A quick round-up of what’s landed on the shelves this week. Four notable releases from Hoka, ASICS, Brooks and On — each telling a slightly different story about where running shoe design is heading. As always, I’m less interested in the marketing copy and more in what each shoe actually means for your feet, your gait and your injury risk.

Hoka Clifton Pro — releases 9 July,

The Clifton line has always been Hoka’s steady, reliable everyday trainer, and the Clifton Pro is a bouncier update built on a PEBA-blend midsole rather than the standard EVA foam. That swap alone changes the character of the shoe quite a bit — PEBA compresses and rebounds more energetically, so the ride feels livelier and less “dead” underfoot than older Cliftons.

Clinic talking point: this is a good option to flag for patients who’ve been sitting in a firmer stability shoe and are ready to trial something with more rebound as their control and confidence improve. It’s a sensible, moderate step up rather than a jump straight into a max-stack racer — useful for that middle stage of return-to-run where you want more energy return without throwing away everything that made the previous shoe feel safe.

ASICS Novablast 6 — released 1 July

The Novablast has built its reputation on being ASICS’ soft, bouncy, do-a-bit-of-everything trainer, and the sixth edition continues that theme with an updated EVA+ compound aimed at higher rebound. It’s part of a broader trend across the mid-tier trainer segment — brands pushing softer, more energetic foams down from the premium racing tier into everyday shoes.

Clinic talking point: softer and bouncier isn’t automatically “better” for everyone. Runners recovering from certain overuse injuries sometimes do better with a bit more underfoot feedback and stability while they rebuild capacity, rather than a very soft, high-rebound platform. Worth checking in on how a patient’s foot and ankle actually feel in a shoe like this, rather than assuming more cushioning is always the safer choice.

Brooks Ghost AMP — July

This one’s genuinely interesting. The Ghost AMP pairs a dual-density Nitro EVA/PEBA co-molded midsole with a deliberately lower stack — 36mm heel, 30mm forefoot. In a market where almost every brand has been chasing maximum stack height, Brooks going the other way with a lower, “old school” platform is a notable counter-trend. Well done, Brooks.

Clinic talking point: this is a nice concrete example of the stack-height-versus-compliance conversation that comes up a lot in clinic. Taller, softer midsoles are marketed on comfort and protection, but they can also reduce a runner’s proprioceptive feedback and, in some cases, their ability to control the ankle and foot through the gait cycle. A shoe like the Ghost AMP — energetic foam, but a lower, closer-to-the-ground platform — is worth mentioning to patients who’ve struggled with stability or control in max-stack shoes.

On Cloudboom Strike 2 (2026)

On’s updated carbon-plated racing shoe pushes stack height further still, continuing the max-stack, max-plate direction that’s now standard across the top racing tier. It’s a fast shoe, and it’s going to be popular on race day.

Clinic talking point: this is directly relevant when patients ask about racing shoe injury risk. The carbon-plate debate is still unresolved — some evidence points to genuine performance benefit through improved running economy, but there’s also a reasonable, ongoing discussion about whether the altered loading pattern these shoes create shifts stress to structures that aren’t used to it (calf, Achilles, foot) in runners who only wear them occasionally on race day. My usual advice stands: if you’re planning to race in a shoe like this, don’t let race day be the first time you’ve run any real distance in it.

None of these shoes are inherently “right” or “wrong” — the best shoe is still the one that matches where you are in training, where you are in recovery, and what your body actually needs from it. If you’re not sure which of these (or anything else on the shelf) fits your situation, that’s exactly what the Trainer Finder tool is there for.