Cory Smith

Cory Smith is a Santa Barbara, California-based athlete, online-running coach and freelance journalist specializing in running- and climbing-related content and gear reviews. He draws from over 25 years as an elite runner and rock climber for ideas, inspiration, and expertise.

Latest Stories

Shoes

Teva Builds a Serious Trail Shoe, Speedland Reworks Its Fit from the Ground Up, and Salomon Drops a $140 Gravel Shoe

Our lead shoe tester details the shoe releases he’s most looking forward to next month.

August 27, 2026

Shoes

Courtney Dauwalter’s Wildly Popular Trail Running Shoe Has Gotten an Upgrade. Is It Even Better?

Salomon dropped the S/Lab Genesis’ heel, widened the platform, and upgraded the midsole. The result is the most versatile trail shoe I've run in this year.

August 13, 2026

Shoes

We've Run in Dozens of Trail Running Shoes This Year. These are the Best of 2026 (So Far)

We tested everything from road-to-trail cruisers to propulsive racers to find the best trail running shoes for every runner and terrain.

August 7, 2026

Shoes

Asics Finally Built a Serious Trail Super Shoe. It Was Worth the Wait.

Take everything you know about the original model and throw it out the window. The Metafuji Trail 2 is fast, stable, and proven on the feet of the fastest trail runners.

August 7, 2026

Shoes

Three Hot Trail Running Shoes from Salomon, Asics, and Brooks Just Dropped—And They Will Likely Sell Out

A livelier foam in Salomon's S/Lab Genesis, a road-to-trail Asics Novablast, Vibram on a Cascadia, and a Hoka that already podiumed at Western States. Our lead shoe tester breaks them down.

July 31, 2026

Shoes

We Analyze the Fastest Shoes at the Record-Breaking 2026 Western States 100

Hoka claimed four top-10 spots in both the men's and women's fields. Nike, Adidas, and others followed, with two mystery Nike prototypes stealing the spotlight.

June 29, 2026

Shoes

We Tested and Approved These 8 Trail Running Super Shoes as Dirt Ready

Carbon plates, split forks, and high-energy foams—are these useful things for off-camber, un-uniform trail running surfaces? We explain and show off the eight best trail super shoes we tried for fast, sure-footed, off-road running.

June 15, 2026

Shoes

The Fastest Trail Shoes at the 2025 UTMB Mont-Blanc

An Asics prototype dominates the men’s podium, Hoka proves to be the most popular, and non-plated shoes claim second and third fastest shoes in the women’s race at this year’s UTMB Mont-Blanc.

September 2, 2025

Shoes

The Best Trail Running Shoes for Every Terrain

We tested over 75 trail shoes across hundreds of miles of rocky singletrack, sandy paths, and muddy forests. These 14 stood out as the top performers.

July 10, 2025

Shoes

We Ran in Adidas’s $500 Super Shoe Until It Gave Out. Here’s How Far We Got.

Adidas says their ultralight Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 is designed for one marathon. We wondered how many miles it could actually go before we no longer wanted to race in it.

May 1, 2024