I have been wanting to try Brooks trainers for a while now and seeing as my old old trail shoes gave me a sore heel I thought I'd get a new pair (good excuse eh?) So I ordered a pair of Asics trabuco trail (I run in asics road trainers) and these Brooks Cascadia 16 --- These felt the best by miles so I kept them. I got them from runners need in the sale plus a discount from my women's running subscription 👍
I tested them earlier this week on a frosty run - so still on road- not that you'd recognise it as road- as other farmers (who don't scrape the road like we do) have been muck hauling and left it very cloddy! These felt very comfy straight away and didn't feel wrong on road either. I'll try and test on trail tomorrow as I get to go out in daylight on weekends! I ordered half a size above my size and that was a good fit....I wore my injinji toe socks to make sure there was no toe pain and returned with no suspicious rubbed areas so I'm very happy with them. Only left wondering why the tab on the heel pull is velcroed but only a bit..... is there a reason I don't know about??? Here you are sparky66 my review!
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Cowladyrunning
Marathon
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Good point! Exciting and slightly scary times! Did my long run this morning. I’m not sure what I’ll put on my feet yet. I’ve got a new pair of trail shoes (Saucony peregrines) which are lovely but one heel is a getting blistered over the longer distances. Not sure if it’s a case of just wearing them more and they’ll soften up. The grip is brilliant and they’re comfy everywhere else. Just the right heel is a problem!! The race information says road shoes are fine. I’m adding that to the list of things to think about before event day comes around!
Yes they did say that AND the trails in the Forest are really good paths as in child bike / pushchair friendly so I would say normal trainers fine too. That's frustrating that one heel is uncomfortable! Have you tried an anti blister sock like runderwears ones? They're quite bulky but have layers that work great for no blisters!
Thanks for the tip! I’ve got some new fancy socks for Christmas (danish endurance) which have always been in the washing basket for trail days. I need to plan better!!
Good to know that my road shoes should work though.
I'm on my second pair of Cascadia 16s and love them for proper trails Cowladyrunning . I find Cascadias last really well - my 15s did over 1000k! I retired my first pair of 16s, which got me through the trail marathon, at 700+k and now use them as walking shoes.
Hope you have lots of fun with yours!
(PS - I've never used the velcro tab thingy. Always assumed it's so you can fasten the shoes to stuff, maybe a backpack, or washing line?!)
Ah thank you for the possible answer to the velcro 🤣 it's the little things! Very good to know they last so well. Now I know I've made a good investment.... trouble is now I want to try the rest.......
They are so snazzy! I wear Brooks and I’m loathed to try any others. I’m actually on the hunt for new trail runners so I’ll be looking into Runners need. I’m currently looking on the Start Fitness site ( Based in Newcastle upon Tyne). They have some good offers there too.
They look lovely Cowladyrunning . I might need to try these out to replace my Saucony peregrines which I’ve not been entirely happy with. I think I need to investigate. 🤔
Strangely enough I’ve just bought a pair of Cascadia 16 myself: my first ever pair of trail shoes but my road shoes have always been Brooks, just because my first shoes were Brooks Ghost after gait analysis so I know their sizing works for me. I know if it’s Brooks, cushioned and neutral and I’ve had Ghost, Revel and Glycerin.
Having said that I found the Cascadia felt better a half size bigger than my road shoes so glad I went in to the physical shop. The assistant actually described them as ‘road to trail’ shoes suitable for routes with a bit of each. Similarly the blurb said they could be worn to and from races without having to change. So they ticked my shoe shopping boxes - Brooks for the fit, cushioned and neutral.
They’ll get tested on Saturday when we’re touring to Stonehaven parkrun, as my local parkrun at West Links is unequivocally a road shoes event and my training runs tend to be on pavement or cycle path. But I’ve entered the Dramathon in October so need to get some practice in trails.
I hope you enjoy them! Good to hear the brand has been good previously for you too. Enjoy the test run and I'm going to look up that Dramathon as have not heard of that!.....
it’s dram as in whisky. The run is on the Speyside way and the goody bag contains miniatures from each distillery you pass according to the distance you choose. It’s not an accurately measured route: so-called marathon (Full Dram) and half marathon (Half Dram) are a few hundred metres short and the Wee Dram (the one I’m doing) is apparently nearer 11k than the stated 10, but then nobody’s going to break any official records on that terrain anyway! There’s also the We Dram with one e, which you might guess is a relay splitting the marathon route into four sections.
It’s on a waiting list now, the Full Dram sold out yesterday and the other distances had been full for some time. Twice I had found out about it after it was full but this time I knew it was opening on 2 January and set an alarm! I’ve been to over 50 countries but Strathspey, two and a bit hours up the road from here, remains my favourite place in the whole world so I’m really looking forward to it.
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New shoes and a recovery run
New shoes!! 
Short run testing Hoka Challenger atr 5 trail shoes:
Any excuse for new shoes! 
