Topo Specter 3 review: photo of the shoe

Topo Specter 3 Review: Trainer of the Year

Boasting a new midsole, upper, and outsole, Topo calls the Specter 3 an almost full reinvention of the Specter 2. That’s right: forget everything you knew about the Topo Specter! For many, that won’t be hard to do, considering you’ve likely never heard of the shoe…or the underrated Topo brand. It doesn’t help that the Specter hadn’t previously been made in size 15. That’s right! Exciting news for those of us with gargantuan tootsies: this is the first Specter we can run in! And it couldn’t have come at a better time–spoiler: the Specter 3 is my pick for trainer of the year, in case the title of this review didn’t already tip you off.

top running shoes of 2023

My Six Top Running Shoes of 2023

People sure love lists. There’s a list for everything: to-do, waiting, shopping, laundry, naughty, and nice, to name a few. My favorite lists are of the top running shoes. However, “top” is subjective. Running shoe reviews are flawed; experiences running in shoes vary wildly depending on body type, biomechanics, foot strike, and more. There are no top running shoes just like there are no best political candidates or no best investment strategies—ok, maybe those are bad examples. Instead of saying “top running shoes of 2023” these are my favorites of 2023. Admittedly, I sure am partial to max cushion shoes.