Trail Runner Help

“Hello all,

I am looking at buying trail runners for a DINO triathelon this summer. I love the last two pairs of Brooks street shoes I have had, but I am looking for something to handle the mud.”

“Check out:
Salomon
http://www.salomonsports.com/us/#
Merrell
http://www.merrell.com/
Montrail
http://www.montrail.com/default.aspx
Vasque
http://www.vasque.com/

Just to name a few”

“i have gone through two pairs of montrail hurricane ridge gtx shoes and have been generally pleased. they are great for running on trails. they are not the best for hiking where you may need to edge, toe-in, or do slabbing... they tend to be a little slippery. overally these are good performing shoes that have served me well and when i wear out my current pair i will replace them with the same shoe. if you are a runner then you know that shoe selection is as unique and personal as your foot and gait.

i have some salomon shoes that i use for kayaking... made to get very wet. i use them around camp on multi-day trips. i swap them out for neoprene booties when i am about to board the kayak. overall i am pleased but these are not the application you are looking for.”

“inov8”

“I second most of what yogi said about the montrails, though with the g-tex they are too hot IMO.

one of my fav pair of higher end trail runners was the Vasque velocity. an amazing shoe. I still have my old pair for kicking around.

I steer towards new balance almost exclusively these days. I like that they come in wides and dont cost too much (I go through 3-4 pair a year). solid and dependable and very good support/cushion for my 193lb frame.”

“ASICS Eagle Trail Gel”

“i looked at that shoe, hoi, when i went shopping for trail runners. i run in asics (gel cumulus... 1999 version... i have closet full of new shoes waiting to run... bought them bulk in 2002) and generally look for shoes with a lot of cushioning as i put a lot of miles on them. i specifically suffer in any shoe what has "motion control". the asics eagle trail gel has their "Impact Guidance System" ("I.G.S.") which is a heel structured to "correct" overpronation. it makes the ride feel clunky to me since my level of pronation is pretty much spot-on and hence the shoe over-corrects. so i gave the shoe a pass, but asics in general are outstanding shoes and i am sure they make a great trail runner.

there are a lot of people out there running in "motion control" shoes that should not be doing so. running mags and articles make pronation sound like a bad thing but of course it is not... it's an _excess_ or not enough pronation are bad. pronation is your gait's natural shock absorption mechanism that lets you "roll with the blow" with each strike of the heel. if you over-correct you wind up taking more impact then you should and the end result is debilitating.

that's not to say "motion control" shoes or shoes with "Impact Guidance System" aren't for you. if you tend to overpronate they might be. for me i struggled for almost a year (about 8 years ago) before i figured this out. now i get a nice shoe with lots of cushioning and let my bodies natural gait do the rest.”

“Thanks for the feedback. I am looking a pair of Salomons.

Having some trouble deciding about Gore-tex.

My event is during the summer, but I could see myself running around in the mud and wanting GT.

Are the GT shoes significantly hotter?
last edited: 5/09/08 3:56:14 PM”

“Bootys at Pet Stor. Get the ones that got vel crows for good suports so yer tows and feengers do not get sore and blitsters.”