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." |  |
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.
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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