New Balance running shoes vs. trail runners – advice needed, please.

Did you up your mileage or train differently in some way in preparation for your trip? I'm suggesting that it might not be the different shoes that caused your injury. Though it very well might be your shoes too.

I find I get ankle soreness after taking time off or after changing trail conditions. Recently I started running again after a lazy couple of months and the trails behind my house are quite choppy and technical as a result of footprints in the snow that are now frozen in place. My ankles were quite sore after my first run. Shoes have not changed, but training level and trail conditions did.

Thanks, Nathan. Actually no changes in mileage or terrain – this was a trail we do once a week as part of our training – and in fact the hike was easier than usual since we are tapering pre-trip (less weight and mileage).

Also just noticed my IT bands are tender and am wondering if this is related to the ankle pain.

Almost ANY sudden change in shoe type, especially one where the mechanics are a bit different, such as here where it sounds like you may have gone to a shoe with more sole stiffness, can cause your feet to feel weird and even sore after as little as an hour of walking. This can also happen in old shoes where you put in a very different insole, for example and your feet will continue to feel sore after you take the new shoes off.

The degree of this effect is much less pronounced when switching from one type of running shoe to another than for switching from running shoes to old-style heavyweight boots, but it is there and I have experienced it many times.

If this is what is going on, and not some injury you got, then your feet may just have to adjust to the the new shoes. The general prescription for making the change is to initially only wear the shoes until they become uncomfortable, then switch back to the old shoes until your feet don't feel sore anymore, then try wearing them a bit longer. What usually happens is after a week or so everything is fine with the new shoes, so long at you don't leave them on initially until you have a more long-term soreness that take longer to go away.

Hope this helps a bit.

Of course if the shoe don't stop doing this to your feet – it should happen pretty quickly – then something else may be wrong. I suspect the culprit here is that you put the new shoes on and went for a hike (9 miles straight off, in new shoes, is too much) and that may have over done it on the initial accommodation. Wear them around the house, or put you old shoes in you pack next time. I would not go on a long trip with shoes you are not %100 sure about yet.

The good news is if this is what is going on then it is normal, a will work itself out. Bad news is that 8 days may not be enough to be sure, especially when you push things too far initially.

Good advice. Since I have been wearing NB running shoes for so many years (I literally get a new pair and just start using them, no problem) that I did not think about slowing switching over. Thanks, Mark.

My vote: wear your tried and true running shoes.

Trail runners are mostly marketing hype, IMO. They can be marginally better than regular running shoes for trail conditions, but I have found that usually they make no difference.

Yeah, I'd go with your tried and true runners. I just did big bend a few weeks ago and frankly the terrain wasn't that rough in terms of your feet.

I'd comfortably wear regular runners without even thinking about it. And I'm new to desert hiking…..it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Now, the nearby Big Bend Ranch State Park? That was a beast.

I have been messing about with carbon fiber plates below my insoles – these are very thin light plates that go below my regular custom orthotic insoles. They can be used to add a bit of stiffness (they come in 3 different levels of this) to shoes you would otherwise find perfect – such as your old NB. They are expensive but reusable, and probably will last a long time, if not forever.

You can take a look here:

http://www.rtpfast.com/

Most people doing UL backpacking would probable go with the lowest stiffness. Jennifer might be able to tell us if this is crazy or not. Typically the are use to recover from injuries.

Full disclosure, I have a very unique feet – I am most comfortable with 2E width, 4E when I can get them. So my choices in brands are very limited right from the start. I will go so far as to say that to have any choice at all I have to buy NB. Kinda sucks – I have some Inov-8s that I love but they are just too narrow for several days of backpacking.

My obsession with finding LW backpacking shoes that fit me just right usually comes done then to shoe that are just right except for the forefoot – hence the plates.

I'm still not sure of the longevity of these things. I guess I'll see this spring and summer.

+1 on use what you like (Running Shoes):
Comfort & fit rule.

Unless the sole has a slick trend design, many running shoes have a trend that is grippy (is that a word?) enough

HYOH

IME, the running shoes I use most often on the trail are Nike Frees: Comfy, fit well, very breathable, and light.

Those carbon plates sounds interesting – please report back later and let us know how they worked out.

Just wanted to report back. My running shoes were fine off-trail, climbing up and down through the desert in Big Bend NP – no problems with traction and they were very comfortable. Only issue I ran into was cactus spines that were able to penetrate the sole.