CBRC

Does anyone have any trail shoes to recommend?

Sue and I were talking a little about trail shoes this morning. She is planning on running the HAT 50K next year. After my experience with a 5 miler that was on trails and had stream crossings, I know that trail shoes can make a world of difference (over using shoes made for the road).

Sue's 50K:
http://www.hatrun.com/

My 5 Miler:
http://lrrclub.org/mrs_smith

Done some homework when I was in the market for a trail shoe since I really like the woods better than roads. Here is some feedback...hope it helps:

1) I run roads in the Brooks Beast. Unfortunately, Brooks has no equivalent for trails to the Beast. Actually, the whole concept of "motion control" shoe goes out the door when you hit the trails, as you want flex in the foot to accomodate uneven terrain.

2) Sue: you're in luck if you love the Brooks Adrenaline. They have the Adrenaline ASR 5 Trail, which is water "repellent" shoe.
http://www.brooksrunning.com/prod.php?p ... B&k=123210

3)Here is real deciding factor that gets debated wrt trail shoes:

Go gore-tex or not? That depends on if you anticipate fully submerging your feet:

A lot of manufacturers are stepping away from Gore-Tex as the shoe will trap water inside if fully submerged. Instead many are going to a ported design to get the H2O out quickly and promote rapid drying.

I run field edges and power lines early mornings, so the dew is my enemy not crossing streams. In this case, a Gore-Tex shoe is the ticket for keeping feet dry and cold toes away.

Brooks told me that both of their trail models : the Cascadia and Adrealine ASR5 will not keep feet dry running wet fields for distance.

So I looked for an alternate:

I found a nice Asics Trail shoe that has Gore-Tex.
Called the Gel Trabuco 11 Waterproof.
Looks like they make it in Women's too:
http://www.holabirdsports.com/m/Running ... 043305.htm


The Salomon ones are supposed to be top notch too.
http://www.salomonsports.com/us/#/footw ... il-running

Hope this helps.

I wore my racing flats for the trail race because I knew I would be submerging my feet in water (it was almost waist deep). If I had worn regular training shoes, they would have been way to heavy. I agree with you about considering how wet your feet will be getting.
Have you ever considered anything in the Teva line? I'm a Brooks/Asics line, but I still get emails from Teva and wonder how they are.

You might find this Web site helpful for trail shoes & gear: http://www.backcountry.com/store/cat/6/Trail-Run.html

I'm a fan of Vasque for hiking boots and would guess their trail running shoes are just as good. But all of the brands on the site are reputable.

Also consider trail gaiters to help keep feet dry.

I have been shopping, well searching the web for Trail Shoes...I am going to buy a pair. I'm ready to spend some $$, I need to get them soon so I can log some long runs in them to see how they do. Here is my dilema...I can't decide!!! I feel my biggest concern is I want good traction on the possibility (or probability) that I'll run through a fair amount of mud. I don't want a shoe that's super heavy. Most of the trail shoes are a few ounces heavier than my road shoes. I'd really like to hear from anyone if there is a significant or notable difference with the added weight of trail shoes. So far I really am liking the Teva Hydron, Asic Trail Attack, and Vasque Velocity. The Asics Trail shoe is only 9.7oz. where the Vasque is 12.4oz!wow! I liked the features and descriptions of these trail shoes. I will be buying my trail shoes very soon because I need to try them out & my husband is sick of hearing me go back and forth about all the little things pertaining to trail running shoes. Any feedback is appreciated, Thanks.

I'm no use for serious feedback here, but if you're gonna drag around half a pound of mud, maybe the few ounces won't matter

If you can get to an REI store, their staff is usually very helpful. They'd also let you run around the store in the shoes and outside (within reason). You could call ahead to make sure they have the shoes you're interested in & sizes. Chances are they'd show you some others you hadn't thought of. I think trying them on yourself, while talking to someone who really knows the product, is the best way to decide. If you continue with trail running, you might find that you'll want to have one lighter pair and one sturdier slightly heavier pair to use for different types of trails.

Here's some advice from trail guru Scott Jurek: http://www.scottjurek.com/blog/2007/12/10/my-favorite-shoes/#more-48 Of course he's pushing the shoe he helped design.

The only REI store I know is the one in (PG County) Hollywood -- the neighborhood named Hollywood just inside the Beltway on the inside of the Greenbelt metro, off Rhode Island.

There are 2 in Fairfax, VA. http://www.rei.com/FindStores

There's also an REI in College Park. It's near the IKEA, making a fun combination for a short road trip. Good luck in your quest for shoes.

Amy & I are talking about the same one

http://www.rei.com/stores/27

They're in Hollywood -- heck it sits in Hollywood Plaza -- but they call it "REI - College Park".

So I now have 2 pair of running trail shoes. The first pair I got was Vasque and has a very beefy tread and kind of stiff and not as cushiony as I like. I ran in them a couple of times and feel like it is more trail shoe or a tougher shoe than I need on the trails I'm running. I think in very muddy or slick surfaces they may work extremely well. Trail shoe #2 is the Brooks Cascadia 4. I love-love-love the Cascadia 4. Very comfy, good tread and cushion, and they don't feel any heavier than my road shoes. Just thought I'd share an update.

Congratulations! Scott Jurek would be glad to hear about the Cascadia. I am happy to hear about the Vasque because I love my Vasque hiking boots, which required no breaking in and feel like pillows under my feet. I hope both pairs serve you well. Keep us posted.
Claire