Running Shoe Reviews and Information

Altra Escalante The Lightweight Road Runner & Racer — Stocked at NorthernRunner.com and Norther Runner Newcastle, introducing the Escalante, the smash hit running shoe from Altra with its distinctive Zero Drop platform and FootShape toe box, that ensures you achieve a winning combination of best running form and maximum comfort. Designed for racing and training, but looking great anywhere, it enhances performance by improving natural body positioning.  It incorporates all that is the best in Altra Shoes including the trademark roomy toe box, which allows a wide toe splay to help stability, natural... Read More

Have Your Shoes Shaped Your Feet? Why Foot Shaped Toe Boxes Are, Rightly, Taking Over — My own feet were always very narrow with squashed up toes from wearing tight fell shoes for 30 years. After 10 years of wearing more foot shaped shoes I now have much broader feet, with gaps between my toes and a lot more movement. Running (and other) shoes traditionally tend to be pointy… yet feet aren’t. The reason for this unfortunately is fashion and not function. When we get customers coming into the shop who have been... Read More

Inov-8 X-Talon 210 Review Part 2 – Road Test —- The 210’s Roots A lot of Inov-8 fans will remember the X-Talon 190. This was the stripped down, lightweight version of the X-Talon 212. This shoe became the racing shoe of choice for lots of fell runners and a popular cross country racing shoe too. They where very flexible, which gave a real feel for the ground. However, this was a bit too much feel for some and the lightweight upper tended to get holes in it quite quickly. So, as... Read More

Inov-8 X-Talon 210 & 230 Review Part 1 – Introduction The Next Generation of Grip? —- Where It Started – X-talon 212 Inov-8’s X-Talon 212 has probably become the most popular fell and cross country shoe in the country. Originally it was designed as a cross country racing shoe. The long studs would offer grip and were placed with plenty of space between them to avoid clogging, even on the muddiest of courses. The flexible shoe would bend to the terrain to maintain grip on even the roughest of surfaces.... Read More

Altra Lone Peak 3.5 Review — Altra’s Lone Peak 3.5 is the latest version of Altra’s most popular trail running shoe. The Lone Peak is so popular because it is so versatile. The cushioning is good enough for the shoe to be used on the road for a mile or two to get to your trail or even, at a push, for the odd road run if you have no alternative, feeling surprisingly comfortable for a trail shoe. The vibram outsole grips well on wet wood or rock and is well... Read More

Inov-8 Parkclaw 275 GTX – Finally One Shoe For Everything? Lot’s of customers who come to Northern Runner are looking for one running shoe that will cover all their running needs. It isn’t possible to have one shoe that will be well cushioned for your road running and also be grippy and nimble enough to get you round the National Cross Country. However, it is possible to have an off-road shoe versatile enough to run trails, that still offers enough cushioning to comfortably take you from your house to the... Read More

Topo Terraventure Review — Did You Know? After reading the review, if you are looking for a shoe like the Terraventure trail running shoe but, would prefer a waterproof upper then the Topo Hydroventure is exactly that! Topo is the newest brand to Northern Runner. We have tried a number of shoes since the brands inception in 2013 but despite the nice fit and being well made, they tended to be a little stiff, taking a while to break in. Once broken in the Topo shoes where lovely to run in, were durable and I... Read More

Altra Paradigm 3.0 Testing/Review — Overview As a user of the original Paradim (600+ miles in fact!) and at the time of writing a user of the Paradigm 2.0, I was interested to see how the newest version compared. Immediately it’s clear this new Paradigm 3.0 is a very well cushioned Altra shoe, with a very roomy toe box, that immediately proved ideal for my wider foot and bunions. All Altra shoes follow this format, but do differ slightly. I’m traditionally a heel striker and have written about transitioning to Zero Drop... Read More

Hoka Speed Instinct 2 Review – Responsive Encouragement — Hoka One One was developed by two Frenchmen Nicholas Mermoud and Jean Luc Diard. They had seen how over sized ski’s had made it easier to ski in powder conditions and how over sized tyres on Mountain Bikes had revolutionised off road cycling. They thought that oversized running shoes might do the same. Originally the idea was an over shoe to carry in your pack on trail runs and slip over your trails shoes to use for the descents. However, this... Read More

The New Altra Escalante or One V3? Two Fantastic Zero Drop Lightweight Road Shoes — This article is written for those who already understand the benefits of Zero Drop, the roomy FootShape Toe Box and more features of Altra’s extensive running shoe range. Read: WHAT IS HEEL TO FOREFOOT DROP? ZERO DROP AND MORE EXPLAINED Read: “SHOULD I BUY ZERO DROP RUNNING SHOES?” HERE’S A FEW REASONS WHY Read: HOW TO TRANSITION TO ZERO DROP – MY EXPERIENCE When customers have been researching a lightweight natural running shoe, we often get asked which would be... Read More