Downhiller! What shoes to wear?

PR seeker wrote:

Will Hoka's help get a PR? The course is 7 miles 100% downhill on pavement.

Hoka One One's or racing flats?

Or something else? Yes, I need a gimmick!

Brooks Beast to protect your knees against the jarring motion of the descent. How much total net downhill over the 7 miles? Where is it??

PR seeker? You are so lame that you have to seek out a fully downhill course to set a seven mile "PR"?

Parachutes will just slow you down.

Hoka's or Skecher Ultras

Nothing with a high heel to toe drop.

Yes, it is lame, but it is more about beating the competition.

It wouldn't be a real PR.

Who's to say CIM times are lame?

Forget the motivation and side stories.

What's the faster shoe on a downhill race?

Hoka One Bondi 11-12 oz

Hoka One Clifton at 7.9oz

Hyperspeed 6, 5-6oz

or something crazy like a 4oz flat?

Is the 4oz flat the fastest or would the extra cushioning of the Hoka get you down faster?

Maybe a 4 oz flat if you're elite, but I think for us average guys a really cushioned shoe like the Hoka Bondi or Skecher's Ultra would allow us the let it loose.

5.11 Impact

Sorry, meant to say FiveTen Impact.

So confusing, these two brands...

old guy 68 wrote:

Maybe a 4 oz flat if you're elite, but I think for us average guys a really cushioned shoe like the Hoka Bondi or Skecher's Ultra would allow us the let it loose.

I've never worn the Hoka, but I can vouch for Skechers Ultra. The beveled heel will be less jarring impact when you foot touches down. The On Cloudsurfer is another good downhill shoe. The Skechers GoRun Ride 3 might be a third choice.

A caution... you might not be able to tolerate the beveled heel of the Ultra and GoRun Ride 3. I have to trim some material off the midsole to get a comfortable fit. It has some black circles of harder material on the midsole that I trim down 1mm or so. It makes a surprising difference in the feel of the shoe.

PR Seeker wrote:

Who's to say CIM times are lame?

I wouldn't say that CIM times are lame, but I would use the word "aided".

But if you are running a 7 mile race that is entirely downhill (Can this be true? That's a long stretch of all downhill.), then you can't really compare CIM to what you are doing.

CIM may have an elevation loss, but there are quite a few uphills. I ran faster at Humboldt Redwoods which was fairly flat. I was in similar shape for both.

No question. Spira. Check out the World's fastest 10k.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BspQP9gJAeU

That link is from 2008. What model of Spira? They have a bunch including some in camouflage?

anyone here tried Spira shoes? All the threads are from 2007, 2008.

Anyone? Is there still controversy with Spira? They look kind of cool. Maybe they are just the thing for downhillers?