shoes issue

hi,

i have just finished my first 80 km trail

i had pain in my thigh muscles for the last 20KM

this was mostly due, from my point of view, to my starting to fear steep downhills, because i sensed that my shoes were lacking of grip; so i was not relaxed enough, tending to bend my waist downward, instead of forward and so finished with muscles issues.

i runned with nike zoom terra kiger 4 , wich, i find, are lightweight shoes, with a drop of 4 mm.

they perform well in uphill and flat paths

i previously tried altra shoes ( superior and lone peak) but i'm not a great fan of them, because i find that the cushioning is too much sluggish, and that they lack grip and stabilty in steep downhills.

do you have any recommandations for lightweight shoes with enough grip and underfoot protection for downhill running?

thanks

geoffroy

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Permalink Reply by Eric Orton on May 31, 2018 at 2:55pm

Hi Geoffroy - thanks for the post and there are many great and grippy shoes out there. And I agree with you on your feels of the shoes you mention.

I would definitely check out Inov8 shoes. They are known for their grip and depending on your race/training surface and distance, should have a great option for you. They are very light and low to the ground, which sounds like what you are seeking. The Trail Talon in particular, some of the best grip and tread pattern I have tried.

My go to shoe is the Salomon S-lab series, which are wonderful also but expensive.

Another under the radar brand that has excellent shoes is Scarpa. They are a climbing company that now makes great shoes with sticky rubber, so check that out also.

Hope this helps and hope others here can give some of their experiences also.

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Permalink Reply by geoffroy on June 3, 2018 at 11:29am

hi eric,

thanks for you answer, it helps me a lot, and i've already began to check the shoes you wrote about.

if you permit, i have some more questions :

- i was a big fan of the previous inov 8 trail roc 255 but they have been discontinued; i read in another post that you're not fan of the new trailroc; what is the problem in your opinion?

- i am still hesitating between inov 8 trail talon, roclite, and scarpa shoes; my major concern is that all the shoes i read about and which are specified for long runs have a drop of 6 or 8 mm ( except for salomon slab but very very expensive!!).

i'm rather accustomed to run with 0 to 4mm drop. is there a risk of improper stride with more drop? do i have to choose a shoe with lesser drop even if it's said to be designed for shorter runs?

for this year i want to keep on doing 50 to 80 km courses, mostly on dry and rocky paths

thank you so much for all your precious advices

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Permalink Reply by Eric Orton on June 7, 2018 at 1:08pm

Great questions.

New Trailroc - really wanted to love them, but I had a lot of trouble with hot spots. They feel great, but about 45 min into a run, I just develop hot spots - could just be me. They also do not fit like the old Trailroc, more roomie and boxy. I do think also that the Trail Talons are much better and never had hot spots. better outsole and better fit.
Or concern with 6-8 mm drop. If you ran in the Trailroc 155 like you mentioned, these were 8mm drop. The Scarpa Spin are 4mm drop.
I have the Salomon S Lab Sense 6 and hands down the best shoe for all distances I have every worn. They are 4mm drop and have great protection and comfort and fit. Based on everything you said, they might be exactly what you are looking and worth the price - meaning they last much longer than Inov8 and pretty soon you might be able to find them discounted when salmon's fall line comes out.