Trail Runners - when are they needed?

PaulieC

Now that the DCM is done, I am going to turn my attention to the mountains and do some trail/hill running (hopefully with an eye to maybe doing an ultra next year).
I was wondering, how 'traily' does a trail need to be before I would need actual trail runners?
And does anyone have any experience with Adidas Kanadia? The reason I ask is because I have a One4All voucher and these are on sale in Elverys, which is the only running/sports shop that accepts these vouchers

Thanks
Paul

Vitamin T

I'm actually in a similar position myself. My first pair of trail runners just arrived today! A nice pair of Salomon XA Pro 3D. Really wanna take them out for a test run but still feeling fairly stiff after yesterday!

There was a thread a while ago about those Adidas Kanadia here if you haven't seen it already. Might help you out a bit!

PaulieC

Vitamin T wrote: »

Really wanna take them out for a test run but still feeling fairly stiff after yesterday!!

God no, nto going anywhere for a at least a few days and then just slowly...

DogSlySmile

cambo_gueno wrote: »

And does anyone have any experience with Adidas Kanadia?

I have a pair of the TR4's, absolutely love them. The most comfortable runner I've ever worn. The grips on the bottom are quite spongy so I wouldnt be afraid to do a short road run in them. Only wore them for one race so far that had a mix of terrain (bray head to the sugarloarf) and I thought they were excellent

Micilin Muc

I've been running various trails in the Dublin Mountains for a year now and I only bought trail shoes in August. I got a pair of the Mizuno Wave Cabrakan 2 shoes and I don't think they give me any more support or traction than my regular Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11 shoes.

In fact I slip more in my Mizunos than in my Brooks.

donothoponpop

Micilin Muc wrote: »

I've been running various trails in the Dublin Mountains for a year now and I only bought trail shoes in August. I got a pair of the Mizuno Wave Cabrakan 2 shoes and I don't think they give me any more support or traction than my regular Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11 shoes.

In fact I slip more in my Mizunos than in my Brooks.

I run in both these shoes- the Brooks for road, the Mizuno for forest trail and light offroad, and I have to admit I'm scratching my head a bit at your preference for the road shoes. Firstly, the Brooks are going to give more support by their nature- trail shoes are designed to offer less support than road shoes. So the Brooks will give superior cushioning and support either on or offroad.

But their real difference is in the traction offered. I'm baffled as to why you feel the traction on the Brooks is as good- their soles are designed for completely different purposes. I ran down a grassy band in the Brooks a week back- slipping all over the place. Did the same bank a few days later in the Mizuno, and had a lot more traction, as one would expect from runners with rubber studs. The mizuno would never replace my Inov-8's for offroad traction, but I'm more than happy with them as a trail shoe.

Micilin Muc

donothoponpop wrote: »

Firstly, the Brooks are going to give more support by their nature- trail shoes are designed to offer less support than road shoes. So the Brooks will give superior cushioning and support either on or offroad.

I meant support of the ankle area. I go over on my ankle marginally fewer times in my Mizunos, but it's not enough for me to choose them over my Brooks.

donothoponpop wrote: »

But their real difference is in the traction offered. I'm baffled as to why you feel the traction on the Brooks is as good- their soles are designed for completely different purposes.

On wet, rocky surfaces I have slipped lots of times in my Mizunos, but on the same trails in the same conditions I have felt more stable in my Brooks.

I guess it's just my personal preference, or maybe I'm not running on rugged enough trails!

donothoponpop

Micilin Muc wrote: »

On wet, rocky surfaces I have slipped lots of times in my Mizunos, but on the same trails in the same conditions I have felt more stable in my Brooks.

Aha, that explains it! There aren't many shoes good for grip on wet rock- those that are best have soft rubber soles, which will be torn to pieces and wear down quickly on any trail. Harder rubber (of which the Brooks and Mizuno both have) will only supply traction based on the contact area- since there is no way rock is going to compress into a cleated footprint (a la mud, trail, or grass), the road shoes will have greater surface contact and thus greater traction over wet rocky surfaces.

I've had lots of run in's with wet rocks- enough to know to stay well away from them!

