All change on the shoe front!

My two main pairs of running shoes have served me well for a long time.  They are a pair of inov8 Roclite 315s, which have been my main training shoes, and some slightly older Salomon Speedcross 2s that come out when it is wetter and softer. After some 1200 miles between them they have both got to the end of their honourable and faithful service and have to be retired. Both are suffering from worn down soles, splits in the uppers and general wornoutedness.

To replace the Speedcross 2s I have got some .... Speedcross 3s! I got my Salomons for my first OMM, three and a half years ago, and they felt good from the moment I put them on. Soft like slippers, and as I wore them they moulded themselves even better to my feet.  I can run all day in them in the wet without ever having to worry about a blister, and the aggressive lugs are more than a match for any mountain mud. I pondered the idea of getting some Mudclaws (I ama great Inov8 fan!), but settled on just getting the latest update to teh Speedcross range.

They had their first outing this morning and they felt good. I could immediately feel the softness of the big lugs running on the road and the hard paths, which showed me how much the old ones had worn down. But they fitted like a glove (or maybe a sock!) and I know they are going to be fine. Now mudded and wetted, they have earned their place in the shoe rack!

Trusty old Inov-8 Roclite 315s and the new upstart X-Talon 240s

The other change is a bit more substantial! My main Inov8 Roclite 315s have served me well, but I have always had a hankering for some of Inov8's running "boots". A cheap offer at SportPursuit for some X-Talon  240s caught my eye (and my credit card!), and I have just received these strange new beasts!

First impressions are:

• Light! Much lighter than my other running shoes
• Reasonable fit. I have found Inov8 size 6s fit my size 6 feet, and these are no different.  A bit roomier on the forefoot than my others, but my experience with Inov8s is that they mould themselves to my foot with time (and water and mud!)
• Soft underfoot. The big soft lugs feel soft on hard ground (much like the Speedcrosses), but the felt solid and grippy on the loose gravel and pebbles of the path.

Interestingly I could feel my heel hitting the ground as I was running, which I have never felt in my Roclites.