Having been running mainly on road for many years I've ventures off road the last few years for a bit of variety. So far I've managed well on a fairly reasonably process pair of Adidas trail shoes howeve3r, one entered a 100 mile jaunty along the Thames path next march so need something of higher quality and no doubt goretex based
With a number of different brands out there where so I put my cash? Inov8? Asics? Saloman?
I'm experienced in buying road shoes and have lives in Asics for the last 15 years but trail shoes I'm not so familiar with!
Thanks
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Comments
If your a midfoot striker and like minimalist shoes I would advise having a look at the merrell trail glove.
For a more traditional running shoe I would advise having a look at the products from Salomon, some of which include gortex. Salmon stuff is pretty decent imho
Steer clear of the goretex. It will just make your feet wetter than ever. A better bet would be to keep a spare pair of shoes and socks in your drop bag.
You would probably be best served by the shoes that you have put in the most training mileage with. If you do most of your training on roads then just use road shoes. If you have opportunities on your doorstep for doing long training runs in trail shoes, then the case for them becomes stronger.
I did a ridiculously wet adventure race last year and the last section was following a stream uphill. My shoes got soaked - but were fine with it. Saucony Jazz Trail or something.
get used to having wet feet and use good socks - merino ones are often suggested for being better/warmer when wet but I've got by fine with normal ones. my Trabucos coped fine with a very wet Beacons Ultra in 2009 - so wet they were under water a lot of the time.
Mr F
You are right that gore tex has improved a lot since the early days, and I am actually a big proponent of it for mountaineering apparel. I have never been sold on it for a running shoe however.
On a mountain hike I wear gore tex trousers, and gore tex gaiters to prevent the water getting in over the tops of my gore tex walking boots. Remove any one of these components and the whole system collapses. Once water gets in via the top of the footwear, it stays in. Even if water doesn't get into the footwear, the sweat will build up faster than your body heat can push it out.
I don't know the deal with the Thames 100, but I know that the NDW 100 (also a centurion event) gives you access to your drop bag at 25, 50 and 75 miles. This means that you can have multiple spare shoes and socks to hand. If you are bent upon having some protection from the water, then a pair of sealskin socks can be carried in your camel-back. They can be put on if required, and will be more resistant to ingress of water from the top than waterproof shoes.
I did Thames Trot this year in Feb which is the second half of the course. I ran in Adidas Supernova Riots which are a cushioned off road shoe which are still comfortable for at least 20 niles on the road
I would have said that at least a third of the people were wearing roadshoes and seemed to get on OK , but it had been dry for a week before hand so although there was mud, it was quite think and not wet
Also I live in Teddington, and at least the first 20 miles from Richmond are hard and flat unless it has been very very wet