T runner

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Now that the DCM is done, I am going to turn my attention to the mountains and do some trail/hill running (hopefully with an eye to maybe doing an ultra next year).
I was wondering, how 'traily' does a trail need to be before I would need actual trail runners?
And does anyone have any experience with Adidas Kanadia? The reason I ask is because I have a One4All voucher and these are on sale in Elverys, which is the only running/sports shop that accepts these vouchers

Thanks
Paul

Kanadia are good. Light fast with a decent grip but good cushioning too.

In a few months when youre a complete addict and want to run down the slippy grassy sides of big mountains: you can chose your brand of out and out mountain shoes.

I guess in winter anything other than a wide forestry road would probably require grip.

BeepBeep67

T runner wrote: »

Kanadia are good. Light fast with a decent grip but good cushioning too.

In a few months when youre a complete addict and want to run down the slippy grassy sides of big mountains: you can chose your brand of out and out mountain shoes.

I guess in winter anything other than a wide forestry road would probably require grip.

I have a pair of Kanadia, nice compromise shoe and cheap, I usually wear if I'm running on road a bit to get to the trail.

PaulieC

T runner wrote: »

Kanadia are good. Light fast with a decent grip but good cushioning too.

In a few months when youre a complete addict and want to run down the slippy grassy sides of big mountains: you can chose your brand of out and out mountain shoes.

I guess in winter anything other than a wide forestry road would probably require grip.

I did a 6 mile loop around Three Rock yesterday, a mixture of fire road, hardpacked gravel, rocks and mud. I was wearing merrell trail gloves, which were OK gripwise (where they could be, I don't imagine anything would grip in some of the mud), but a bit thin underfoot for some of the fire roads.
Judging from yesterday, I don't think it will take a few months to become addicted. I realyl enjoyed it, apart from the seemingly relentless uphill section at the back of the hill

jeawan

donothoponpop wrote: »

I run in both these shoes- the Brooks for road, the Mizuno for forest trail and light offroad, and I have to admit I'm scratching my head a bit at your preference for the road shoes. Firstly, the Brooks are going to give more support by their nature- trail shoes are designed to offer less support than road shoes. So the Brooks will give superior cushioning and support either on or offroad.

But their real difference is in the traction offered. I'm baffled as to why you feel the traction on the Brooks is as good- their soles are designed for completely different purposes. I ran down a grassy band in the Brooks a week back- slipping all over the place. Did the same bank a few days later in the Mizuno, and had a lot more traction, as one would expect from runners with rubber studs. The mizuno would never replace my Inov-8's for offroad traction, but I'm more than happy with them as a trail shoe.

Which Inov-8's do you use ? , i have the Mazuno's and find them great in the trails i run i also use the Vibram KSO Sports which are brilliant too . Road runners vs Trail traction wise there is no contest we run forest paths /trails up in wicklow and one of the lads running in road runners was slipping all the time vs me in the trail shoes .

On wet rocks the trail shoes i dont think have much traction vs road shoes but then again most the tracks are gravel ,sand and muck up the trails i run .

jeawan

cambo_gueno wrote: »

I did a 6 mile loop around Three Rock yesterday, a mixture of fire road, hardpacked gravel, rocks and mud. I was wearing merrell trail gloves, which were OK gripwise (where they could be, I don't imagine anything would grip in some of the mud), but a bit thin underfoot for some of the fire roads.
Judging from yesterday, I don't think it will take a few months to become addicted. I realyl enjoyed it, apart from the seemingly relentless uphill section at the back of the hill

Run that Loop quite a bit and it is a Nasty uphill section nice run though

HelenAnne

I'm thinking of doing some of the Meet and Train cross country. They are mainly cross country in parks, but it is winter so could get mucky. Would trail shoes work for this or do I need spikes? And what's the difference between trail shoes & spikes? I also have a One 4 All voucher so would love to be able to get the Kanadias on sale in Elvery's!

PaulieC

I got the kanadias last night in lifestyle in dundrum (20% off and one4all, result). They don't do half sizes so I had to get a 10 as the 9 was a bit tight. Looking forward to trying them out