What's your favourite running shoe br... - Fun Beyond 10K & ...
What's your favourite running shoe brand? 👟🦶 Let's have a heated debate 😁
I'm going for my Vivobarefoots, although it's sort of a love-hate relationship I basically think they're awesome!
Mr Sqkr has a few pairs of those, he has size 13 feet so they make him look like a hobbit 🤣
Ooh no!!! Do you mean Vibram Five Fingers?? Not those 🤣🤣🤣
I would love to see photos of those giant hobbit feet! Or maybe I wouldn't?
Ohhh haha yes, that's what I meant! I laugh at him every time he wears them. I don't mean to, he's going to get a complex, but they are hilarious. He swears they are good for uneven grip on the hills though!
They are probably great, and I really like my Injinji socks, but I can't get past the appearance of those Vibrams! 🙄
Mine are ready to be retired (trails and the lugs have worn off in a few places) but boy do I love them (with elastic locking laces in) Can't bear to throw them away. Bought them super cheap, and walking boots too from a shop I would no longer be seen dead in for ethical reasons. Bit of an irony!
I’m going for Brooks, but I haven’t bought any other brand so it’s only based on comparisons in the shop. I came close to Saucony though in my last purchase. 👟👟
Got to be Altra for my big wide plates of meat! 😁
I keep looking at those...
Voted brooks. I have a pair of Saucony but not tried them enough to vote for them yet.
Reebok
I voted for 'other', because although I still love my trusty Brooks I have really come round to the couple of pairs of Ons I bought... I know I know, they're very much the Apple of the running shoe world. And no one wants to get me started on what I think of Apple as a brand, so the irony's not lost on me. But they've served me well, are more hard-wearing than I anticipated, and are really very comfortable without seeming to aggravate or over-correct my flat feet. And, although it shouldn't matter, I am pleased by their colour schemes. There's a distinct and refreshing lack of unicorn pink in the women's sizes, and the men are also able to wear shades of salmon if they so choose. I'll still only ever buy them on the off-season sale though, no way am I paying full price!
I like Saucony because i have wide feet or maybe they have just spread over the years carrying me around. The Saucony were definitely the most comfortable for me when i did the gait analysis at the fabulous Warwick Sports Shop. I will buy another pair later this year when these have had there time in the sun (and wind and rain, not to mention the mud)
Put myself in the hands of Up&Running locally, Brooks Ravena and trails Saucony Everun
Good fit and felt good.
When ready I am going up market.🤔
Decided I would prefer to spend on this than waste on other stuff.
👊💥🏃♀️🌟👏👏
I bought a pair of Nike Downshifter 8 shoes a few months after finishing C25k. Despite them having covered almost 800km they still feel good. I know I need to replace them soon.....
Love the name Mike and you can certainly downshift 8 gears and more.✅
👊💥🏃♂️🌟👏👏☄️☄️
Haha, very good, Robert. I did buy a very pretty pair of Karrimor Tempo Run shoes in the Black Friday sales which feel comfortable, but I haven't tried them for running yet.....
Still looking for a favourite! Blisters, blood blisters and black toe nails are all I've found so far. Nike seemed great til I got to 13k, Brooks hated me from the outset and the Sauconys are still under assessment! At the moment I have NO bloodblisters, relatively minor blisters and just one black toe nail so I'm not giving up on the Sauconys yet ... but they haven't earned 'favourite brand' status 😀
I have worn my Injinji toe socks and my ASICs for over a year now - not one blister, not one black toe nail. I used to blister all the time just walk g down town and back before I even started running ( due to my bunions and crossed over toe ) but I tried several pairs of toes socks and it was a revelation. Karrimor aren’t bad, but Injinji are worth the extra money. And have bought 2 more pairs of Asics as back up as they suit my feet- fallen arches, bunions and all. 2 pairs of Gel cumulus and one GT-1000.
I keep thinking I should try the ininji toe socks. To be fair I think I've sorted the bloodblisters, the blisters are finally improving (I moved to Saucony with Brooks blisters so the skin was already messed up, but is improving), not sure about the black toe nails. It was the way I was wearing my socks that was causing the bloodblisters, so maybe the black nails too. I'm getting there slowly but it may be time to try ininji - I'm always up for a bit of shopping 😂
I like my Brooks but I wish I could find something that keeps my feet dry!
Loved my Brooks Green Silence but not durable (big toe made holes in the top very quickly), love my Vivobarefoot trails (see other reply) loved my Adizero XT (but also holes in the top), loved NB Minimus trails (especially the bright green-ness - but awful durability in the sides so they lost support quickly and gathered peat between the layers, ugh), loving my current Merrell Bare Access Arc 4's (especially as they cost me nowt as I used a voucher earned for doing a survey)
Loathed and detested the Salomons I was fitted with once I got outside with them, knees knocked together, struggled to stay upright, shin splints, disaster.
I am also given to running in Vivobarefoot walking boots and Keen Venice H2 sandals on occasion.
Not really getting on with the Brooks Cascadia so many love - soles a bit stiff for my taste and they've rubbed my heels through too often now.
Incidentally, recently learned how particularly welcome running gear including footwear is for refugee charities - so planning to donate my Cascadias as they are still in good nick.
Ooh, sandals! I've been thinking about trying running sandals cos I generally hate socks!
Which trail Vivobarefoot shoes do you have?
I think they are probably Primus - bought them a long while back.
I love my Keens - in fact I had a lot of problems walking last Autumn when it was time to transition out of them into winter boots.
I bought some Keen walking boots recently in the sale on the assumption that the footbed would suit me as well but not sure I am liking them as well as the Vivobarefoot walking boots.
