Newbie footwear advice

[Stagger]

Hi,

You probably get bored with newbies asking for advice - but here goes...

I'm interested in what sort of fell running shoe people would suggest for someone whose feet need quite a bit of support - the ankles and top bits are fine but my soles don't half feel the shock of fell running. I'm using some Innovates at the moment and they are way too unsupportive for me - any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Andy

Here is my 2 pen’ath in this debate

Invo 8 – 2 70 Very good grip, very light, crap uppers, dry quickly
Invo 8 – 330 Grip not as good, heel causes problems on longer runs better uppers
Walsh – PB Extreme, Best grip, light shoe, good uppers, insole slides around abit
Montrail Highlander – Very good grip on all but deep mud very comfy shoe with support, soaks water up like a sponge and become heavy. take a long time to dry.
Mizuno Harrier – Reasonable light shoe, great for trails, grip is no better than average.

These are all shoe’s I have used and my 2 favourites are Walsh for up to up to 7 or 8 miles and Montrail on the longer runs or trail runs.

[Graeme]

Invo 8 – 2 70 Very good grip, very light, crap uppers, dry quickly
Invo 8 – 330 Grip not as good, heel causes problems on longer runs better uppers

Really? I thought that they had the same sole unit?

[Stagger]

Really? I thought that they had the same sole unit?

The rubber is not the same although the pattern is.
The grip is noticable different on rock and in streams.

[Graeme]

Why? why? why? is all I can say to that. Inov8 seem to be a peculiar company to me.

[david]

Montrail Highlander – soaks water up like a sponge and become heavy

That's a very important point. Some shoes which appear nice and light when dry can become very heavy when wet. I suppose it would be too much to expect manufacturers to quote a wet weight for their shoes as well as a dry weight .

[Martin H]

From what I can gather havong spoken to people and having spent some time on this forum is that the construction of a road shoe and a fell shoe are totally different things. In a road shoe you will have a repetitive foot strike, that is why you get cushioning, support and motion control shoes. In fell running you will not get the same repetition and as such the support is less likely to be needed. Also, a thinner midsole on the fell shoe is used to increase sensitivity, feel etc, this allows the runner to adapt their foot strike assording to their need. Your shoes should also be smaller to prevent the upper from slipping when contouring, which again brings me back to the sole, you need greater flexibility in the midsole of the shoe to allow you to contour because the sole needs to bend.

You may find you're getting more shocking through the sole of your foot, but that is natural when the ground is as hard as it at the moment. You'd probably be better off with trail shoes until there's been a good soaking.

Now if you wait someone with more experience will say what I've said is cobblers but the above is what I believe.

This comment is spot on but the hard ground at the moment may make things interesting over the coming months. I did a club run last week in Blackstone Edge/Pennine way territory. This was an 8 mile run around 50/50 in terms of paths & tussocks. I noticed that two of the group (one in Walshes the other in salomon speed cross) were quite seriously over pronating when we were on the harder trails.

Wheezes comments about trail shoes for training and fell shoes for racing are very sensible, it will be interesting to see the fell runners injury count goes through out the year.

[Andy Roberts]

Thanks very much to everyone for their various advice to my query. I now need to go through the posts in great detail to decide which to hunt out in the shops. You're all too kind!

Andy

[daz h]

Graeme, this is not just any old forum you know! Feel free to speak and state your view. Oh, and you've summed up the situation perfectly! As you note, the ground is unusually hard at the moment. For training, I use any old trail shoe or even something like Nike pegasus but for racing it has to be a proper fell shoe. I've always used PB Trainers because I found racers too thin for me. I think durability has suffered of late (ever since they introduced the 'rand', a backward step in my view) so I may try something else . Whatever it is, it will not be PB Extremes. They have a sharp edged heel cup which savages my achilles...Daft! Still, old habits die hard so I suspect it'll be another pair of PB trainers.

snapped the laces
just do what i do
tie them once and never undo em again
the walshs i have that have been re soled 3 times have only ever been tied once, ive used them for nearly 4 years now
they are in a bit of a state but remain useable
im sure people that trash fell shoes quickly also do it with road shoes
its not so much the shoes its the running style
shoes last me forever but im as neutral as can be

you say you ripped off some studs first time out
i find that amazing , def should have taken them back mate

[Grouse]

Never undo them again? What you don't take them off? Even when you go to bed? Blimey, you're a bit keen aren't you?

[daz h]

Never undo them again? What you don't take them off? Even when you go to bed? Blimey, you're a bit keen aren't you?

weird i know but i tie them first time on and never undo them again NEVER
doesnt matter whether its fell shoes, trail shoes , i only ever tie them once