I have been testing running shoes for a long time and know that most brands have a "pink and shrink" approach to women's running shoes For a long time, the best running shoes have been designed by mostly male design teams and tested primarily on male feet

This year, Adidas made a major change to one of its most popular running shoes with female runners in mind Adidas hired an all-female team of designers and used scans taken from 12 million women's feet to redesign the Ultraboost

The Ultraboost 22 has a narrower heel, a lower instep, and an S-curve heel to allow the Achilles tendon more freedom of movement But how does it feel to run? I was one of the first to wear the new Ultraboost 22 So please read this article to hear my first impressions and to see if they are worthy of being voted one of the best women's running shoes

The Ultraboost 22 will be available for adidas members on Monday, December 6 It will be available in stores and online on Thursday, December 9 The shoes retail for $190/£165

The Ultra Boost 21 has always had a problem They are super resilient and comfortable while running, but they just don't fit my feet I'm a UK5 with high arches and the Primeknit upper is a single piece of material that fits too close to the back of my foot This is fine when I am running, but when I wear these shoes to the gym or walk the dog, the instep of my foot hurts by the end of the workout Of course, that doesn't mean the shoes are bad, but if I'm going to spend $200 on shoes, I want to be able to wear them casually

I'm not the only one with these fit issues, and another female running buddy told me that the uppers sagged too much on her narrow feet, always bunching up the extra material on the back of her feet, and were not particularly comfortable Both of us were intrigued by what happened to the shoes after the all-female design team was brought on board

The result The fit of the Ultra Boost 22 is completely different The upper felt more roomy and the heel of the shoe fit my foot better I went for a light jog around London looking at the Christmas lights, did five miles on the treadmill, and ran five kilometers on rain-soaked pavement

Adidas also added an extra plastic support rail on the inside of the outsole, under the arch, to prevent overpronation in the Ultraboost 22, adding more support Although Adidas did not share these findings at the time of the shoe's launch, studies have shown that women are more pronated than men

Finally, by tweaking the fit of the upper and shoe, along with the same linear energy push system found in the outsole of the Ultraboost 21, Adidas claims that the shoe will provide a 4% greater energy return for women

According to Adidas, men who switched from the Ultraboost 21 to the Ultraboost 22 did not see a significant difference, although some adjustments were made to the upper [For female runners, however, the shoes are much more comfortable I felt comfortable straight out of the box with the shoe not sitting too tightly against my foot; like previous iterations of the Ultraboost, it is soft and resilient enough to wear on my longer runs, but it also has a good amount of snap for fast miles It also has a good amount of snap for fast miles Unlike other versions of this shoe, my feet feel stable going around corners on wet pavement, but I have yet to try it on the track

I will run a little more in the Ultraboost 22 before rendering a final verdict and rating, but after 10 miles, I'd go as far as to say that this is an excellent everyday running shoe for most women It is comfortable, supportive, and has a mild level of support in the overpronator They are heavy, so speedy runners will want to wear them on a good day of running, but beginners will love the support underfoot

As a female runner, it is very encouraging that Adidas recognizes the importance of making shoes for women's feet