My last 2 pair have been a New balance hybrid all terrain shoe. It has a nice wide toe box to accommodate my bunion and they have served me very well. It is time for a new pair though so I'm going to head to the city soon to get some trail specific shoes this time. I'm interested in trying the Altra's - they're supposed to have a wider toe box as well.
I think On running shoes ought to have been on your list, Abi.
You're probably right! I didn't think of them when I was setting this up, but I have noticed that On are popular these days. It's tricky because they only allow up to 8 options in a poll, but anyway it is only a bit of fun 😊
Brands don't matter, Just as long as they are BRIGHT!
Seriously, I'm pleased with both my old Brooks (11mm lift) and my Saucony (4mm lift). The key for me right now is reducing the heel-lift, as I want to eventually run barefoot.
I have been running with Saucony since I restarted cause I knew them from when I use to run when I was a teenager. I didn't get any injury so I have never changed, although I am curious about all the other options we have now 
I buy shoes online, so I do not get to choose the model much, but mainly the characteristics drop and so on).
I haven't that much experience yet but so far only Asics feel comfy in the shop and on the road / trail
I’ve had Brooks since I started running but last weekend I went to Run And Become in London to buy some new shoes. They had me running up and down the street outside the shop and after trying out half a dozen pairs I came home with a pair of Mizuno Wave Paradox. I’ve only been out once so far but they were comfortable straight out of the box, unlike the Brooks which gave me blisters for the first few weeks before settling down.
Love my ons! So light and suit my narrow feet. Need to save up for a new pair though.
Nike Lunarglide 8 for me.
First pair: pink and yellow, no tread left, retired to cycling and gardening use
Second pair: pink and yellow, in use, about 500 miles under their belt so far, some tread left
Third pair: purple (omg, can i cope with the change?), in the cupboard waiting
Got to love a pair of shoes called Lunarglide, how can you not run effortlessly in them? Never had a blister, blood blister or black toe nail and wear the same size as my shoe size. Love them to bits.
Purple... probably dangerously fast 😊😊😊
It is a fab name!
Adidas.... two pairs of road runners and two pairs off road....they suit me perfectly and have never let me down Linked with my More Mile socks... we make a good team
New Balance 880's - in hot pink! they are super comfy and brilliant for a 5k or a 10k
Also love my ultraboosts though they have not been used as much. I want to try brooks cos of all the rave reviews but the ghost's I tried on did not do it for me??? One to ponder when i next need trainers
Brooks Ghost for roads and Saicony Peregrines for trails. Both very comfortable.
I got very lucky with my Brooks Launch 4s. I chose them when my ancient Nikes literally disintegrated when I started C25K. Half way in to C25K I had a gait analysis and the chap in the shop said stick with what you have, whoever sold you those chose you the right shoe. I got them off Amazon! They take a bit of breaking in and I have to wear the right socks but they fit like a glove after a few miles. So I’m now on my second pair and I could do with another for backup now tbh. They are getting a bit rare so I may have to try out the Launch 6s, but these have a really good write-up in Runners World. It would be nice to have a choice of less girly colours for once though.
Word, those girly colours are so annoying!
Interesting that so many people say Brooks need wearing in, I have never tried Brooks but all the shoes I've bought have been good to go straight out of the box. Not to say that Brooks are bad, I just wonder why the difference?!
Aren’t they just! My first pair were bright pink/purple and the second are an insipid pale blue with shiny pink arrows 🤢 They looked filthy in no time. Just as well they’re great shoes.
That’s interesting about the breaking in. I’ve no experience other anything other than my ancient Nikes. The lips at the back of my Brooks are quite hard and it gave me blisters on my first pair and the second threatened to do the same, so I alternated between the two for a bit. Once both pairs were broken in though they fitted like a glove.
I still love my Brooks, on my second pair of Vapor 4 for road running. They were perfect from the start, unlike above I didn't need any breaking in phase or transitioning into the new pair.
My Saucony Peregrine 7s were fab... until I realised they were half a size too small. (My fault, I didn't realise Saucony were sized smaller) my new Peregrine 8s are OK... but I can't help thinking there might be a better trail shoe for me. They'll do for now though 😁👌
I think we will all likely vote for the ones we have now or rely on, and not necessarily based on experience of many different brands...but here goes.
Asics - Big toe box (which I need because of my webbed feet) indestructable well ventilated uppers and hardwearing soles (I walked 500km on trails/mountains across Spain in my first "dead to running" pair (>800kms run) and still no appreciable sole wear despite foam/technicals likely being shot due to the 800km rule of thumb.) The V-notch heel also suits my heel shape well. Never had a single blister in a few thousand kms. First pair were Gel Pulse 8, current pair Gel Nimbus 20, need a new pair in next 100km or so...Also have the cheapest Asics (Exhalt) with DIY ice studs screwed in for when you really must go for a run in the winter in a Finland! And did I say cheap? They have a good range from cheap to really not so cheap...but I always tend buy last year's model at 50% off 
...irrespective of the colours available (except beige that is).
It might be good to put up a poll on brands that have NOT ticked all the boxes and stayed in the cupboard? My vote there would be my Salomon SpeedCross trail shoes, very narrow, too small toe box, high heel cup that caused rubbing/bleeding a couple of times. I might "break them in eventually" but they never felt great straight out of the box (which I think is the best test to apply).
For me "Comfortable and roomy?." -> " Do they do the job?" -> "Good value (cheap in sales)?" -> " Bright pink, hot lime or irridescent chocolate? - Don't care!" (not beige tho'...)
