This morning's run included some trails out to picnic point on lake Mendota in Madison Wisconsin. Awesome view for the sunrise!

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on trail running shoes.
One of my biggest issues is that I tend to roll my ankles quite easily, especially on technical and uneven terrain in descent.
Because of this, I often feel unstable on rocky descents and don’t have enough confidence to run fast.
I’m usually quite strong on climbs, but I lose a lot of time on descents because I have to slow down and carefully pick my steps.
I’m therefore looking for a shoe that gives me excellent stability, foot lockdown and confidence on technical terrain, especially when descending, but without being so heavy or stiff that it significantly affects speed and responsiveness.

My typical use:
- Races up to around 30 km
- Training runs around 20–25 km
- Quite a lot of rocky and technical terrain
- I tend to roll my ankles easily, so lateral stability is particularly important to me.

I recently bought the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro. They felt great when I tried them in the shop, but after using them on technical trails with lots of rocks, I found that my foot didn’t feel secure enough, especially laterally.
A few times I even felt the shoe move unexpectedly on uneven rocks while climbing. Given my tendency to roll my ankles, this really affected my confidence, so I’m probably going to sell them.
I also currently have the Hoka Speedgoat 6, but I find them too harsh/stiff and my feet start hurting after only a few hours.

I am two and a half weeks out from my first 50 k. This is our local mountain and for some stupid reason I did not run or hike on it till now! I guess I saved the Best for last 😀🫶

Hey I have never really been a runner. However, I hike alot and a couple weeks ago someone went running by me on the trail and it dawned on me that if I got into trail running I could do some hikes that would normally be far enough that only backpackers go. (I live outside of a NP)

Anyways I walk 13 miles for work (Mail Carrier) and I hike on my days off. I have a good cardio base and I have gone on three runs.

One for 4 miles, I didn't track anything I was just curious if I could maintain a run without getting gassed.

Second I ran 5 miles 900 feet of gain in 59 minutes.

Third run, I ran 6 miles 1200 feet of gain in 61 minutes.

My heart rate is pretty high, but it feels so good to trail run, my legs, joints and muscles feel good.

Can I just keep doing this? I see people talking about training plans and whatever else, but I just want to hit the trail.

I do want to clarify that I do have a goal. I want to be able to run long distance 15 to 20 miles and be able to have an average pace of 10 minutes a mile. I feel like I could cover some good distance with that pace.

I recently completed my goal race and since then i have been running without a plan or race to prepare for. As it’s the offseason, I‘m interested in trying a project or challenge not related to racing.

Some things I‘ve considered are running all the trails near me, elevation focused runs or maybe a mini cycling/running project similar to Kilian‘s States of Elevation.

What are some projects you are considering or have enjoyed in the past?

Hello, looking for some tips on VK uphill specific threshold training. My problem is that, since moving, I dont have big enough hills around me to do one of my favourite workouts; a continuous uphill thershold sesh (example: 5x6’/2’ 6’ run 2’ light zigzag hiking). A big race with a ton of elev. gain is coming up and I want to increase specificity in my training so I can think of these options:
1. shorter intervals, longer rest, lightly running downhill inbetween
2.include downhill intervals
3.stationary bike(seems specific enough)

Let me break down my opinion on each of these:
1. To be clear I have no idea why most threshold workouts have short rest times, if its just to shorten the duration of the workout or it has some actual way of improving the adaptations that the workout is trying to stimulate. Still, lighly running downhill feels counter-intuitive since even when going lightly the fatigue is still very notable.
2. Compared to one this trades off some specificity for a resemblence the of more traditional threshold workouts.
3. I can’t lie, thought of this on a whim, would be interested if anyone has actually tried this since I dont have access to a stairmaster :(

Been doing more cycling as cross training over the summer (most of my races are in winter) and experiencing some nice thigh chafing due to my now epic quads /s

Any recommendations for some 2 in 1 style shorts with Lycra liner, but which also have pockets for holding food when eg temporarily storing items before packing them away in a rucksack? considered Inov8 but not sure about their quality nowadays, also looking at more mountain type brands eg Rab.

Thanks!

Has anyone used Loaf Adventures ( joinloaf.com ) previously? I just wanted to make sure it's a trustworthy company before committing to a trail run with them, as I can't find anything about them outside of what's on their website.

I celebrated turning 32 this Friday. The Mytikas peak stands at 2,918m, and involved a tricky scramble to reach, requiring very careful footwork. I completed the whole thing (out and back) in 7 hours. Distance was 20km, final elevation gain was 1,924m.

Has anyone tried the rocket x trail? I know it's meant to be more catered to gravel than technical trails. Which I would be using it for gravel paths and canal paths come marathon training in a few months for long runs with pace targets in.

Left the family in bed and took an early morning run. As well as the bench, there was a nice selection of refreshment stops!

