Do I need trail shoes? (Read 903 times)

I'm doing a trail 1/2 in March and am debating on whether or not to get trail shoes. My main objection is that it took me 3 tries to get the right street running shoes, and I'm not wanting to go through that again. As far as I know, the trail will not have running water or other obstacles that would make quick-dry a bonus. It's definitely a trail with rocks and such, but I don't think it is too technical based on most of my state park experience. WWYD?

My main objection is that it took me 3 tries to get the right street running shoes, and I'm not wanting to go through that again.

Trail shoes have been a good move for me - same situation for me in that I LOVE my street shoes and know they are right. So I asked my local store to help me find the closest thing to those but in a trail version. They did, and all is well. I suspect that if you like your trail shoes, you'll do more off road running. It's a nice change of pace over the same routes/traffic etc. Good luck.

I run lots and lots of trail miles (nothing too technical and very little water crossing). I use my regular training shoes which are ASICS DS Trainers. You wouldn't suspect they'd be any good for trail but they work just fine and they dry out very fast with the right lightweight socks as well. Don't overthink the situation - for one race use your normal shoes.

I'll chime in and say that you are probably fine in road shoes, but I still recommend getting trail shoes for a race and here's why. Theoretically, you are going to train on trails for a trail race, so that adds another reason to get trail shoes. Second, most road shoes don't have a particularly aggressive tread, which can help keep you from sliding or slipping on rocks or roots or uneven terrain. Third, and not all trail shoes meet this criteria anyway, I like having narrower shoes for the trails than I do on the roads. A narrower shoe means that your ankle does not have to roll at as great an angle in order for your entire sole to come into contact with the ground as you run on uneven terrain. That means fewer turned ankles and falls. That being said, the kind of trails you are running on is going to make a big difference. If it is a well groomed trail that is basically a grassy or dirt type of road through the woods, then your road shoes will be fine. When I began running trails regularly, I didn't buy trail shoes for 3 or 4 months and I was okay even on some pretty technical single-track. When I decided to do a trail 50k, though, I bought a couple of pairs of trail shoes and they definitely make a difference over my road shoes. I rotate between different pairs of shoes for every run, though, so having an extra pair or two of shoes doesn't make a big difference to me. I don't have any DS Trainers anymore, so I'm not sure how they'd fare specifically on trails, but the majority of my shoes just don't have an aggressive enough tread to keep me from slipping. Either way, I recommend that you join this group: http://runningahead.com/groups/Trails Lots of good trail running talk in there. I also recommend reading a couple of articles that I wrote last year about trail running. The first was on a trail running clinic at a local running store (Trail Running 101) and the second was an article about how to fit more trail running into your weekly mileage (Trail Running for Road Runners) Good luck in your half, I'm looking forward to reading the race results.

Third, and not all trail shoes meet this criteria anyway, I like having narrower shoes for the trails than I do on the roads. A narrower shoe means that your ankle does not have to roll at as great an angle in order for your entire sole to come into contact with the ground as you run on uneven terrain. That means fewer turned ankles and falls.

I don't mean to be a physics/geometry freak but I think your graphic shows that the angle is exactly the same for the wide shoe as the narrow shoe? Care to explain that?

I don't mean to be a physics/geometry freak but I think your graphic shows that the angle is exactly the same for the wide shoe as the narrow shoe? Care to explain that?

The angle is the same, but the outside distance is greater. MTA: What he said.

traction on wet exposed roots, some rocks was my biggest issue using my road shoes on trails. The extra nobbies on the bottom helped alot. The pair I bought also has a carbon fiber backing around the heal that has helped protect my foot from exposed sharp things. You'd be surprised how many dings I got around the heel. But still, for a brief experiment on trails, the expense may not be worth it.

I thought about it on my run some more, and not only is the outside distance greater, but your ankle is at a greater angle even if the sole of the shoe is at the same angle. Theoretically, your leg is going to be coming down at the same angle from your body no matter which shoe you wear, and it will be in the center of the shoe. Your ankle doesn't get wider with a wider shoe, which means that it is at a greater angle. There, figured it out.

Glad you did because I can't make head nor tail of what you just wrote. Maybe you should trail run in ballerina shoes to minimze the angle of the dangle.