Running Delights: Shoes for the hills and fells

There are several items of gear that are essential (for safety reasons) for off-road running. But, there is only one item which is by necessity very different to road running. That's the shoes you wear. I'll write about what I take out in my bag - the essentials - in another post soon.

On the road you don't need grippy studs on your shoes. Off-road, it's vital or you'll be slip-sliding all over the place and putting yourself at greater risk of injury.With that in mind, it's a common question for runners new to off-road running - which ones to choose? There's as much choice for fell as there is for road running and plenty of places to go shopping for them. The main thing to look out for are off-road shoes are suitable studs or grip for the terrain you'll encounter, once you leave the road and trails behind.

Whether you want minimal shoes or some with a heel-to-toe differential is entirely personal choice. As with any shoe fitting, you need to try them on to see if they suit your feet. Although there are obvious commonalities in foot structure, we are all unique. We also have personal preferences about how shoes feel when we wear them.

Here's the shoes I've been using over the past couple of years, and a few thoughts on how I find them to run in:

Northface Hedgehogs:

I've mainly used these as 'around town' walking shoes in winter to keep my feet dry - they're goretex which causes my feet to overheat when running. I can run in them quite comfortably, but paradoxically would only do so on dry trails. That's because when you're out running in the hills you are going to get wet feet. There's no way of avoiding it. Goretex only serves to hold wetness inside them as far as I have experienced, whereas shoes designed for fell running allow water to come out as easily as it enters. When I say they hold water in, I'm talking about the volumes you encounter in bogs, deep puddles or crossing a stream. I think that these are in fact sold as approach shoes, not running shoes, so perhaps not a fair choice to include. However, you've got my thoughts on goretex and running shoes.
My overall opinion: good for town and trail shoes, walking only.
Distance run in to date: not applicable

INOV8 Roclites:

My first fell running shoes. Essentially a trail shoe but they served me well when I initially started running off-road. I now only use these on trails, and as the grip has worn down they really don't work well on mud or wet grass any more. After wearing XTalons (see below), I also find these too broad around the toe area.
My overall opinion: great starter shoe for trails and easy, dry fell runs.
Distance run in to date: unknown, I owned them way before I started logging runs on strava.

INOV8 Xtalon212s:

Pair number 1

Pair number 2

Side by side view of soles on first pair of xtalons (left) and second pair (right)

Side by side view of uppers first pair (left) and second pair (right)

The XTalon212 was my only fell shoe for quite a while. I did get a pair of Mudclaw 333s for winter running (which are more robust and have better studs for wet, winter running) but I could never get them to feel comfortable around the heel (the 333s are in fact the only pair of fell shoes to niggle and routinely give me blisters, despite all tactics to soften the heel cup). In comparison, the xtalon212s are like slippers, and while my feet may have felt the cold a litter sooner than the 333s in winter I just preferred the fit. The 212s are snug and never leave my feet feeling sloppy, even when drenched wet through. They are responsive on all types of terrain and I am constantly on the look out for another pair to replace pair number 1...if only they were cheaper! The latest model is a snazzy blue and orange colour, which matches nicely with the Glossopdale Harriers club colours.
My overall opinion: my fell shoe of choice.
Distance run in to date, pair 1: 547.3km + what wasn't logged before I joined strava - could be another few hundred km?
Distance run in to date, pair 2: 314.4km, I reckon the studs on this pair have worn down quicker than pair #1

INOV8 Mudclaw 300s:

These are a close second to being my favourite fell shoe. I only noticed taking this photo that one of the studs has started to rip away. A lot of runners have this happen fairly regular but perhaps I'm light enough on my feet, or don't run hard (read that as fast) enough for this problem to arise. This pair has started to disintegrate a little around the toe box, on the medial side the stitching has started to come away and some of the plastic rand has come away from the material. They still feel good to run in though. A couple of minor gripes with this model: firstly when traversing I find that the fabric under my ankle bone digs in. It's never caused me any issues with rubbing skin or blisters, but it's quite uncomfortable. Secondly, when they get really wet I find the toe box feels much roomier and my feet feel sloppy in them. Tightening the laces does help with this, but not entirely.
My overall opinion: Great shoes, a few minor niggles. I'd buy them again.
Distance run in to date: 537.9km

Adidas Kanadias:

A decent and cheap trail shoe that I used for quite a lot of fell runs when it was dry, especially if I had sections of road, trail or hard packed ground to cover on longer runs. The material which the studs are made of is pretty useless on wet ground, especially grass. After over 400km they are now showing obvious signs of disintegration (I can poke my finger through one of the holes) and I suspect they will catastrophically fall apart sometime soon. The studs are also quite worn down from the combination of terrain (road to reach trails, trails and rocky paths). This means that I really can only wear these now on trails when it's dry. I might buy these again if I did a lot of trail running, but since getting these I've done quite a bit of running in minimalist shoes (including vibram fivefingers) and I think the Kanadias give too much cushioning for my style of running now.
My overall opinion: decent and reasonably priced trail shoe
Distance run in to date: 419.6km

Walsh's

Not sure which model of Walsh's these are but I got them very cheap, like a tenner, in a sale. I've used them on a few runs but I find the fit a little odd. It feels like I could twist an ankle in them very easily (I haven't done so in these yet) because the soles/studs aren't as wide as the uppers. They also feel very stiff, and in comparison to xtalons they just aren't all that comfortable. The soles are quite stiff so you don't get very much feedback from the ground underfoot, this adds to the feeling of instability. Perhaps they'd be really good on very wet ground - I shall try them out again.
My overall opinion: wouldn't buy again but ok as a spare pair.
Distance run in to date: unknown, very little

Orocs, pictured new, and still look like this

I've also got a pair of INOV8 Orocs, winter fell shoes with metal spikes that poke out of the rubber studs and give you grip on ice. Almost disappointingly we've only had one day over this last winter that I could wear them, and rather foolishly I did a long run in them. I suffered with a blister forcing me to cut my run short. This isn't a true review of them, less than 20km is not sufficient distance to give a fair go.

As you can see, I've got a fair collection of INOV8 shoes (small in comparison to some people). I really must try a different type, but then I really do like the fit and grip from them, especially the XTalons. It makes it hard to switch to other brands, especially when shoes are as expensive as they are. Buying a pair of £90+ shoes to find they don't suit you is an expensive mistake. Hence the need to try on shoes, rather than go by what other people say. Shoes featured here are what I've used...there's still lots of others out there to go and investigate.

Here's a random selection of photos showing the shoes in action: