Finally got the gear on this morning and headed out for a 5k plod round my home route. Haven’t run for about 10 days due to exceptionally busy week at work and a house guest staying with us so am busy with breakfast duty in the mornings but I left them to it this morning and headed out.
Despite it being a hard slog up the hill that kills, I feel so much better for having got out there again so am now a happy bunny again!
Whilst on my route, I started planning for my next 10k, as I’m signed up to do the Killerton trail run in mid September, and I need to do some local routes with mixed terrain in preparation, which of course, will demand NEW SHOOOOOZ! Yes, I’m channelling pinkaardvark here 😆😁😆👢👡👠👞👟😆. Thankfully I’m not headed for ‘peak shoe’ yet as I only have one pair of running shoes (at the moment 😀) - am I deprived or what!!!
So I wanted to ask all the trail shoe gurus out there (you know who you are!) - I am a pronator, so I run in ASICS gel Kayanos with some heavy duty orthotics as well (custom made by my podiatrist). I have read that trail shoes are generally neutral - is that true, and what do you fellow pronators do to maintain stability and avoid injury??
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Fionn42
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I'm far from a guru but bought some new trail shoes recently. They are all neutral. They also tend to have less midsole cushioning and be narrower in the forefoot. The more trail oriented they are the more this applies.
I needed something with deep enough tread to cope with a UK slippery muddy footpath rather than sprinting mountain goat like through the Rocky Mountains.
You can swap your insoles between shoes but in terms of stability it's assumed that you'll be running on eneven ground anyway.
Many thanks for this. The route at Killerton is on some grass, woodland tracks and footpaths so in September is inevitably going to be slippery! Sounds like the key thing will be making sure my orthotics fit inside and don’t lift my foot up too high in the shoe. Think I might have to go to Exeter and find a good running shop to try some different ones out.
Many thanks for the advice 😊
Happy for you. I would hate to be grounded for 10 days 😳 i trail run in Asics Fujirado and i think they were sold as neutral, but maybe they were designated as they are good on roads too, fast and lightweight. Some trail shoes are specifid for different gaits, but have no idea how valid that is.
Ah that’s good to know, thanks Flick. I am likely to use them on mixed road and track/footpath runs too so they sound like a good option. Are they waterproof?
They arent sold as waterproof, but I was literally up to my ankles in liquid mud in February and my feet stayed dry. Some water did penetrate when I hosed the mud off though, so I would say they are probably water resistant. They have a rock plate, have lugs on the soles facing backwards and forwards for up and downhill mud, and are fast on both trail and road. I have a neutral gait so it’s hard to say if they are gait specifc or not. They also have a ratchet lacing system.
Be aware the heel drop is 8mm so if youre used to running in some Brooks shoes for example, it may feel a little strange. Also get them fitted. I take 7/7.5 in ordinary shoes. I bought the Asics online in size 8 and one toenail on my right foot has gone black after a hilly 10k run. I needed a larger size but didnt realise till my feet swelld and I was putting weight on my toes going downhill.
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