Trail or road shoe on mixed terrain?

I currently only have a couple of pairs of road shoes but I've got a run coming up that will be about 65% trail (and as it's up north probably boggy and wet!) and 35% road and I'm wondering whether I should wear trail or road shoes for it.  My local park run is also probably a bit over 50% trail and I was wondering if it was worth investing in some trail shoes? 

I'm not sure if you're doing a mixture of terrain what sort of shoe it's best to run in and although I'll only be doing occasional trail stuff this year I am hoping to do more of it next year so am wondering if it's worth getting a pair now for this particular run?

Any advice would be much appreciated image

Comments

  • Can't give you a good answer but can share my experience.

    My trail shoes have more grip on mud, sufficiently so that I can run confidently where in ordinary shoes I'd be going very gently, but they give a slightly hard ride on roads. I've only regretted wearing trail shoes where my navigation skills have failed and I've chosen roads instead of planned trails.

    What do other people at your parkrun do?

    What are your particular fears about wearing trail shoes on roads?

  • Have you looked at things like the Salomon CrossMax designed from home to trail supposedly, image

    30% off on Salomons own website. http://www.salomon.com/uk/product/xr-crossmax-2.html

  • MACbMACb ✭✭✭

    use a hybrid shoe?

  • Thanks for your replies.  Chris, I don't really know to be honest, I wouldn't know the difference by looking at them and at the moment I only go occasionally.  I just didn't know if it was good for the shoe or my feet to run on roads in trainers designed for off road?

    I'll check those out, thanks Booktrunk image

    Never heard of those MACb, I will look into it image

  • What sort of runner are you TST, when faced with these boggy/wet trails what will you do??

    A) tip toe around them and carry on

    B) run/splash through it all laughing like a child..

    If your answers A then a basic hybrid should would be ok, answer B and you`l require more specialist footware... BUT, shoes that offer great grip/stability over muddy terrain will never be that comfy on the road....

  • asking the same question. I run in nike free 4.0 and love them on road but they give no grip in mud and clog up really badly in mud. have just bought a pair of NB WT 1010 to see what they feel like. I do mainly run on country roads which at the mo are so muddy and wet and I tend to run a little gingerly incase I slip. I wanted to try a pair of trail shoes not sure how they will go on road but as I am ramping up mileage I will be making it to the pilgrims way - very muddy!! Anyone ever ran in the WT1010's?

     

  • If I was only able to own one pair of shoes, it would be a pair of road shoes. 

    Some road shoes make good trail shoes, but pretty much all trail shoes are cr4p on roads. 

  • I tend to be careful when faced with mud and stuff, mainly as I've had a history of injuries which we've only just found the route cause of and I'd rather go slow and easy than risk going over while I'm still working on putting everything right.  The boggy stuff will only be an occasional run really, when I'm visiting people up north; I live in the east so it's not as wet here!  

    I've ordered a couple of pairs of trail shoes in the sales and will see what they are like when they get here.  Thanks every one image

     

     

  • Loving the assumption that because it is up north it will be wet and boggy image

    Never owned trail shoes so cannot comment. I find that regular shoes are a bugger to clean once they are covered though I guess trail shoes would be better.

  • Been going to Macclesfield a couple of times a year for 17 years and I've never yet been when it hasn't rained at least once when we've been there, even in the summer!!!  Every time I've done this route it's been boggy so as I've got to do more of it this time thought it was time to get some shoes image

  • Running in trail shoes on roads will wear the lugs out quicker, if they're particularly grippy ones. They can slow you down due to effort / traction, a bit like knobbly tyres on a bike. There are some mixed road & trail shoes out there but each aspect has to compromise a bit. I run in Inov8 Trailrocs and they're ok for a bit of road as the lugs aren't really aggressive.

  • I run a mix of road, river/canal paths and muddy trails and find my Adidas supernova riot 5's cope on them all. Mind you I'm only in the midlands so it's not as boggy and wet as up north.image 

  • we are even further north- I have to use flippers most of the time!

  • I have some Brooks Adrenaline ASRs which are hybrid shoes, I find them good on road and trail, and wear them for my local Park run which is 50:50 tarmac and field. They're perhaps not the best if it's very muddy though. My dedicated trail shoes are Adidas Kanadia's which are great in the mud but feel a bit strange when running on tarmac.Oh, and I live in Yorkshire so it's pretty well wet all the time image

  • Ben Davies 15 wrote (see)

    If I was only able to own one pair of shoes, it would be a pair of road shoes. 

    Some road shoes make good trail shoes, but pretty much all trail shoes are cr4p on roads. 

    I have the Saloman XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX (Now thats a long name) they are just as good on the roads as my previous Adidas shoes (Not sure of the name). A little heavier, mind.

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