Running Shoe Reviews and Information

RUNNING SHOES FOR WIDE FEET ARE YOU RUNNING SHOES WIDE ENOUGH? This seems obvious.. but how should your running shoes fit ? The most important point to take away is that there should be plenty of room in them. There are many brands out there that offer wide and extra wide road and off-road running shoes to ensure you have that space. Whether you land on your heel or your mid-foot, your foot will change shape as you go through the running cycle. Your foot spreads out as it touches the... Read More

Inov-8 X-Talon Origin: X-Talon 212 & 190 The Inov-8 X-Talon 212 was originally intended as a cross country racing shoe with studs that were spaced out enough as to not clog with mud. It was flexible enough to mould to the ever changing shape of the ground you run on during a cross country run or race. The shoe was light, with a mesh upper that prevented water being absorbed, making you uncomfortable and weighing you down. The shoe had a fast and responsive feel and yet was shortly followed by the stripped down, even faster racing version–the X-Talon 190. “The... Read More

Inov- 8 Trail Talon 275 Road Test / Review “Good to use on most off-road surfaces, certainly the ones I tried that included man made off-road paths, sand, stone, natural firm sandy soil, small amounts of mud, tarmac and concrete in small doses.” — FIND THE TRAIL TALON HERE — Testing & Observations Test 1:  The extremely important ‘house test’.  Any new shoes get worn indoors for an hour.  I notice the roomy toe box, just like Inov-8’s Road Claw.  I like the 290; I think this is going to be good. Good... Read More

Altra Latest: Lone Peak 3.0 Trail Running Shoes The Altra Lone Peak 3.0 is due to arrive in the UK very soon, in fact we are expecting to have delivery to our shop and warehouse by early September and are taking pre-orders for those wanting to get in quick. “…versatile enough to cope with everything from a bit of tarmac to a muddy farmers field.” The concept for the Lone Peak 3.0 is the same as the previous Lone Peak models. It is a ‘medium cushioned’ trail running shoe and... Read More

Brand New Inov-8 Range – A Quick Introduction It’s all change at Inov-8.   It is hard for any brand to make the perfect off road running shoe as everyone’s off road has different types of terrain within it. Add to this the fact that all brands are now global and trying to sell the same shoe all over the world and it gets even more difficult. However, most of the runners in the world live in urban areas so their trail is a mix of road and off road... Read More

On Cloudventure Review, Testing and First Impressions — Day 1: House test – worn indoors for two hours. My first thought is that the Cloudventure has plenty of width. I’m using the ‘mid top’ version and as such am not used to the built on debris stop, but shoe goes on OK and feels comfortable! Day 2: House test no.2, so pretty much as before but for four hours. It is important not to skip these early stages. Day 3: An easy run around the local park. On grass, damp conditions.... Read More

From a 12mm Drop Heel Striker to Zero Drop At Northern Runner we have written the odd Altra Zero Drop running shoe review. However, this time we’ve asked one of our team members Iain to write a piece on how someone who is used to a 12 mm heel drop transitions to the Zero Drop trademarked technology from Altra. First the reasoning behind the idea… I am a real heel striker and have been so for all my running years. Recently I have taken on board a lot of coaching experience... Read More

A Beginners Guide to ON CloudTec® Technologies – “Land soft…but push off hard” Staying light on your feet whilst running and attempting to land with a mid-foot strike (which helps product lower impact) can help you avoid developing pains in different areas of your feet and legs, and injuries as a consequence. ON running shoes have mini ‘clouds’ in the sole, which cushion vertically and horizontally. When you hit the running surface, these little Clouds squash down–your supported soft landing. In the same instant, the Clouds have become firm and primed to spring back into... Read More

The Altra Lone Peak 2.5 is the fourth generation of Altra’s Lone Peak range, their medium cushioned trail shoe. This shoe is an extremely popular choice at Northern Runner because the combined level of grip and cushion make this a great road to trail shoe for the UK. The Previous Generation Lone Peak 2.0 I have been happily running in the Lone Peak 2.0 for a year or so now and so I was interested to see what improvements Altra had made. Firstly I thought it would be a good... Read More

A Women’s Offering From Altra that Isn’t Just ‘Small and Pretty’ – The Intuition 3.5   The Altra Intuition 3.5 is the Women’s specific version of the Altra Instinct 3.5. However, it isn’t just the same shoe made in small sizes and pretty colours. All Altra’s shoes are gender specific because Women’s feet are a different shape to Men’s. Women have a narrower heel and midfoot, higher instep, longer arch and slightly different spacing between their toes. Altra makes a whole line of truly female-specific shoes. Altra’s shoes are all... Read More