Black Friday Running Shoe Deals 2026: Buy Last Year's Model, Not the New One
Running shoe discounts land on last year's version, not this year's. Here's the price each old model has to hit on Black Friday, and when to pay full for new.
Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27, and running shoes follow one rule: the deep discounts land on last year's model. Last Black Friday, the Nike Pegasus 41 fell to $69 and the Asics Gel-Kayano 31 to $124, while their replacements barely moved. If you're happy to run in the outgoing version, you can save $40 to $75 a pair. If you want the shoe on our Best Running Shoes list, expect to pay close to full price.
Here's the number each older model should hit, using last Black Friday and this October's pre-Prime Big Deal Days prices as the bar.
The previous-generation prices to beat
ASICS Gel-Nimbus 28
The archetypal max-cushion daily trainer, and RunRepeat's best Nimbus in five years. It finally cuts weight (down to ~9.8 oz) while keeping the near-perfect upper and deep, protective cushioning the line is known for. The honest catch: the FF Blast+ midsole delivers only middling energy return, and a second straight price hike pushes it to $170.
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Gel-Nimbus 27 (behind our #5, the Nimbus 28): $109. Amazon had the Nimbus 27 at $109 from $165 in early October, per Tom's Guide's Nick Harris-Fry. It was $124 last Black Friday. The October price is the real bar now.
Gel-Kayano 32 (behind our #7 stability pick, the Kayano 33): $124. Same October source, same $124 the Kayano 31 hit last November. Overpronators who don't need the 33's softer guidance system should take it.
Pegasus 41 (behind our #11, the Pegasus 42): under $100. Nike sold it for $69 last Black Friday, down from $145, per Tom's Guide. The women's version was $99 at Amazon before October's sale. Anything near $69 is a stock-up price.
Hoka Mach 6 (behind our #12, the Mach 7): $98. That was Hoka's own price last Black Friday, from $140.
The exceptions
Novablast 6: pay full price. Our #2 pick sits at full price while the Novablast 5 has been $129 at Amazon since July. Harris-Fry tested both and thinks the 6's new FF Turbo Squared forefoot is worth the extra $26. He'd only switch if the 5 drops to about $100. We agree.
Nike Vomero 18
The max-cushion comfort pick for easy and recovery miles, and the first Vomero to go full max-stack — 46 mm of ZoomX over ReactX, with a price cut from the v17. Buy it for long slow distance and plush heel landings, not for versatility: at 10.5 oz it is heavy, RunRepeat scored it 54 for tempo, and the narrow toebox is a real problem for wide feet.
Nike Vomero 18 (#6): $124. The rare current shoe that does get discounted. Nike had it at $124 last Black Friday, from $155, and the women's version was $113 at Amazon in late September. Don't pay more than $124.
Asics Superblast 3 (#1): don't count on it. We found no meaningful discount on it in the October deal coverage we tracked. At $210, buy it when you need it.
Where the biggest cuts are: last year's super shoes
Carbon-plated racers drop hardest once a successor ships. Nike's Vaporfly 4 hit $123 at Nike last Black Friday, from $270. This October, Amazon had the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 at $149 (from $274) and the New Balance SC Elite v5 at $169 (from $264). Our racing picks, led by the Nike Alphafly 3, are ranked by version, so check the number on the box before you call it a deal.
Trail runners should apply the same rule. Hoka's Speedgoat 6 went for $109 last Black Friday, while the Speedgoat 7 tops our Best Trail Running Shoes list.
The call
Set price alerts on the Nimbus 27 at $109 and the Pegasus 41 under $100, and buy the Novablast 6 whenever you're ready. Running shoes are a size-and-fit purchase, so stock up only on a model you already know fits. For other categories, see our Black Friday 2026 guide. Then vote for the shoe you actually run in on the Best Running Shoes list.
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Common Questions
Black Friday is Friday, November 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday is November 30. Nike, Hoka, Asics and Amazon typically start discounting running shoes in the weeks before, and many of last year's Black Friday prices were already live before Thanksgiving. Start watching now.
Rarely by much. Most of last year's deep discounts were on the previous version of a shoe: the Pegasus 41, Gel-Kayano 31, Gel-Nimbus 27 and Hoka Mach 6, not their newer replacements. The Nike Vomero 18 was the notable exception, dropping to $124 at Nike from $155.
Usually, yes, for easy and long runs. Year-over-year updates to daily trainers tend to be small, and the outgoing model is often $40 to $75 cheaper on sale. The exception is when the update changes the shoe's character, as with the Asics Novablast 6's new forefoot foam, and the discount on the old one is shallow.
Under $100 for the Pegasus 41. Nike sold it for $69 last Black Friday, down from $145, per Tom's Guide, and the women's version was $99 at Amazon ahead of October's Prime Big Deal Days. The current Pegasus 42 is the one to buy at full price if you want the newest version.
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