Trail Running Shoes

Not long ago, I wrote about how autumn is a great season to add trail running to your workouts. Trail running provides a great opportunity to add scenery, and break the monotony our running can sometimes fall into. Trails also provide our bodies a respite from the hard pavement, by offering us a softer and more forgiving surface.

As a runner adds trails to his or her routine, we find them coming in to Fleet Feet Mahwah to ask about trail running shoes. Some running stores, especially those located in Colorado, or the Pacific northwest, where trail running is the norm, have as many trail shoes on their shoe wall as they do road running shoes.

At Fleet Feet Mahwah, we sell the Brooks Cascadia as our primary "New Jersey" trail running shoe. Cascadia, which has a cult following among the "ultra marathon" crowd, is the most technical true running shoe designed for the trails.  Popular shoe vendors offer "trail shoes" that are basically road shoes equipped with a more aggressive tread and a dark colored upper to hide the dirt. The primarily outdoor shoe vendors, such as Montrail and others, offer trail shoes that are in reality, lightweight day hikers.

Not so with Brooks' Cascadia.

Cascadia has flex grooves that leave the midsole unexposed. That means protection from rocks and stones on the trails as well as flexibility for control. It's upper moves water extremely well so that if you step in puddles or streams, it will dry quicker. That upper is also very tightly meshed so that sand and grit wont make it through and irritate your foot.

Lastly, Cascadia has a "pivot" support system that provides unparalleled  maneuverability on the uneven surfaces trails will present.

Trail running can be a fun and exhilarating experience! The right shoes will make it even better!