Running Shoe Lineup

My main feeling about running shoes and all types of outdoor shoes is that they've never been better, and innovative new models keep coming out. For all the talk about barefoot running and minimalist shoes, what is more interesting to me is the incredible variety of running shoes available now that can enhance the running experience.

Going completely barefoot is silly: we invented shoes and clothes and they make our life better.  How much shoe you want and need is a balance between the weight of the shoe and the additional performance characteristics you get for that additional weight.

For the mix of trails I normally run, the choice of shoes can mean the difference between floating down the trail, and gingerly picking my every step. For me, shoe performance can provide distinct advantages allowing me (and my body) to focus on other things, like going harder and faster, or choosing a fuzzy foot placement rather than an extremely precise one.

My current shoe lineup, left to right:

I don't run roads as often anymore, but starting with road shoes:

Nike Mayfly, (size) 12, 5.4 oz
Asics Hyperspeed 2, 12.5, ~8 oz (not shown)

These are shorter distance road racing shoes that I don't use often, but would choose to wear for 5k to 10k distance. The Mayfly almost lack enough stability for hard efforts, but are so light I end up using them for other things, like when I'm bike riding but don't want to wear biking shoes everywhere at the other end of the trip. The Hyperspeed 2 are perfectly stable and light enough to feel great when letting your power out during short races.

Saucony Kinvara, 12, 8.7 oz
Nike Skylon, 12.5, 11.5 oz

I tried the Kinvaras after hearing much about them, and I like their feel for treadmill and road training as a lighter shoe. The Skylons are my favorite shoe and always make me want to run faster, and I love them on roads and easy trails, but unfortunately they lack control for technical trails and will leave your feet and ankles beat up over longer distances on such. They are performance trainers suitable for races of any distance through marathon and 50k. For now I've sworn off distances over 50k, but if I were ever to run another 50 miler (on easier trails) I'd wear these.

Trail shoes:

New Balance MT20, 13, 8 oz

The MT20s are a minimal shoe with some heel drop, which works for me because I run in other shoes with heel drop. I think it's important to feel the ground sometimes and change up your stride with a minimal shoe. I don't believe one needs to run in minimal shoes all the time, as you would sacrifice the greater performance of other shoes by doing that, but they have a place.

Saucony Peregrine, 12.5, 11.5 oz

Very nice trail racing shoe with pretty good lateral control, but they are somewhat minimal and they don't produce the same feel of making me want to run faster every time I wear them as the road Skylons do, at the same weight. I don't love these shoes for daily runs because they're too much of a compromise between weight and control. If I get used to these enough though for longer runs, they will be a perfect compromise for trail races lasting up to about 4 hours.

Montrail Mountain Masochist, 13, 13.7 oz

I wore these in last year's Escarpment trail run because I needed more shoe than the Peregrines at the time, and might again, though in size 12.5. For daily training I need the size 13s, as the comfort of a larger shoe outweighs the slight control advantage of a better fit, which is better for racing. This is a great shoe for my most technical trails, but it still requires some element of vigilance in foot placements to avoid tweaks.

Treksta Evolution, 12, 16 oz

The Trekstas are twice as heavy as the MT20s, so they're slower, and you do feel slower in them, but they have two great advantages over all my other shoes. First, their kind of loose fit makes them the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned and I've never gotten a blister in them yet. Second, despite their seemingly loose fit, they have the most control of all my shoes, and they're the most forgiving. I don't have to be as vigilant about my foot placements with these shoes, and I can run rough trails for hours with no foot and ankle issues. I can flow much better over rough stuff in these, and the extra weight is well worth it for daily activity. The only problem with these is they don't hold up well: my first pair only lasted 5 months.