NorthernRunner.com Blog

A lesser-known brand this week, but a brand we’ve been enjoying for a little while—it’s our 361° Centauri review. The 361 Centauri is a neutral everyday training shoe. It is a little different from other neutral shoes that 361 has made. Designed from the ground up it has a brand-new midsole material and offers more forward propulsion than previous models. The heel counter is made from a supportive plastic heel cup which holds the heel firmly in place as you move through the gait cycle. The heel cup is nicely... Read More

Need that extra bit of protection on your trail runs? This week’s Hoka Speedgoat 5 GTX review is for you! The Hoka Speedgoat has been one of our best-selling trail shoes for several years. It offers a soft feeling cushioning and a versatile grip that works well on a variety of terrain. The Speedgoat 5 came out in July 2022 and had a significant change to the fit of the upper in comparison to the previous version here is a link to our comparison: HOKA Spedgoat 5 vs HOKA Speedgoat... Read More

We have a large contingent of Brooks customers at Northern Runner that will be happy to see this it’s our Brooks Hyperion Max review. The Brooks Hyperion range is all about helping the runner go faster. The range consists of the Hyperion (which was Hyperion Tempo), Hyperion Max and the Hyperion Elite. They all use Brooks’ DNA Flash midsole, which is a nitrogen infused foam midsole. These are designed to offer a firm and responsive ride. They also all have a curved rocker type midsole which Brooks calls Rapid Roll... Read More

Coming in hot after its recent release, this week it’s our Hoka Torrent 3 review. Hoka made its name making shoes with a thick midsole made from lots of soft foam. However, not all Hoka running shoes have this ‘pillow-like’ feel. The Torrent 3 is a shoe with a more snappy, responsive feel and a lot more ground feel than other Hoka trail running shoes. Trail running shoes need to be able to respond to rough tracks and trails in such away that you don’t get thrown around by the... Read More

Right on time for release, we have the Hoka Clifton 9 review. Hoka entered the running market back in 2009. Their shoes had a rocker to help improve running efficiency and a thick, soft midsole. They looked and felt very different to other running shoes of the time. Now we’re running in the Hoka Clifton 9, a whole 14 years on, and a lot of running shoes use rockers and have a high stack height just like Hoka. This illustrates the effectiveness of their technology, which increases comfort, speed of... Read More

This week at Northern Runner we’ve taken the latest CloudTec running shoes for a spin and created our On CloudGo review. On running shoes have developed a lot since their inception in 2010. Originally the ‘clouds’ on the bottom of their first shoe the CloudSurfer were designed to stimulate the feet to function. A thin plastic plate within the midsole was designed to mimic your planta fascia by stretching when loaded and springing you into your next step. The On CloudSurfer was designed to work with your feet rather than... Read More

This week, a hotly anticipated deeper dive into the latest Zero Drop trail shoe from Altra. It’s the Altra Lone Peak 7 review. The Lone Peak was Altra’s original shoe and has gone on to be their most popular trail running shoe. Like all Altra shoes they are Zero Drop and have a rounded toe box trademarked as FootShape.  The Lone Peak 7 is a broad fitting shoe with a good level of volume in the upper, as it is made on Altra’s ‘original’ last. Altra now offers three different... Read More

This week on the Northern Runner blog; the light and nimble HOKA Mach 5 gets a review. A lot of runners want one shoe that will work well for all types of running. This is very hard to achieve, as the feel and level of protection needed, in a road running shoe in this instance, is different at different paces. It’s also tricky when you consider that a lot of running shoes are designed to ‘help you run quicker’, which isn’t what you want on your easy recovery runs or... Read More

This week we have a much-anticipated review, the Altra VIA Olympus. The Altra Via Olympus, like all Altra shoes is designed to allow your feet to function. This allows you to run with a more natural and upright posture and be ‘lighter on your feet’. The current trend is softer, thicker midsole running shoes. From the look of the VIA Olympus you could be forgiven for thinking that the it’s one of these maximum cushioned shoes. However, Altra running shoes are a bit different to most other running shoes. Maximal... Read More