'The ultimate do-it-all shoe' If you're not wearing Saucony Ride 19 running shoes in 2026, you're missing out

I've been wearing Saucony Ride shoes in various iterations for a while now. They're always a reliable set of daily trainers and consistently good value. They're not the best running shoes for speed or ultramarathons, but for the average running enthusiast (that's me) doing six-to-ten miles on a weekend, they're great. We reviewed the Saucony Ride 18 last year and our reviewer, England Athletics running coach and running book author Lily Canter, loved them. She awarded them 4.5 stars out of five – but she didn't love the Ride 17 before them, awarding those a star less.

I had the opportunity to test the Saucony Ride 19, and I wasn't quite sure which way it would go. However, after running my first 50k in them, I can safely say they're spectacular.

Comfortable, form-fitting (even though I usually size up) and extremely versatile, they're already my new, go-to daily drivers for 2026 — and the shoes all the cool kids at Parkrun are likely to be wearing this year.

So why do I think they'll be so popular? For starters, they're good all-rounders. Saucony itself calls them 'the ultimate do-it-all shoe' in its press release, and it's something I've loved about the Ride series for ages. Despite the running shoe industry being full of specialist shoes and complicated jargon, everyone but the most dedicated runners still want one shoe for everything – or at least, one shoe to run on roads and one for the occasional muddy trail.

The Ride 19 are all-rounder shoes for most conventional distances, and cope fine with switching between roads and light trails such as gravel or hard dirt paths in my local park. They have a roomy toebox, so your feet have room to swell if you're running long distances (be careful if you size up), but they also offer a secure fit with a gusseted tongue, with the upper super breathable. The heel of the shoe is sporting an 8mm drop, and they are ideal for runners with a straightforward neutral gait.

There's more PWRRUN+ foam underfoot than in last year's model, but it's also nice and wide, making the shoes feel very stable and easy to run on. That extra foam also contributes to the Ride 19's high energy return, reducing your level of effort with every stride. A lot of shoes claim to do this, and because the Ride 19 are a little heavier than previous years, I thought they might make my Sunday runs feel a bit sluggish. But they felt great, and surprisingly snappy, especially when I was concentrating on proper running form.

The shoes are entirely vegan, so people can feel good about wearing them, and of course, they look good, too — the Ride 19 look clean and minimalist, even in more garish colorways such as Cobalt / Slime.

As you can see in the photos, my White / Crimson shoes have picked up a bit of dirt (thanks, wet UK weather and West Country potholes), but I can totally see Londoners and New Yorkers turning up to run-clubs in these bad boys and catching envious glances.

Crucially, they're also reasonably priced. At $145 / £140 / AU$240, I'm already seeing them on offer in SportStore in the UK, and O'Neills in AU territories . That's always key to widespread adoption, and as the Ride 19 get a bit older and drop down in price as the year goes on, expect to see them on a lot of people's feet this year.

If the price makes them out of reach for you, consider the still-excellent Saucony Ride 18, which can be found very cheaply now, as well as other older all-rounder running shoes such as the Nike Pegasus 41.

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