I have a 50K trail race on Dec 14th in Huntington IN (Huff 50K) I was looking over the Websight today and something really bugged me. The race has 3 - 10.8 miles loops, and our Cars are lined up to where we can get to our Car each loop to eat - change clothes - and stuff. But it went further to say that the course "will" be muddy - Snowy - or ice covered for sure.----Ok, my question is.......what about Trail Running Shoes, as I have never thought about that before. Heck, I thought I would just wear my running shoes and be fine with that....didn't think about changing shoes during the race -----Question, what are Trail running shoes, and do I really need them......really? Then, am I really going to have "three" pairs of these shoes for one race? I guess I am just curious, and didn't really expect to be running in mud up to my ancles at all.....I thought it would be more on a hard surface like a dirt trail. -----I know some here run Trail Races, and I wanted to know what I should do, and expect. ---- But what about the shoes?-----TimmiBo

Not that I would wear 'em or anything like that but you probably don't need the thin and tough-soled trail flats that everyone thinks are necessary keep balance better in some of the more mountainous endurance running. 

 

Since your hands'll be too cold anyway to change shoes, let alone  socks, or even open the car door to get them, just wear a thick pair of wool socks.  They'll keep wet feet warm even when everywhere else is cold.  good luck.

 

ps - hand carry a flashlight unless it's a smooth trail and the beam from a headlamp won't bounce around too much.

I run in trail shoes all the time - Asics 2140 trail, which are very similar to the regular Asics 2140s except they're  a little sturdier and water resistant.  I mostly run on trails or dirt roads but the trail shoes work just fine for pavement too, so that's all I buy.

First - Here's the link the Trail Running Thread: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Trails/Forum and the Ultra Trail Running Thread: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/ultra/Forum.  I'm the moderator for both threads - so keep it clean.  

 

Second - I use trail shoes for trails and road shoes for the road.  My preference is Mizunos for both, but you will find that people are all over the place.  If you're interested in purchasing trail running shoes, REI lets you buy shoes, wear them for X-amount of time, and return them so long as you clean them first.  I'm not big on waterproof shoes because if you do get water in them, some shoes don't let it drain back out.  To keep dirt, rocks, etc., I wear Dirty Girl Gaiters.

 

The major difference between the trail and road is the stability and grip you get from trail shoes,and a lot of trail shoes will have a wider sole, as well as a more rugged sole.  Most of the trails I run, I wouldn't run in road shoes.

 

If you're feet are going to get wet, it doesn't make sense to change shoes.  They're just gonna get wet again.  As with road running, you want to make sure you have socks that will keep your feet warm, but not too warm, and wick the sweat.

 

It doesn't sound like you've run an ultra trail run before.  It's a completely different beast.  Running 10 miles on a hilly trail is completely different from running 10 miles on pavement.  You need to rethink nutrition, pace, etc.  Is there an elevation profile for your race?  If so, study it well.  If there's a lot of climbing, you will need to train for that.  Personally, I absolutely love trail running and only run on the road during the week because I have no other choice.  I would happy to chat with you about it further.  My email is fatozzig at yahoo dot com.  Also, there's a wealth of knowledge over at the other two threads.