test only, you can look for the softest or firmest running shoes for speedwork. 

But, to discuss the instability, we have to look at the width of the base. Wider bases mean more planted landings and toeoffs. 

This especially applies to heel strikers because shoes can get very narrow at the heel. 

Here, we list tempo running shoes with the widest midsoles, prioritizing the heel: 

How stiff are tempo running shoes?

When plated (nylon or carbon-fiber), very! However, not all tempo shoes are plated. The magic formula for insane energy return is to have a soft midsole made of a premium foam with a carbon-fiber plate. But, that is not everyone’s cup of tea. 

We test the stiffness of a running shoe by bending it to 30 degrees - the more force we need to do that, the stiffer the shoe. Less force and it’s a more flexible running shoe. 

To get some context, the average stiffness of a tempo running shoe is 14.7N, while daily trainers show 13.9N on our machine's display on average. Race shoes are the stiffest and, on average, the machine needs a force of 22.6N to bend them to 30 degrees.

In case you prefer a more flexible, natural ride, these shoes are worth checking out: