Trail / Fell Running shoes recommendations

Rusty Cogs 08

Hoping to get in to this in '09. Would anyone have any shoe recommendations w/hopefully an online source ?

Currently road run in Mizuno Wave Inspire 4's (for the over pronator that I am).

Thanks

Slogger Jogger

Hi RC,
I can't say how suitable these are for pronation issues but I picked up a pair of Salomon speed cross over the holidays and I wore them on tarmac, trail, muck and rock in training and races over the last week and I'd recommend them highly. They are lighter than the usual Salomons but they have decent cushioning. I didn't go out of my way to find an online source as when I'm trying an unfamiliar shoe I want to try it in person. They were 100 yoyos or so in Snow and Rock in Dundrum.
There was a recent interview with renowned mountain runner Jonathan Wyatt on mudsweatandtears.co.uk and he name-checked these trail shoes as his current favourites (probably sponsored by them!) but I find them excellent.
Cheers.
SJ.

climbhigh

Try www.imra.ie forum for advice, generally helpful.

Anyone see mountain running review on www.athleticsireland.ie

copacetic

the speed cross are nice, but I found them pretty hard on the feet on stony ground. They are more suited to either muddy races or light runners imo, they are more a fell shoe than a trail runner.

tbh OP you need to decide what you need, a lightweight limited cushioning high grip shoe, eg speed cross, walshes, adidas swoop etc. Or a trail shoe, basically a road shoe with better grip, eg all the asics trail shoes and the others in the salamon range.

There are some in betweeners like the new balance range also.

If you are thinking of the imra races then trail shoes are more suited to most of them imo.

Timmaay

I have been told that the whole over/under pronated thing goes out the window when it comes to fell running! The ground is never consistent enough!

Anyway, I use inov-8s for the hills, they give great grip (had a hill run on the sugar loaf saturday, there was ice/rocks/slippy grass/scree but I didnt loose my footing once with them!!!). I got my pair here http://www.amphibianking.ie/, they are in Bray and have very good customer service!

donothoponpop

If this will be your first pair of hill-running shoes, and you're a pronator, I'd recommend buying a pair from a store (like amphibian king) that will give you gait analysis and expertise. I'm similar in that I'm a severe pronator, I ended up with Inov-8 Mudclaw 330, they are very popular "newbie" shoes on the IMRA circuit, in that they give good grip, but maintain a modicum of heel support.

Stark

Timmaay wrote: »

I have been told that the whole over/under pronated thing goes out the window when it comes to fell running! The ground is never consistent enough!

I think that's certainly true speaking from personal experience. I've had overpronation issues on road, which I needed support shoes for but never had issues on terrain. I think the various muscles and ligaments in your legs respond and adapt better to the constantly changing stresses on terrain than they do to the same stress repeated over and over when running on road.

Timmayy wrote: »

Anyway, I use inov-8s for the hills, they give great grip (had a hill run on the sugar loaf saturday, there was ice/rocks/slippy grass/scree but I didnt loose my footing once with them!!!). I got my pair here http://www.amphibianking.ie/, they are in Bray and have very good customer service!

Which did you get, the Mudrocs or the Roclites? I got the Roclites myself and while they're great for cushioning, I'm not hugely impressed with the grip on them. I've seen people in Mudrocs tear through muck without a bother though.

Must get myself a high grip shoe for the new season...

MrJones

I have a pair of Innov8 RockLites for mountain terrain. I find them very low at the back and had problems with achilles after races so only wear them if the terrain is steep downhill and i need grips.

Also have a pair of Salamon XDPro - find this great on every other off-road terrain - great support and find no matter how uneven the ground is they are great.

Krusty_Clown

I just bought a pair of Innov8 Flyroc's, while I was over in the UK, for 65 sterling (65 euro). Great value on innov8's if you happen to be in the UK. Can't wait to give them a spin now. They're a little heavier than the Mudroc and Mudclaws. Do you think they'll be ok for IMRA races?

Rusty Cogs 08

Thanks for the advice thus far guys. The shoes would be with IMRA racing in mind. I've had a gait analysis done for road shoes and have worn Kayanos in the past / currently Mizuno Wave Inspire 4's.

The Salomon's seem to be gaining traction (see what I did there) in the fell market. Might be a toss up between them and the Innov8's.

Slogger Jogger

Well RC I just ran one of the imra winter league routes by way of a training run (see the daily drudge shortly) in my salomon speed cross 2 and they worked a treat on mixed terrain - mud, grass, rock and trail.

Krusty_Clown

Hey Rusty_cogs, if you can try on the shoes locally (e.g. Snow and rock) then there's great value to be had on Wiggle at the moment, due to sterling, and post-xmas sales. Wiggle Offroad

c montgomery

Ive decided to splash out on a new pair of trainers.
Salamon speedcross 2

My choice is balck or green

http://s.wiggle.co.uk/images/salomon-433319-ss10-zoom.jpg

Thinking about getting the green as they look kind of funky but without seeing them for real im a bit unsure.

