Hi everyone, i'm new here. Recently got back into off road running, I run 10 mile plus on fell and trail mainly. I currently run in a pair of very worn flyroc's and love how comfy they are but tread has worn to where I'm losing traction now ????. Im attempting the Bob Graham next summer and I'm looking for a good pair of light shoes that will be good for that plus the 20 mile plus all off road events I have planned as part of my training. I live in West Yorkshire and mainly run in the Yorkshire dales and moors. Otley Chevin is my closest training ground as its on my doorstep ????. The shoe I'm looking at is the roclite 243 and the x talon 212. I won't necessarily train in it as I can't afford to wear out my "race shoe". ill probably get another pair of flyroc's for training in as I've seen them for £50. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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I love my innov8 shoes - I have the trailroc 226 women's! I don't though about the others you mentioned, but it looks like the trailroc's are lighter and have less support. The talon looks more similar to mine. I wear mine all the time as well as the occasional half-marathons. I run 2-3 x a week and have next to no signs of wear on them (I've had them 10 months). I'd be interested to hear what you think of the others as well.
The first thing you would look for with a Bob Graham attempt, is a shoe that is thoroughly tried tested and trusted. Your own experience ought to override any advice that we could give.
What I will say is that your feet get battered in Lake District Ultras. After the Lakeland 100, my feet were in such a bad way that I had to be helped to the car. Perhaps one of the more cushioned INOV8s such as the Roclite would be the answer if you are an INOV8 man.
I will second what Ben has said. I would also like to point out that with 40+ years running and fell walking experience in the lakes what a serious undertaking the BGR is and should not be taken on lightly. Shoe choice for such an attempt should be a very personal choice and you will probably need at least 3 pairs anyway. It is quite common for runners to change in to road shoes for the run in to keswick on a clockwise round. I would advise you to get at least half your training done and do some lakes fell races - shoe choice will be a whole lot easier with some experience of what the fells may throw at you. Then recce all of the legs individually (or help out on another attempt) before making a final decision.
BTW some of the tougher roclites would be ok but flyrocs will not last 5 minutes amongst scafell scree and boulders. I know that to my own cost!
The BG is arguably the toughest endurance challenge in the UK, so I will tell you a common factor in the people I know who have finished it.
Local knowledge.
Some of them are super athletes, and some of them have barely got into ultra distance, but they all know the territory!
It is very true.
The dropout rate in a 100 mile race is typically between 30% and 60% , despite the entry criteria.
I have done six now, and the people who finish are generally the people who want it the most.
I trained for the BGR in xtalon 212 and found them pretty good. They are still my go to inov-8 for all offroad running.
Whatever you choose i think you will need to do the training in them on the route and poss get another pair as well as they will wear down.
Good luck!
They're ok but the stud isn't massive to start with its a light racer really. I have a pair for racing and use and old pair for trail running.
What about going for the mudclaw as its got the largest stud, so even when worn it will still out perform most others. But then it will wear really quickly as its softer. You certainly will like the extra grip on the fells.
hope that helps
X-talon 212 or Mudclaw 265 . You wont wear them down very fast by training in them if you use them on trails.
The x-talon and mudclaw are the same rubber compound on the sole and so will wear down at the same rate. The mudclaw studs are about twice the size though.
Personally, I prefer the mudclaw 300 for long days on the fells as the grip is second to none and they are slightly more cushioned/supportive than the 265s.X-talon 212 is my favourite short fell/trail/xc race shoe. However, I wouldn't recommend roclites for long, steep descents in the lakes - not enough grip and the soles do get clogged up if very muddy. I do wear the 295s for training on trails and smaller hills though.....
Wooj get yourself along to Complete runner on road out to Ilkley I'm sure you will know it. They stock loads of trail/fell shoes and have 40 years experience of all types of running. They used to sort my old man out back in the 80's !!
i was in there last week keggi, the mrs was getting a new pair of trail shoes. I had a brief look at the talon 212 while I was there and it looked like the flimsiest thing I'd ever seen! I'll take a closer look at the mudclaw too now. Thanks for all your help everyone ????