Our #1 Pick
So you’re looking for a great pair of cross country running shoes? Well that’s not the easiest thing to do, let me tell you!
Why isn’t it easy?
Simply put, cross country runners are challenged with a wide variety of running terrain.
Click here to see our top choices of cross country running shoes.
In cross country you can expect to be running on the road, through trails, over grassy patches, up hill, down hill, around sharp corners, etc.
Basically, you can’t just get a good pair of street running shoes and expect them to perform well under cross country circumstances.
And because of that you need to find a good pair of shoes that will perform across all terrains.
The problem with that is – you’ll need a shoe that is a “jack of all trades” but a master of none. Which means you can’t get a shoe that *specializes* in one specific thing. You need a shoe that is *pretty* good at everything, but is not designed for only one specific thing.
But the “problem” of getting a shoe that is only average to above average at everything instead of *excellent* at only one thing is actually a good thing for cross country runners.
And that’s exactly what you want to look for.
Below are our top choices for cross country running shoes. They’re the top shoes we’ve found that give a great combination of support for trails, roads, sharp turns, and rugged terrain. And all of them are very light and *won’t* weigh you down, which is very important for competitive runners. (And comfort.)
Before we get into the shoes we recommend, you should know that if you’re going to get a pair of shoes you should check out Endless.com, it’s owned by Amazon.com and has some of the best deals we’ve ever seen. And their customer support and shipping speed is insanely awesome.
You may want to check them out. And we’ve linked to each shoe at Endless.com so you can find them easily and get more details about each shoe. We have links to both the men’s and the women’s versions of each shoe for your convenience. And each shoe is usually available in multiple colors on Endless.com
Choice #1
Men’s
Women’s
By far and away our top choice for cross country shoes is the Mizzuno Wave 4.
This shoe is extremely light, flexible, comfortable, and fits very well. We love the Mizzuno brand, it just feels right, and out performs almost every other brand on the market today. And they don’t wear out very easily either, they hold up to the rugged cross country terrain, and they keep on keeping on!
Plus they’re less expensive than lots of the more popular brands. At this point I almost don’t think there’s a point in continuing on, but I feel obligated to give you some other options just in case you don’t like the Mizzuno’s for whatever reason. But really, you should get yourself a pair, you won’t regret it! 
Choice #2
Men’s
Women’s
The New Balance Wt100 comes in a distant second to the Mizzunos but still beats most of the shoes you’ll see on the shelves at most of the stores in the malls, or in your local shoe shop.
Notice the low profile of the shoe, and the protected front tip of the shoe (that’s for when you’re running through trails and hit some roots, shrubs, etc.)
The best part about these shoes is that they are very light, and breathe really well.
They don’t give quite the same support as the Mizzunos (can you tell we like Mizzuno ) but they still hold up well, and perform better than you’d need for a cross country shoe.
If you don’t like Mizzuno, you should definitely check out the Wt100.
Choice #3
Men’s
Women’s
The ASICS GT-2140 (how’s that for a name?) is our 3rd choice, and it would have been our second choice except it’s a bit “clunkier” than the New Balance, it’s a little too high up, which can cause some ankle rolling over rough and unexpected terrain.
It *does* have good support, and is pretty light and breathable, but overall, it’s too high for my liking… There’s just a little too much cushion. It would probably be better for cross country races that don’t have much trail, and mostly roads, or gravel and/or dirt trails that are pretty well maintained.
As soon as you get into lots of twists and turns, or uneven terrain, I think you may run into problems with this shoe.
Choice #4
The Brooks Cascadia 4 takes… 4th place! How fitting Simply put, this is too high up, and too stiff for my liking. It’s just a little too rigid, and kind of funny feeling. Granted I didn’t give it enough time to really break them in… But unless you really like the look of the shoe (it’s a little unique) then I wouldn’t really bother with these shoes.
So if you’re looking for a great cross country shoe, honestly all 4 of these should work better than getting a shoe from a popular shoe store in the mall, but I’m pretty picky.
That being said, again… I’m going to recommend the Mizzunos once again, I really don’t think you can top them.
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