"As runners, our feet are what keep us connected with the ground and offer important tactile, sensory feedback, which makes the structure and design of the shoe on our foot essential in shaping our experience with the surrounding terrain. By wearing a shoe that eliminates unnecessary gimmicks and gadgetry (and, most importantly, a big, cushioned heel), I am allowing my foot to operate more effectively, efficiently and naturally while freely relaying proprioceptive information back to the rest of my body."
--ANTON KRUPICKA
For years trail running shoes typically came in two varieties: heavy, stiff, thickly cushioned tanks or hybrid (and still thickly cushioned) road running shoes that limited agility on anything but flat dirt or gravel trails.
If you've done even a little trail running on technical trails, you'll probably agree that, for some reason, authentic runnability hasn't always been the primary characteristic of trail running shoes.
Sure, every once in a while there's been a lightweight model with a soft flex that allowed you to feel the trail and run craggy, debris-strewn trails with the agility of a ballet dancer or a 3,000m steeplechaser -- in other words, really running instead of plowing heel-first over rocks, roots, gravel and other obstacles with the deft touch of a 10-ton bulldozer.
But the sublime, low-to-the-ground, lightweight cruisers -- see the Nike Air Tupu, La Sportiva CrossLite, New Balance 890, Salomon SpeedCross 2 as a few of the shining examples -- typically never stuck around long, mostly because shoe companies never sold many and had a hard time making the justification to keep them in their line.
But now that we're in the enlightened age of running -- when efficient form, not fancy footwear dictates how you run -- trail running shoes are going through a renaissance of sorts. With a few new lightweight offerings this fall and more to come in 2011, the new class of trail sneaks means you can run with the same agility with which you run on the roads.
Some say minimalist shoes leave a runner's feet too vulnerable to bone bruises, stress fractures and annoying sharp protuberances. But nimble runners will tell you that it's only through the sensory interaction between the foot and ground that an efficient gait can be achieved. Still, not every new shoe is based on having a sensory connection with the ground. Newly popular thick-foam trail shoes go in the other direction, but surprisingly, still encourage a midfoot landing and floating gait.
Barefoot Style:
Vibran FiveFingers Treksport
Merrell Trail Glove/Pace Glove
New Balance Minimus Trail
Minimalist:
Inov-8 X-Talon
New Balance 101
Keen A86
Lightweight Cushioned:
Montrail Rogue Racer
Salomon XC Crossmax
Lots O' Cushioning:
Hoka OneOne Mafate
Tecnica TRS Inferno Max
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