I’m running Kodiak 100k this year, I ran 50k last year in Hoka Speedgoat 5s and seemed fine. I’ve been running Speedgoat 7s this year but am curious what others are running Kodiak races in this year?

I’m a midpacker so have never considered plated shoes- more interested in comfort…

I have a well worn pair of ASICS Gel Trabuco 11’s . They have been a great shoe that I have worn for several trail runs and daily wear. The grip and foot feel is amazing. I have high arches and have always looked for something with some stability. What other new generation of shoes should I look into? I’m mid 40’s 6-4 and 210. I have a trail run coming up in September that is a mix of dirt, roots, loose rock, and volcanic rock.

Currently rocking the OR Helium rain jacket and pants. It's lightweight, highly compressible, and easy to run in. It also is possibly the worst rain shell I've ever owned. I think my non-treated Nano Puff is more water resistant than this thing.

So what's out there? Running in Southern California, the Helium is fine in a "it's not keeping me dry but at least I'm warm" kind of way, but it's dangerous for the High Sierra where it can get wet *and* cold.

Bonus image: View from the lookout at Sunrise (the place not the time) in Tuolumne Meadows.

I recently purchased a new hydration bladder and it comes with a sleeve that protects the hose , im currently looking for magnetic clips to hold the hose in place, but most are thin for hoses without the hose sleeve.

Anyone else tried the Merrell SpeakArc Peak?

I was so excited about them. But the tongue is a blue leather material that has bled through my socks and dyed my feet blue, along with some harsh rubbing against my skin.

I already reached out to Merrell and they gave me a store credit. But I was really hoping they’d give me feedback on why this happened. For a test lab shoe, it seems like it would have been noticed in years of testing.

I love how the shoes feel underfoot and want to somehow fix the tongue material so make it comfortable on the top of my foot.

When I mean young I mean early 20s. Don’t be offended. The majority of runners are in their late 20s to almost 60s. You can go a whole race or lifetime without seeing a young(er) trail runner.

I’m a rock climber as well and we get young and older folks, but trail runner seems to not have any young inviduals?

Hi all

Next summer i want to do a real challenging ultra trail somewhere. I for a long time had the Lofoten Ultra 50 mile on my agenda, but planning it seems quite complicated and its also not cheap (airplane tickets, ferry tickets, hotel, …). Maybe I want to hold off with that one and go for the 100 mile variant in the future.

So I’m looking into other options now for next summer. I’m based in Belgium so I’m thinking a real good Alps race is more doable in terms of organisation (can just take a direct train via Paris). Now I’m 25yo, have ran one 50k before (700m D+, time 4h40), several trail-marathons, and am running a 60k in October (1500m D+). I train around 10 hours a week, so fitness wise I feel more than ready for a bigger challenge to train towards. I’m not yet there for the longest-day-night-day 100 milers, but I’m looking at the second category distances (60k - 80k). I know that a lot of the races in the Alps have UTMB-index requirements (I don’t yet have any points until my race in October), so I don’t know which race is reasonable for me to try and get into. Any recommendations for my situation?

Morning run in the Keszthely hills🌳Lake Balaton, Hungary🇭🇺

Preamble
I live in China and have a 100K trail race coming up in 6 weeks. The race is set in Hangzhou and has 5600m D+, it’s mostly limestone slab stairs, rocks, roots and dirt—Technical by most people’s standards.

I’m currently rocking the MTC M1s for all of my training but want a B shoe as i’m not comfortable with all the miles I’m putting on the M1s.
I have a pair of SG7s but idk, they just don’t make me wanna get out the house and run in them?

Comparison is the thief of joy
With the context out of the way, these are my options:
- Asics Metafuji Trail ($190)
- Brooks Cascadia Elite ($155)
- HOKA Tecton X3 ($155)
- HOKA Tecton X4 ($220)
- Kailas Fuga EX330 ($160)
- Kipsummit Max ($135)
- Mount to Coast M1 ($215)
- Nike ACG Zegama ($120)
- Norda 005 ($205)

Extra notes
1. I’m not too sure about the legitness of the Cascadia’s price but the rest is real.
2. The Norda 055s aren’t on this list because I tried them on a 12K technical trail and am not a fan, didn’t have any achilles issues though.
3. I’m a heavy sweater and will never get a Goretex shoe even if the cartel had a gun pointed to my head.

Conclusion
Based off of price and the fact that this will be a beater shoe, is there any point getting anything other than the Zegama?
Unless one of these shoes is so awesome it will replace the M1 as my race option?
I also have 2 drop bags, so make of that whatever you will…
Any advice, experience, or knowledge you guys have is more than appreciated!
If someone has tried all of these, you deserve a trophy!

P.S.
The Kipsummit max was a heavy contender but the non-breathable upper makes me feel like the heat will be too much for me?

The fit isn't the same. Older version hugged my foot better. The tread is about the same as the others all are a bit different. The sole is wider midfoot. Probably why I feel it isn't as snug as the previous versions.