Has anyone got a pair of these and if so what colour are they and how do you find them.

I realisee they will be covered in mud after a few days anyway but sur any info appreciated:)

ThisRegard

Don't have a pair myself but a mate has in green, they are indeed very funky in real life, I really like the look of them and so far he's liking the feel of them. Apparently there's no a whole lot of support in them though but that has it's pros and cons.

Stark

I've heard they're great although I've been told that they're easily corroded by Wicklow bog water so you might not get too much longevity from them. Depends on what type of races you plan to do in them I suppose.

n-dawg

I love my XTalon 212's their super light and grippy. But they have very little support and aren't great for fire roads or other hard surfaces. Fantastic in the bog though....

Slogger Jogger

Speed Cross IIs are great. Suitable for most surfaces. The colour is quickly irrelevant as you'll have them mucky soon as the brightness will vanish

XTalons are the business too. Incredible lightness and great grip on the hills, but wear them on trail at your peril as they give little or no cushioning.

Peterx

The speedcross 2 and the XTalon 212 are both amazing shoes with one recessionary weakness - the rubber is too soft and the grip wears out quickly relative to shoes with a harder rubber compound. They are really best kept for racing in. Walshes on the other hand you will never wear out the rubber, the whole outsole will fall off first!

If you can have two sets of hillshoes or are happy to have to replace your shoes either of the two mentioned above are brilliant, the speedcross 2 have more cushioning then the Xtalon but have a higher heel and therefore are a smidgeon less stable.
The new Columbia Ravenous is very good for IMRA wednesday racing, probably similar to Saloman XA pros but lighter.

I prefer the black speedcross, they nearly don't attract any attention in urban settings:)

nerraw1111

The ravenous are an excellent shoe. I actually used them for the IMRA Wednesday races and they are super comfy.

I was looking at investing in some Innov 8s for a lighter shoe?

Any have experience of them?

Was looking at roclite 285 as a racing shoe? Or 315 as a training shoe?

2 Wheels Good

nerraw1111 wrote: »

The ravenous are an excellent shoe. I actually used them for the IMRA Wednesday races and they are super comfy.

I was looking at investing in some Innov 8s for a lighter shoe?

Any have experience of them?

Was looking at roclite 285 as a racing shoe? Or 315 as a training shoe?

I have the Roclite 295s. Did Gaelforce last weekend with them. Rock solid between the bog run, road and Croagh Patrick. Had been wearing them day to day for a few weeks before to break them in and they're as comfortable as any shoes I've had. Nice and light too.

muldoocs

I started running with IMRA this year and got Inov8 roclite - I think theyre great but everyone gave me different advice when I was trying to decide. Personal preference I think. I was just told not to get gortex. Think they fill up with water?

Stark

It makes the shoe heavier and sweatier (which can mean more blisters) while offering no advantage for running. I usually take Gortex as a sign that the designer had a walking shoe in mind rather than a running shoe as well.

ThisRegard

Yip, go higher than ankle deep in water or mud and the goretex designed to keep the water out now keeps it in.

ocnoc

Would the shoe you want not depend on the type of race your running...
Going for the more off road shoes - a shoe that has pure grip is whats nice.
I think the Inov8 poster sums it up best . . .

http://www.inov-8.com/Images/Adverts/Hi-Res%20Adverts/mudclaw-foot-01.jpg

nerraw1111

That is a great ad.

Just seeing if anyone had any experience with innov 8s, good/bad/indifferent. Will give them a go and will report back

donothoponpop

nerraw1111 wrote: »

That is a great ad.

Just seeing if anyone had any experience with innov 8s, good/bad/indifferent. Will give them a go and will report back

These roclites seem to be the most popular entry-level shoe on the imra circuit. I've had the same pair 3 years now, and they can take a fair bit of abuse. The "old faithful" shoe for many a hill-runner.

VanessaOutsider

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/8518872f#/8518872f/54

looks at inov8, columbia, solomon and TNF, and whether goretex or not...

All comments / critism welcomed:)

Vanessa

ThisRegard

I was only reading that article again last night. I bought my Salomons a few months ago based on your recommendations in that article and from a poster here somewhere.

copacetic

imo it takes a lot of trial and error to find a shoe that suits you. I had the original speedcross and liked the grip and found the cushioning ok, but he fit just too narrow.

I've been using various new balance and tried out the mizuno wave harrier and they are all pretty nice. Currently I'm leaning back toward more supportive runners with good grip and thats lead me toward inov8 and have the roclite 320

and the flyroc 310


Although they are quite similar in weight they feel quite different.

Imo any review that doesn't have 15-20 shoes included is pretty meaningless as even within each brand there is probably 4 or 5 options. Also the various magazines always seem to review the shoes that suit their market, eg only 'outdoors' brands in the review about, no 'running' brands. When new balance or mizuno have much better models than anything from colombia or north face. (although the arnuva boa was a good shoe)