Gear for beginner trail/mountain running

MadMardegan

Looking to start trail and hill running. Haven't ever done it before but I'm really into running and hillwalking so I may as well mix these.

Will start out on the sugar loaf and those kind of places just to get a feel for it. Not expecting it to be easy but I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking for in a shoe
I'm into minimalist/barefoot running but don't see that being suitable for trails/hills.

Was thinking of these:

http://www.salomon.com/uk/product/xr-mission.html

I have boots from salomon and love them. They make great looking gear too
Any comments on those shoes? Should I be looking for something different?

Long term goals are to be running Djouce/Lugnaquilla etc so lots of wet and mucky grass.

Any comments or advice for me?

Cheers folks

PaulieC

I have the New Balance MT110 and they are fantastic, especially if you are looking for a minimal shoe. Plenty of grip, wide toe box, quick draining. They run a little bit big, I normally take a size 9 but I got these in a 9 1/2

I got mine on www.sweatshop.co.uk for 40 GBP with a 20% discount, which they have many of (see the deals sticky)

MadMardegan

cambo_gueno wrote: »

I have the New Balance MT110 and they are fantastic, especially if you are looking for a minimal shoe. Plenty of grip, wide toe box, quick draining. They run a little bit big, I normally take a size 9 but I got these in a 9 1/2

I got mine on www.sweatshop.co.uk for 40 GBP with a 20% discount, which they have many of (see the deals sticky)

Thanks for the reply

Anyone else?

Krusty_Clown

A great way to get into trail/mountain running would be to consider doing one of the IMRA races. They also have an article for beginners, which briefly discussed shoes, but the main point is that it kind of depends on the type of terrain you'll be running. I'm fond of the Inov-8 brand of shoes, and found the Mudroc to be a great all-rounder starter shoe.

spurscormac

I have a pair of Solomon Speed Cross that I used for a couple of Connemara Challenge races. Found them very comfortable & great to drain any water.
On the downside though, the sole does wear pretty quickly, and so now they're a general purpose around the garden, allsorts shoe for me.
Re the ones you linked above, I would be wary of them in Irish conditions as the sole looks to have not a lot more grip than regular runners.

I've signed up to the Warriors run next month and am considering getting new shoes for it, but unsure which would be best, as its a mix of road & trail.
Tending towards the Inov8s, as I've been using their road shoes since last December & find them great, just unsure of x-talon vs roclite vs mudroc.

MadMardegan

spurscormac wrote: »

I have a pair of Solomon Speed Cross that I used for a couple of Connemara Challenge races. Found them very comfortable & great to drain any water.
On the downside though, the sole does wear pretty quickly, and so now they're a general purpose around the garden, allsorts shoe for me.
Re the ones you linked above, I would be wary of them in Irish conditions as the sole looks to have not a lot more grip than regular runners.

I've signed up to the Warriors run next month and am considering getting new shoes for it, but unsure which would be best, as its a mix of road & trail.
Tending towards the Inov8s, as I've been using their road shoes since last December & find them great, just unsure of x-talon vs roclite vs mudroc.

Thanks for the advice man.

I thought the grip seemed a little impractical alright. Was looking at the x-talons 212 not long ago, fantastic looking shoe.

I know such a shoe doesn't exist but I'm looking for something that's good on a trail/hill/rocks and gravel/wet grass on hills and boggy land.

Kurt Godel

MadMardegan wrote: »

Thanks for the advice man.

I thought the grip seemed a little impractical alright. Was looking at the x-talons 212 not long ago, fantastic looking shoe.

I know such a shoe doesn't exist but I'm looking for something that's good on a trail/hill/rocks and gravel/wet grass on hills and boggy land.

Best all-rounder shoe you can buy is the Inov8 315 rocklite. They'll have the benefit of suiting most terrain, and are incredibly durable. It's about the most popular beginner hill shoe around.

