NorthernRunner.com Blog

Time for something different this week in our Topo Athletic Traverse review. The Traverse is a shoe designed for the long distance walker in mind. It replaces the Ultraventure Pro, which was a long distance trail running shoe that a lot of customers used for walking. Topo Athletic designed a shoe specifically with the walker in mind using the Ultraventure Pro as a blue print. The Topo Ultraventure Pro was one of our Newcastle store manager Craig’s favourite shoes for Ultramarathon distance so he was disappointed to see it dropped... Read More

Today we have the second of three reviews across the Altra Experience family, in our Altra Experience Flow review. Altra’s ‘Philosophy’ Altra running shoes are well known for being designed to allow your feet to function as nature intended. They have a broad and rounded toe box, allowing space for your feet to spread on impact and have an equal distance to the ground from heel to forefoot aka 0mm drop or (formerly a trademark) zero drop. Having no raise at the heel allowed your feet to land under your... Read More

Altra have created a brand new three-member product family known as the Experience range and today we’ve finished up our Altra Experience Wild review. New Family of Rocker + 4mm Drop Altra are renowned for making shoes that have the space to allow your feet to function and have a flat or zero millimetre drop midsole to allow for a more natural midfoot landing, so your body is able to function naturally. They still make shoes of this type, but a growing trend is running shoes that ‘do some of... Read More

Another roomy toe box trail running shoe today, with our Topo Terraventure 4 review. The Topo Terraventure 4 is an everyday trail running shoe designed to be versatile enough for some rough ground, where you need a more flexible and nimble feeling shoe, but also have enough underfoot protection for firmer tracks and trails and even a few miles of tarmac on the way to and from your local trail. The Topo Terraventure was the first Topo trail shoe to have the right mix of cushioning and grip to work... Read More

It’s time to sum up a bunch of miles off-road in our Inov-8 TrailFly Speed review. The Inov-8 TrailFly Speed is the latest addition to the range of new Inov-8 running shoes that are focussed on providing a more anatomical shape to the last and cushioning levels that allow for foot function. The TrailFly ‘Speed’ is designed to be used on hard-packed trails and unlike the regular TrailFly, has been stripped back to provide a good level of ground feel and flexibility that allows your feet and lower legs to... Read More

Time for a carbon plated race day shoe suitable for the marathon distance, in our New Balance FuelCell SC Elite v4 Review.  Energy Arc Carbon The SC Elite v4 is a totally different shoe to the SC Elite v3. The SC Elite v4 is neutral and has a very soft and bouncy feel to the cushioning. The midsole is now made from PEBA, a soft but very responsive foam and the carbon fibre plate has also been redesigned to work better with the new foam. The Energy Arc carbon plate... Read More

In our Topo Athletic Magnifly 5 review we explore the neutral road running shoe designed to be light and responsive, but durable and cushioned enough for your everyday miles/long runs, whilst being zippy enough for some quicker sessions. Zero Drop – Midfoot Landing Topo Athletic make shoes in a range from 0mm to 5mm drop. The Magnifly 5 is built on a zero drop or 0mm from heel to forefoot last. The stack height is identical, which essentially means that the midsole is ‘flat’ or same distance from the ground... Read More

The Golden Gate ATR is a shoe designed for road to trail, hence ‘ATR or all terrain’ and we’ve now completed our Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 review. Cushioned and durable enough to be comfortable on tarmac yet responsive and grippy enough for use on hard packed tracks and trails and everything up to but, not including deep mud. I enjoyed running in the previous version. It was a work horse type of a shoe that offered a high level of cushioning without being too soft. It was also very... Read More

The Scott Kinabalu has been a good road to trail option since its inception and today we’ve finished up our Scott Kinabalu 3 review. The version 3 is very different to the previous two versions. Less versatile in the types of terrain it is suited to, but perhaps better suited to the terrain that it was designed to be used on. The Scott Kinabalu 3 is designed as a road-to-hard-packed-trail running shoe. A straighter big toe line allows a much more positive push-off than the more pointed toe box of... Read More

Fresh off the boat from Finland and moving quickly, we’ve got the VJ Sport Lightspeed review. VJ is a Finish orienteering brand that has made performance footwear since 1981. Their running shoes are well known for being grippy, with a good level of ground feel that allows the runner to remain nimble over tricky terrain. This helps tremendously when running through undergrowth, which is common terrain in orienteering events, plus broken ground fells or a cross country course. The shoes flex in all directions to allow the foot to react... Read More