Looking for Trail Running Advice - which shoes?!

Hi All,

i am looking for advice on what trail shoes would be suitable for my situation. 

i am 6ft 2" - 14 stone, size 11-12 UK, moderate - sever overpronator flat footed reletively new runner. 

Currently I run on a variety of surfaces, but am looking for a trail shoe suitable for Adventure Challenges, such as the Camberley Caper etc, and also for running around various woods / parks, such as Nonsuch Park, Cheam, and hopefully in the future - hills and maybe mountains(!) 

So one that will satisfy roads, tracks, grass, a bit of mud, hills, and rock... not much to ask

I do take running fairly seriously - 100 miles a month on a good month. And would like to incorporate trail running into training for a marathon next year.

Any help would be appreciated! 

Thanks,

Rob

I have the Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra (which is a bit of a handful to say). It's great for everything except mud. The 3D lace mechanism is especially good, making your foot snug in all areas with a simple tug (witchcraft I tell you....)

However, it's useless on mud and slips around due to the knobbles being very short. I'm looking around for a decent mud shoe that can also run on road a bit.

It has a reinforced toe with grip on which is good for scrambling up steep stuff.

There's just enough feel through the forefoot cushioning so that you can figure out what the trail is doing whilst not getting battered feet.

There's a goretex one that my wife has which is warmer and a waterproof design. The mesh on my normal one is great for most of the year unless it's really cold.

I've used mine in a cross country race earlier in the year which was super muddy. Came 6th out of 300 people even though I slipped on a plank over a ditch (no chicken wire - my fault for not noticing - not the shoe's) and broke my shoulder blade, but it did leave me wanting a more serious race shoe.

Useable as an every day casual shoe too.....

ouch!... hope the recovery is going well. 

i have been looking/reading about the 3D ultra 2 (non GTX) for a while now - definately seems to tick all the boxes - bar mud - but they will surely be better than my road shoes which is what i used on the Camberley Caper (and slipped about... though no injuries luckily).

thanks for your time in replying 

I was out doing Downhill MTB 3 weeks later Probably not too sensible, but when the docs say "don't use it for 6 weeks" my brain just halves it.

Try the Salomon Speedcross 3, very good grip, but would recommend getting a size bigger as they come up a bit small

I'm a big fan of my salomon XT s-lab 2's, they will be replaced with the next model up when needed. Sole if flat and hard wearing enough to manage a fair amount of non-trail running and they do a soft ground version too if that suits.

I've had the New Balance MR749 twice, and they were great for that sort of hybrid trail/everykindofsurface thing that you're describing.  They also had lots of support and were durable over some very long distance trail runs and marathons.  I found I needed to go a size up though.

I've changed to adizeros more recently and really pleased with them, but they are definitely more lightweight and less cushioned, so probably not for you at present.

However adidas supernova riot could also fit the bill, as they are made for the super-pronator!

I would worry about speedcrosses too if you really are a serious over-pronator?

Have you a local running shop to try lots on?

I have the Mizuno Wave Ascends which are a hybrid shoe and can cope with most things. I've ran on the roads with them as well as they're well cushioned and can cope with all but the thickest mud.

i've done a couple of adventure races in them and they've managed pretty well (better than I did anyway). 

im on the Salomon Speedcroos 3's at the moment, most expensive shoe I ever bought, and worth every penny, try to stay off the road though as they obviously wear faster on the hard stuff. If you want something more extreme the inov8 mudclaw is a good option if its still avaliable, got a brand new pair here but not tested them yet, seem good walking round the house

the adidas kanadia TR3's are ok, more of a trail than full off road shoe, I use them for full on 'adventure races', and they've taken me to 4 wins out of 4 this year. so cant be too bad,  guess the adizero XT3 in a newer recarnation of them.

Basically there are lots of options out there! good luck