Peterx

The roclite 315 is a great shoe with the required hard wearing sole- however for the easier imra races with their preponderence of forestry road I think a shoe with slightly more cushioning such as the Columbia Ravenous is a good choice.

The ravenous shoe lasts a lot longer then the sole in the Salomon Speed cross/X Talon. If the Salomon speed cross had a long lasting sole it would be possibly the best shoe on the planet (ok a lower heel would be better on it) - however the sole wears out much too quickly.

sconhome

MadMardegan wrote: »

I know such a shoe doesn't exist but I'm looking for something that's good on a trail/hill/rocks and gravel/wet grass on hills and boggy land.

Maybe it does! Coming soon

spurscormac

amphkingwest wrote: »

Maybe it does! Coming soon

Sounds interesting - any ideas on an exact arrival date & price for this range?
Have Inov-8 committed to anything yet?

PS: Will be dropping in soon to get that Olympic top from you.

sconhome

Its available in the Autumn / Winter range for 2012. Possibly as early as mid August, but no firm promises on that just yet, set your phone reminders for September to be safe.

Should be around the €120 mark, Inov-8 seem to set most of their shoes out around that benchmark.

My loyal Inov-8 customers would be looked after of course!

spurscormac

amphkingwest wrote: »

Its available in the Autumn / Winter range for 2012. Possibly as early as mid August, but no firm promises on that just yet, set your phone reminders for September to be safe.

Should be around the €120 mark, Inov-8 seem to set most of their shoes out around that benchmark.

My loyal Inov-8 customers would be looked after of course!

Thanks for the speedy reply - looks like there's little chance of them being released in time to get a couple of sessions in ahead of the Warrior run in Sligo on the 26th. Might have to give my Salomon's one last outing before permanent gardening leave.

jeawan

MadMardegan wrote: »

Thanks for the advice man.

I thought the grip seemed a little impractical alright. Was looking at the x-talons 212 not long ago, fantastic looking shoe.

I know such a shoe doesn't exist but I'm looking for something that's good on a trail/hill/rocks and gravel/wet grass on hills and boggy land.

You can not go wrong with the x-talons i wear them and love them run the sugarloaf and allot other area's around there. First race i ran in them was glendalough and found the grip on them brilliant vs my old Mizuno trail runners .

Also as amphkingwest said the New Trailroc shoes got a decent review from Paul Tierney on his blog http://overtrailsandhills.blogspot.ie/

sconhome

spurscormac wrote: »

Sounds interesting - any ideas on an exact arrival date & price for this range?
Have Inov-8 committed to anything yet?

PS: Will be dropping in soon to get that Olympic top from you.

Available from 10th August .

ThisRegard

amphkingwest wrote: »

Available from 10th August .

Have you had a look at them yet ? I currently wear Roclites 295 which can be a bit too aggressively gripped for hard packed trails and fire roads and these or the Terrafly look like they might fit the bill.

I'm wondering how cushioned they are though compared to the Roclite, the Roclite have the 3 arrow transition though whereas the others are 2 ? For example running down a steep hard packed trail in the roclite I've slapped the ball of my foot quite hard on say a loose stone and you certainly feel it.

sconhome

ThisRegard wrote: »

Have you had a look at them yet ? I currently wear Roclites 295 which can be a bit too aggressively gripped for hard packed trails and fire roads and these or the Terrafly look like they might fit the bill.

I'm wondering how cushioned they are though compared to the Roclite, the Roclite have the 3 arrow transition though whereas the others are 2 ? For example running down a steep hard packed trail in the roclite I've slapped the ball of my foot quite hard on say a loose stone and you certainly feel it.

I've seen them, not run in them as they were sample shoes a good while back. Hope to have them in this weekend.

Forefoot thickness is the same as the Roclite 295, its the heel height which is slightly lower, so not as much cushioning in the heel but this should be ok, cause you've less heel impact etc.

