Im thinking of getting some trail shoes, as my new local Parkrun is all trail & grass with hills which are now getting muddy & slippery, so I would think it's vital to get shoes to suit. Are there any recommendations for multipurpose shoes which taking in road running as well as trails? Or with these would I lose out on grip to a dedicated trail shoe?
Have seen new balance trail shoes at a reasonable price, but not sure if they are suitable for my gait with moderate pronation, so would need stability shoes..
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davelinks
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Ooh well it depends on the trails. If it's hardcore, hilly, muddy cross-country you'll need a fell shoe with 'claws' (I got some More Mile Cheviot 2s from Amazon for a very reasonable price). But if it's a mixture of light trails and some paths and roads, something like a Brooks Cascadia? Trail shoes don't have any built-in stability features though because of their much heavier soles, so that's one less thing to have to take into account. But either way I wouldn't use any sort of trail shoe purely for road running.
Perfectly timed question as I'm also starting to need trail shoes but they'll need to be hybrid as wherever I run requires road running prior to the off road bits.
I popped into SD this afternoon & they suggested I look to somewhere dedicated to running for them.
I over pronate & she did say you get some more support type trail shoes but in the main they're pretty neutral.
My main running shoes have a lot of support for my (previously dodgy) knee. I invested in some Brooks Puregrit from sportsshoes.com as they looked less 'barefoot' than most of the others. Billy bonus was they had 70% off. I have to say they are really top quality shoes. I only use them on softer ground but I've had no issues with my joints. The additional traction you get is notable and they make me much more sure footed in the mud.
I was told that there is only one manufacturer of support trail shoes, but I can't remember who that was. The theory, as I understand it, is that because your foot does not strike repetitively in exactly the same way on rough surfaces as on roads, then the extra support does not have the same effect, so trail shoes are basically neutral. My wife has Brooks Cascadia which have reasonable grip for off road although they are sold as Hybrid.
As M. Truffe points out, the whole pronation/supination issue becomes moot when you are not running on a smooth surface, as your foot seldom strikes the ground at the same angle twice.
More Mile Cheviot 2s are a great trail shoe at a great price - I have a pair i got for about £20, albeit a little heavy.
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