And my primary goal is reduce soreness the day after. I have done enough long distance triathlon to know the ‘super shoes’ make a difference for me the next day.
kenyans are able to put high mileage for faster times because they are training on dirt roads most the year, even before the advent of super shoes. Yes, the super shoes do allow people to recover faster when used on the road…
As a follow up, ~10 miles of northern Illinois gravel really chewed up the foam on my Nike Vaporfly shoes and I’m very much a forefoot striker. I absolutely cannot recommend doing the same.
I can’t imagine the recommendation of the Endorphin Speed would come out any different. Maybe a crushed limestone or dirt path would be different, but I’m guessing there’s enough sharp edges on what I did to wear away at the foam. I have a pair of Hoka Tecton X incoming and hoping to get some miles in on those before Gravel Worlds.
I have a pair of Tecton X. Good shoe. Its my main workhorse right now on gravel, and I’ve used them on paved roads too where they work pretty well actually. That’s what I would go with. They aren’t as fast as road super shoes in comparison on pavement, but the grip and stability of the Tecton X are vastly better on gravel.
Having run in the next% on uneven ground/grass/dirt at one race, I would never wear them for any kind of non-asphalt racing. Way too unstable.
Having run in the next% on uneven ground/grass/dirt at one race, I would never wear them for any kind of non-asphalt racing. Way too unstable.
Totally understandable. My specific use is gravel for the Gravel Worlds 50k in a few weeks and I don’t remember the bike stuff being terribly loose. I had been hoping somebody around these parts had experience from the Midsouth 50k back in March PR similar gravel runs.
I’m assuming stability is less of a challenge there and my turns will be on a fairly flat surface with high visibility. The idea of super shoes for trail is kind of silly given the instability related to the high stack height. However, I was surprised how much it was not an issue on the rolling gravel hills recently (at an unimpressive pace) in 2019 era Vaporfly shoes. It was more that I don’t think there would be much foam left after 50k. They were in their back half of life (for the anectodes related to their effective lifespan) so I was willing to contribute to, uh, more anectodes.
I have a pair of Tecton X. Good shoe. Its my main workhorse right now on gravel, and I’ve used them on paved roads too where they work pretty well actually. That’s what I would go with. They aren’t as fast as road super shoes in comparison on pavement, but the grip and stability of the Tecton X are vastly better on gravel.
Thank you so much for the feedback. Somehow they will be here tomorrow, so I am hoping they fit and I can try them Sunday.
As a follow up, ~10 miles of northern Illinois gravel really chewed up the foam on my Nike Vaporfly shoes and I’m very much a forefoot striker. I absolutely cannot recommend doing the same.
I can’t imagine the recommendation of the Endorphin Speed would come out any different. Maybe a crushed limestone or dirt path would be different, but I’m guessing there’s enough sharp edges on what I did to wear away at the foam. I have a pair of Hoka Tecton X incoming and hoping to get some miles in on those before Gravel Worlds.
Why switch to a slow Hoka shoe instead of a super shoe made for gravel?
Endorphin Edge (Speed with trail outsole)
Brooks Catamount (Hyperion Tempo with trail outsole)
I’m planning to use the Endorphin Speed v2 for the P’tit train du nord marathon in October…the trail is described as packed dirt/grave with first 7k and last 5k paved. My other shoes are the Ghost 19 which might be a bit more stable on the gravel but don’t give my old legs that little pop that keeps running fun. These are my current training shoes with new ones in the closet bought at closeout prices. Appreciate any thoughts/suggestions. At 73 this will be my first fly to race and having the wrong shoes for the course on race day would be one “rookie” mistake I’d like to avoid…
I’m planning to use the Endorphin Speed v2 for the P’tit train du nord marathon in October…the trail is described as packed dirt/grave with first 7k and last 5k paved. My other shoes are the Ghost 19 which might be a bit more stable on the gravel but don’t give my old legs that little pop that keeps running fun. These are my current training shoes with new ones in the closet bought at closeout prices. Appreciate any thoughts/suggestions. At 73 this will be my first fly to race and having the wrong shoes for the course on race day would be one “rookie” mistake I’d like to avoid…
I raced Gravel Nationals in Fayetteville with the Speed 2 and it was an awesome choice. IMO the nylon plate brings both stability and foot protection against rocks. I felt like the shoes gave me a perfect mix of "racing’, stability and light weight.
As a follow up, ~10 miles of northern Illinois gravel really chewed up the foam on my Nike Vaporfly shoes and I’m very much a forefoot striker. I absolutely cannot recommend doing the same.
I can’t imagine the recommendation of the Endorphin Speed would come out any different. Maybe a crushed limestone or dirt path would be different, but I’m guessing there’s enough sharp edges on what I did to wear away at the foam. I have a pair of Hoka Tecton X incoming and hoping to get some miles in on those before Gravel Worlds.
Why switch to a slow Hoka shoe instead of a super shoe made for gravel?
Endorphin Edge (Speed with trail outsole)
Brooks Catamount (Hyperion Tempo with trail outsole)
I’m not aware of anything either way about the Hoka being slow. The lower the drop the better for my legs (typically) also makes the Hoka more appealing. However, my pair came in and they are way too narrow in the toebox so these won’t work.
Both local shoe shops said they can’t get the Endorphin Edge and it doesn’t even appear on the Saucony website for order.
I had never even heard of the Brooks Catamount. That looks like a decent recommendation that’s actually in stock. That might be the next direction I go or just go with what I already have since it’s 3 weeks out.
As a follow up, ~10 miles of northern Illinois gravel really chewed up the foam on my Nike Vaporfly shoes and I’m very much a forefoot striker. I absolutely cannot recommend doing the same.
I can’t imagine the recommendation of the Endorphin Speed would come out any different. Maybe a crushed limestone or dirt path would be different, but I’m guessing there’s enough sharp edges on what I did to wear away at the foam. I have a pair of Hoka Tecton X incoming and hoping to get some miles in on those before Gravel Worlds.
Why switch to a slow Hoka shoe instead of a super shoe made for gravel?
Endorphin Edge (Speed with trail outsole)
Brooks Catamount (Hyperion Tempo with trail outsole)
Don’t see how carbon plate/foam will assist like it does on road shoe, but those hokas are pretty light at 6.9oz, probably the real performance benefactor
I have a pair of Tecton X. Good shoe. Its my main workhorse right now on gravel, and I’ve used them on paved roads too where they work pretty well actually. That’s what I would go with. They aren’t as fast as road super shoes in comparison on pavement, but the grip and stability of the Tecton X are vastly better on gravel.
Wore these today for the first time for a 50K trail race (so much for nothing new on race day…). Surface was mainly rooty dirt single track, a little gravel road, and some grass surface on cross country course. Loved the shoe, very stable, and seems to be quite fast. Only previous trail shoe was the Nike Pegasus 37 trail. I’d definitely get a trail version. I saw someone running in Alphaflys today and couldn’t believe it.
Adidas adios pro 2 work well on gravel. The grip and foam far and away better than Nike for traction and durability.
Best of the current supershoes for multiple surfaces in my opinion…haven’t got version 3 to comment.
Only previous trail shoe was the Nike Pegasus 37 trail.
yea no wonder why you’d love anything else… i have those shoes and now I know the reason why I got them for $50 lol. great walking shoes…
Only previous trail shoe was the Nike Pegasus 37 trail.
yea no wonder why you’d love anything else… i have those shoes and now I know the reason why I got them for $50 lol. great walking shoes…
Yeah the Nikes are probably getting relegated to yard duty.