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The Trail Shoe Myth

26/6/2015

18 Comments

 
I recently stumbled across an article titled ASICS Trail Running Shoes: Do Trail Shoes Really Make A Difference? My intrigue quickly turned to frustration, and here is a short review of what has been written.
"Compared to most running shoes, the ASICS Trail Running Shoes offer many advantages. In particular, these shoes have significantly stiffer soles and are more rigid and protective. Although this may slow some runners down when on pavement, these features make it easier to navigate the rough terrain that's typically found on trails."
Stiffness & Rigidity: The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints and is equipped to adapt to a constant changing environment. A rigid shoe completely negates the adaptability of the human anatomy.
"Additionally, another noteworthy advantage is that these shoes are much more effective at keeping feet dry during wet conditions."
ASICS Trail Shoe
Keep Feet Dry: The Elephant in the room is the big hole in the top of the shoe. One stream crossing and waterproof shoes are rendered useless.
"Also, these types of shoes often put particular emphasis on stability and motion control, which can be beneficial for preventing certain injuries such as an ankle sprain."
Stability & Motion Control: It has been proven time and time again that you can not control the motion of the foot. Even ASICS own marketing no longer talks about controlling the motion.

Prevent Ankle Sprains: I would suggest that the best way to prevent ankle sprains is a combination of technique, strength and feed forward activation (body - brain - body). The best way to enhance feed forward activation is to remove as much of interference between the stimulus (ground) and the sensory fibres (foot) as an individual can handle.

The Shape, Toe Spring, and Pitch are also worth taking into account.

My advice to folk looking for a trail running shoe is that you want to look for a shoe that is as flat as you can handle, flexible, shaped like a foot, and as close to the ground as you can handle.
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18 Comments
Tom Hunt
23/6/2015 09:24:22 am

I quite like the Asics Neutral Trail shoe (fuji something something)

So long as I stick to neutral I don't have any ankle issues & the shoe works well for me :) They dont keep my feet dry though. Maybe gumboots will do that?

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James Kuegler link
10/7/2015 03:31:17 am

You may be interested in the blog link below as a follow on from this one http://www.jameskuegler.com/blog/which-shoe

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kurt matthews
23/6/2015 10:27:52 am

ha! I cant think of anything worse than a rigid shoe!

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James Kuegler
10/7/2015 03:34:52 am

I agree, though there is always a time and a place. For example, a degree rigidity is more than welcome on surfaces like the volcanic rock of Rangitoto Island.

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Amanda link
23/6/2015 01:56:36 pm

Something quick drying and light is a lot more practical than trying to be waterproof! I really like the New Balance Minimus shoes for running off road, I have several pairs.

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James Kuegler
10/7/2015 03:35:49 am

Particularly in wet New Zealand conditions Amanda. It is a shame that New Balance seem to have discontinued the minimus range.

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Shaun Nicholson
23/6/2015 02:36:44 pm

I take from that review then that you don't like over-size HOKA style shoes? I would be interested in your view of HOKA's.

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James Kuegler link
29/6/2015 05:19:33 am

Send me an email via the Contact Us page on the website. I am more than happy to have a discussion about maximalist shoes.

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James Kuegler
10/7/2015 03:38:06 am

Shaun you may well be interested in the below blog article which follows on from the one above.
http://www.jameskuegler.com/blog/which-shoe

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Greg Shaw
10/7/2015 05:17:47 am

Hey James... they have just brought out V3 for the NB Minimus! Slightly different tread and possibly a narrower/smaller fit, as I ordered the same size as before, but it was way too tight. Half size up has done the trick. Only issue with the old shoes was the inner linings wear through after a month, the toe cap peels back too...However, I ran in them to do the Routeburn track race and had no issue. New version, also has less mesh on the sides, so will take longer for the shoe to drain. They fix some problems but add new ones. Lol. I tend to swap between Asics road shoes for longer training runs, but switch to flats for races. Probably contrary to all advice, but it works for me.

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James Kuegler
14/7/2015 01:28:26 am

Great to hear that NB have released a new version of the Minimus. If switching from an asics road shoe to a flat for races, do you find that the soles of your feet have enough conditioning?

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Damian Clarke
25/8/2015 06:56:26 am

I usually run in these tough little shoes in winter http://www.adidas.co.nz/kanadia-7-trail-shoes/B34878.html
They are fairly minimalist (although they don't look like it in the picture) and let the water out easily. Nice big grip for mud running which we get a bit of over here on Waiheke. They are also well priced to replace every winter if you buy them on special.

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James Kuegler link
25/8/2015 03:47:03 pm

You might also be interested in the following blog which will give a little insight into my philosophical thoughts around footwear. http://www.jameskuegler.com/blog/which-shoe

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Rob Henderson
1/10/2015 10:41:39 pm

I personally find minimus shoes I had were great over many 100s of km. But I find that Salomon slab shoes are better for trail running ... No sharp stones or other objects hurt the sole of my feet. Great grip over rocks, logs, river crossings and normal tracks. Toe protection when running over rocks. Simple lace up system.

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James Kuegler link
2/10/2015 05:06:47 am

The Salomon SLab shoes are certainly much more flexible than the shoes talked about in this article. I'd like to think that with your new found technique you will require and/or want less and less protection from the surface underfoot. A luxury that you may or may not have is to choose different shoes for different types of terrain.

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t r
3/11/2015 08:16:56 am

I might just suggest that if you haven't encountered terrain that requires a stiffer sole, then lucky you! A lot of the stiffer trail shoes take their cues from climbing/approach shoes and are designed with rocky/blocky/loose terrain in mind. There is a huge crossover between alpinism and trail running in Europe in particular, which influences the gear greatly.

Also, the waterproof shoe thing makes quite a bit of sense in North America/Europe where small amounts of surface water are common, but not necessarily stream crossings, more significantly - snow. A waterproof shoe, coupled with a low gaiter if necessary, is a sensible and practical precaution against wet feet - which is at best unpleasant, at worst, dangerous, in true winter/alpine conditions (which many kiwis would rarely deal with).

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James Kuegler link
3/11/2015 01:01:14 pm

Tuning into the whole article, i'd love to know if you have any comment about the: Stability & Motion Control, Prevention of Ankle Sprains, Shape, Toe Spring, and Pitch?

With respect to design, you make some valid points.

With respect to stiffness/rigidity, perhaps it is a matter of opinion and/or experience, though I would suggest that rocky/rough/etc terrain doesn't require a stiffer sole, rocky/rough/etc terrain requires a more conscious/controlled landing and/or conditioning of the foot/body. This is something I see consistently with the athletes that I work with.

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Jodi
5/3/2016 11:28:31 pm

The Saucony Peragine is my trail shoe of choice, light, flexible and enough to it that you don't get sharp rocks stabbing, while still being fairly minimalist.,

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