Hello!
As you may know, I recently ran two marathons in eight days. But here's something you probably don't know: I ran both of them in Β£14.99 running shoes from Lidl!!
I picked them up on a whim whilst shopping for cheese. There were only a couple of pairs left, but one pair was my size so I thought I might as well try them on. And they were really comfortable!! After a couple of minutes of deliberation into the trolley they went.
The very next day saw me out in a blizzard testing them on a 28K run. No problems at all, not a hint of a blister. They are roomy in the toe-box, but hug my heels properly, so there's no gaping in that area and they don't rub. The tongues are nicely padded. I wasn't keen on the insoles, but I just swapped them for some from one of my pairs of New Balances and I was good to go.
The only thing I really didn't like was that the heel counters at the back came up too high and irritated my already irritable Achilles tendons. I have had this problem with my trail shoes and ended up making a vertical cut at the back of the shoes to help alleviate the problem - so I did the same with these shoes. But then I was talking Achilles woes with John_W on Strava, and he mentioned that Mo Farah used to cut those tabs completely off his shoes, and for the same reason. That got me thinking... So in the end I took some scissors to my new shoes - after all they were only Β£14.99
And now they're great! The trail shoes have since had the same treatment
So, of course, this can't really be a properly comprehensive review because I've customised the shoes somewhat. But I can tell you that they performed very well through both marathons. I did get a small blister during the Brighton, but I think that was due to some hard skin on my foot, and an ordinary plaster saved me from any further problems in London. The shoes are made by a company called Crivit, and I haven't been able to find any specifications, save to say that the women's ones only go up to size 7 (although it's a generous 7!), and the men's version comes in better colours ('twas ever thus!). I actually think my shoes are on the ugly side, and find their colours (grey and mint green) dreary - but I don't much care because they are so good! They feel to me to be appropriate for neutral arches, and their heel to toe drop is around 12 mm - an all-rounder you might say. I do think they give a slightly hard ride, so maybe are not for those who like a lot of cushioning - but then again I did give them quite the test!
Anyway, I'd suggest that at Β£14.99 you can't really go wrong, and if I ever spot some in my size again I will be snapping them up
Crivit website: crivitpro.com/eu-en/