The sole lugs are definitely not as deep as the Roclite sole and is more suited for the harder surfaces and gravelly trails. I find the Roclite is brilliant in the woods & mud, not so comfy on the fireroads.

ThisRegard

Yip, my thoughts exactly, great for woods, muds, bog etc but not ideal for fireroads but I suffer them until something I can find something more suitable.

I've worn Salmon XT Wings for such courses which I find after a few K they just tear the arch of my foot off, the arch is too high for a flat foot like me and in comparison the roclites don't even give me a warm spot, never mind hotspots on my foot.

spurscormac

Any sign of those Trailroc's in Oranmore yet ?

sconhome

Not yet

Last update is they have been picked in the UK and ready for shipping. You'll be first to know when they've landed.

spurscormac

amphkingwest wrote: »

Not yet

Last update is they have been picked in the UK and ready for shipping. You'll be first to know when they've landed.

Cheers - will be cutting it tight ahead of the Warrior's run next weekend.

woody1

are there any trail runners that are good for overpronators..

Head The Wall

It shouldn't really matter because of the ever changing terrain underfoot.

woody1

i get where your coming from, i get awful trouble with hip flexors mainly but some other niggles as well when i run in the ones i have at the moment, thought there might be some with more support but that wouldnt matter if your foot was tilted sideways by the terrain i suppose

spurscormac

So I got the Trailroc 245 from Sean in Amphibian King Oranmore.
Had a look at coillte outdors site to find a nearby route to try it out, decided on Newvillage Woods, out near Oughterrard Soccer Club.

It's a loop on forest tracks through the woods, mix of hard pack, gravel, stones & the overgrown median. The shoes are really comfy, and the grip is excellent. There's probably just the right amount of cushioning while still allowing to feel the terrain through the sole.
Only lost grip once on a steep section where I stepped in pure gravel - don't think any shoes would have held there.

Started to pour rain, and while I was wet through, the shoes didn't seem to soak up the water & definitely didn't feel heavy. The last mile back to the car was on road and the shoes was fine there - could ever so slightly feel the lugs underneath, but there were no issues there.

Seems to me to be the perfect shoe for something like The Warrior's Run, Connemara Adventure Challenge or any other races that combine off & on-road.

Still need to take it out to test it on some proper off-road mountain runs - I just have to find a few good routes near Galway.

MadMardegan

spurscormac wrote: »

So I got the Trailroc 245 from Sean in Amphibian King Oranmore.
Had a look at coillte outdors site to find a nearby route to try it out, decided on Newvillage Woods, out near Oughterrard Soccer Club.

It's a loop on forest tracks through the woods, mix of hard pack, gravel, stones & the overgrown median. The shoes are really comfy, and the grip is excellent. There's probably just the right amount of cushioning while still allowing to feel the terrain through the sole.
Only lost grip once on a steep section where I stepped in pure gravel - don't think any shoes would have held there.

Started to pour rain, and while I was wet through, the shoes didn't seem to soak up the water & definitely didn't feel heavy. The last mile back to the car was on road and the shoes was fine there - could ever so slightly feel the lugs underneath, but there were no issues there.

Seems to me to be the perfect shoe for something like The Warrior's Run, Connemara Adventure Challenge or any other races that combine off & on-road.

Still need to take it out to test it on some proper off-road mountain runs - I just have to find a few good routes near Galway.

Well, has the shoe proven itself on mountain runs? Still haven't bought anything and am pretty impressed with the look of these.

spurscormac

MadMardegan wrote: »

Well, has the shoe proven itself on mountain runs? Still haven't bought anything and am pretty impressed with the look of these.

Afraid I've only got to use it on the rough paths around a sports complex so far on any regular basis. On that front they've stood up well.
Also used them on one cross country race, and they fared pretty well there too, but as it was just around a field it didn't really simulate proper mountain running, though they coped well with the grass, hills & soft ground on the course.

Not sure how much use they'll get over the next couple of months, but if I get a chance to use them on real mountains I'll post about them here.