Trail shoes are a scam perpetrated by the running shoe manufacturers

I can't tell whether you're a troll or you've never been on a mountain trail with technical footing. Of course you can run Western States on road shoes, many people do. Tim Frericks won Transvulcania wearing Bostons. But if you take road shoes to a proper mountain course your feet are going to be beat up, you're going to bite some rocks, and you'll trash your shoes.

It's not like there aren't plenty of hobby joggers out there buying marathon flats.

You people need to get over yourselves and stop trying to shame others who are slower and whose life doesn't revolve around lowering their PBs. Truly fast people don't need to put others down to feel better about themselves. I guess mediocrity sucks sometimes.

Are you truly fast?

I frequently run mountain trails and do so in my regular running shoes. That said, there are times where I wouldn’t mind having a bit more traction.

No, I'm a hobby jogger, in 1:26' half-marathon shape (although I don't run much flat stuff lately). So below mediocre (never claimed otherwise).

Still, I don't get the contempt here for people who like gear, a particular brand of shoes, who've taken up running late in life and/or run for fun and being active.

One word: Rockplate.

Here's another word: Lugs.

Stupid troll.

John Utah wrote:

I frequently run mountain trails and do so in my regular running shoes. That said, there are times where I wouldn’t mind having a bit more traction.

Some of my best trail runs were in Asics road trainers, but a trail shoe like the Nike Wildhorse not only has more traction but also a lower and wider base, which gives a ton of confidence descending uneven terrain. Also, the shoe can take a beating that would tear holes in a regular road shoe.

And on the seventh day God did his long run wrote:

Face it. They're just a scam to pull in hobbyjogger dollars. If you know what you're doing at all, you can run in normal shoes on a trail. Therefore, by buying trail shoes, you are practically declaring yourself a hobby jogger.

Well, trail covers quite a lot of surfaces... Nicely groomed singletrack? Sure, crack on with your road shoes. Plenty of folk do; I think Hal Koerner and Jim Walmsley both wore Adios in the past. Round here? You better have Mudclaws or X-Talons (or something similar).

If you buy any running shoes at all, you are a hobby jogger.

Funny name OP

Technically you can. Like someone said earlier it does depend on what a trail is. Around me if its dry you can easily get away with it. The problem is we get lots of rain and we have lots of clay soils. That extra traction really does help when its damp out, you notice the difference. Snow as well.

Maybe OP is trolling but I've always felt this way. It has nothing to do with putting down folks who use trail shoes. I spent most of my years running in the mountains/technical single track of Vermont/Flagstaff/Ithaca. I always felt that trail shoes were just heavier. I did run almost all of my mileage in marathon flats. If anything, they flats are closer to rock climbing shoes than most trail shoes are.

I really don't see how small lugs in an outsole could make a difference in traction. Certainly not enough to warrant adding 6+ oz to each shoe. For hardcore trekking, like the long trail here in VT, I obviously understand the use of heavy hiking boats when carrying large packs for stability.

Anyways, now that I am a hobby jogger that spends all of my time on trails convince me I'm wrong for running in (currently a nike free). If I've been missing out all these years, I'm certainly open to switching it up.

I thought the same thing while growing up in the east and running trails there. Then I moved to the rocky mountains and they are... rocky, a lot more rocky than any other trails I've run.

Lol, you’re an awful troll.

Trail shoes are great for snow, uneven wet surfaces, harder trails with lots of rocks, muddy surfaces, and much more. And companies like Inov 8 have proven that you can make trail shoes that don’t weigh any more than road shoes.

Really, your just an ignorant, arrogant idiot if you can’t see the usefulness of trail shoes in certain situations.

By the way, to the 1:26 half marathoner, that is plenty fast. Just see where you place in Any half marathon you have run and it’s most likely way above the median.

In_Ithaca wrote:

For hardcore trekking, like the long trail here in VT, I obviously understand the use of heavy hiking boats when carrying large packs for stability.

Totally agree. Got to make use of big hiking boats. I did the entire AT in a catamaran with a vibram hull.

Road shoes are a scam perpetrated by the running shoe manufacturers.

Face it. They're just a scam to pull in hobbyjogger dollars. If you know what you're doing at all, you can run in trail shoes on a road. Therefore, by buying road shoes, you are practically declaring yourself a hobby jogger.

So, I need a new pair of shoes. I mostly run on trails. If I spend $90 on a pair of road shoes, I'm cool. But if I spend $90 on a pair of trail shoes, I'm getting scammed.

Please provide us a list of acceptable shoes to avoid being a hobby jogger.

I ran on trails in road shoes for decades. Then I got some trail shoes and wondered why I'd waited so long. Some days, like today, I still run trails in road shoes.

I'm spending the same amount of money on trail shoes that I did on road shoes. Am I still getting scammed? Am I half a hobby jogger because I sometimes wear road shoes and sometimes trail shoes?

You don't know what you are talking about. On a flat dirt trail in dry conditions, sure! wear whatever you like. Going downhill on a rocky, uneven, wet surface you'll appreciate the extra lateral support, stiffness of the sole and sturdiness of the upper layer that a trail shoe provides.

Nothing prevents people from using their trail shoes on a road or sidewalk.

Sasquatchy wrote:

So, I need a new pair of shoes. I mostly run on trails. If I spend $90 on a pair of road shoes, I'm cool. But if I spend $90 on a pair of trail shoes, I'm getting scammed.

Please provide us a list of acceptable shoes to avoid being a hobby jogger.

I ran on trails in road shoes for decades. Then I got some trail shoes and wondered why I'd waited so long. Some days, like today, I still run trails in road shoes.

I'm spending the same amount of money on trail shoes that I did on road shoes. Am I still getting scammed? Am I half a hobby jogger because I sometimes wear road shoes and sometimes trail shoes?

Same here, I wondered why I waited so long to buy trail shoes. They are great to wear on the trails and the soles don’t get so beat up by all the stuff you encounter on the trails.