What shoes?
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Gunne | May 16 2007, 4:54pm | Hi, I'm interested in starting the weekly wednesday IMRA runs. I run on road quite a bit and have a decent pair of road running shoes. What is the best shoe for IMRA events? A full on fell shoe like a Walsh pb or a more hybrid trail shoe that has more support? I want to do a mountain marathon sometime in the future, either a half or a full so appropriate footwear is a must! Where is a good place in dublin to buy mountain running shoes? thanks |
| Rene Borg | May 16 2007, 5:15pm | Hi Harry, It depends on the races really, you could need as much as three different shoes, depending on how specialised you want to be. Otherwise, I'd go for the combo-shoes. Normal Runners: You'll need good sturdy runners like ASICS (maybe some Adidas will do), but anything with "air" in the name will kill you on the trail! These would be sufficient on the races that are almost 90% on track/trail such as the Wicklow Way Trail, Round Mountain, Hellfire Winter, and similar races. You'd want to go for one of the combo shoes once you get into the rougher terrains. Having a pair of normal and a pair of combos, would do you for the Leinster League races. Combo-Shoes: These shoes are either water resistant or have maximal flow-through. They are generally too hard and rigid to run on normal road with, but are sturdy and offer enough grip for trail. These types of shoes would include most ASICS trail running shoes, some North Face, but my primary recommendation would be the Salomon 3Ds (tough goretex shoe) or the lighter combo versions of Inov-8 such as Roc-Lite, F-Lite, Terroc, and especially Runner's World's pick: Mudroc 290. I own the Salomon, and I like it, but its not for everyone's feet. Fell-Running Shoes: Most Walshes would fall into this category. They are very specialised shoes, that would give you the super-grip and special shape you need on the really rough mountains (which you probably wouldn't need if you are doing only Wednesday's in the beginning). Inov-8 produce one of these shoes with their Mudclaw series. I'm buying the 270 this weekend, so I can give you feedback on that one. The Amphibian King (www.amphibianking.com) in Bray do specialised fitting of your footwear and can get home the "rarer" shoes like Inov-8 and Walshes. Great Outdoors have a good selection of Salomon shoes, so that would be a good place to start, so you can see if that type of shoes fits you. www.peteblandspots.co.uk has a great overview of Walshes and Inov-8. For the full low-down on Inov-8 go to: http://www.inov-8.com/Product.html#330. I also recommend Salomon's excellent site: www.salomonrunning.com for information on their shoes. |
| Paul Nolan | May 16 2007, 5:15pm | Harry You needn't go for Walshes for the wednesday nights. While not the shoe de jour, the Asics Canyon/Guts/Tioja has served me well for years. I haven't yet tried the current GEL TORANA model but imagine it continues the great comfort/grip compromise of the older shoes at a cheap(ish) price. I've found the best shoe shop in Dublin to be the internet. |
| Bruce Shenker | May 16 2007, 5:45pm | I agree with Paul on the Asics Canyon, they were perfect for Wednesdays and were fine for all but the most rugged terrain that we would run. Hoever, the Canyon is no longer available and I have not been as happy with its successors whatever they are called. A good shoe to consider is the Brooks Cascadia if you can stand the bright orange color. You can get them dirty quick before you blind everyone on a sunny evening. |
| Ruaraidh Stenson | May 17 2007, 2:01am | Cascadia good for fast runs but for more support and great grip I recommend the Montrail Continental Divide. Dont bother with Goretex for shoes either. |
| Paul Smyth | May 17 2007, 9:38am | Hi Harry I've used VJ's (orienteering shoes) Walsh PB's and Brooks Cascadia. VJ's are good but I stopped using them because I found that there just wasn't enough cushioning for my feet and also they are built on quite a narrow last and that seems to contribute to the instability of my feet. These are just personal niggles due to my on-going ankle injuries. They are a fine shoe, very rugged with good support. Walshes are excellent, but again built on a narrow last (I have two almost perfect pairs for sale ?40.00 each, size 8 (slightly too small for me) if anyone wants a pair!) which gives a snug fit with good support. Cushioning is again minimal. In recent years I've used the Brooks Cascadia. The original yellow model has been replaced this year with a new version which is a sort of gunmetal colour (also available in yellow, although Great OD don't seem to be stocking that colour). The original model was perfect for the mechanics of my feet and helped clear up a lot of my stability problems. There were a few othr issues with them though. Grip was not great on wet and slippery surfaces. This has been improved on the new model. Wear was also a problem on the sides and top of the shoe, and I went through three pairs that wore in exactly the same place. Mind you I was using them for orienteering as well. The new model has a kind of plastic coating on high wear areas and look like they should last better, although if you are only using them for hill running, wear and tear should be lighter anyway. I've only used them a few times so far but I feel that they give less support than the older model, principally because the main material the new shoe is made from seems to be more flexible and a bit softer than the old one. A lot of US made trail shoes are (IMHO) unsuitable for hill-running in the UK as they are often really only designed for groomed US trails. This was probably the reason the original Cascadias wore so badly. I don't really agree with Rene about needing three different pairs. I'm an Ok hill runner, reasonably good orienteer and I've done various mountain marathons in Ireland and one good all-round shoe works perfectly for all these disciplines. It's true that this type of footwear is less suitable for road running but thankfully lengthy road streches are generally rare in these events. I also agree with Ruaraidh, goretex running shoes are a waste of money for hill-running. Your feet will get wet, it's far more important to have shoes that drain and dry quickly and that still grip your feet when wet inside. There is nothing worse than having your feet sliding round inside your shoes on a steep descent! |
| Rene Borg | May 17 2007, 9:46am | Hi Harry, Just to make sure you didn't get my post wrong. I don't believe everyone needs three pairs (most will have the normal runners anyway, so we are actually only talking 2 pairs). If you want to run some really rough mountain races at some stage (Carrauntoohil etc.) or any race were you need extreme grip (because of the weather for instance), you should go for one of the specialised shoes mentioned, or buy it later when you want to do those races. But for the Wednesday races you'll mostly be fine with the "combo-shoes" like most of the other brands mentioned here today. As for gore-tex or not to gore-tex, its really a religious stance (as in completely up to you personally). I've run through metre deep snow in Canada and drenching rain and had completely dry feet in the Salomon's, and I like it. You can also supplement with running gaiters (North Face make a model). Generally, though, the flowthrough is probably better as many races are not that wet, and the gore-tex shoes are warmer than the flowthroughs. I did run the Wicklow Way Trail in the drenching heat with those and didn't feel any heat discomfort, so I'd go try out as many pairs as you can if I were you. A word of warning on the Salomon's though: They feature a reinforced which is great for protectin but can cause your nails to be hit badly when running down as they are narrow (I've lost two nails on that account). On the plus side the Kevlar laces are the best system out there for shoe-lacing. |
| Harry Gunne | May 17 2007, 10:56am | Wow thanks for all the useful replies! I'll go to a few shops and try on different trail shoes rather than full on fell shoes. Thankyou!! |
| Eugene Coppinger | May 17 2007, 10:52pm | I have tried a few different types of shoes and nothing has come close to the adidas swoop. They are ideal for Wednesday races. I've also worn them for hours in the snow in the Pyrenees. I would never wear Salomens again. The toe box is far too hard and madness for downhill running. However, I know so many people who swear by them. |
