NorthernRunner.com Blog

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

Skip straight to the full Lone Peak 7 review here: Lone Peak 7 Review – In Depth Look — 09-01-2022 – Naturally, with the Altra Lone Peak 7 only having been released and us only just putting on a pair, we don’t have a full several-hundred-mile review in just yet. However, some important first impressions will form Part 1 of our Lone Peak 7 review and will help customers to decide if they want to pre-order and reserve their size in anticipation for the Lone Peak 7 launch. The Lone... Read More

Could there be a better way to finish the year than with a Hoka Challenger 7 review? The Hoka Challenger ATR was designed as an all-terrain shoe, also known as a road-to-trail shoe. It offers the cushioning level and and softer feel of a road shoe, but is grippy enough to cope with tracks and trails and offers some underfoot protection to reduce the chance of getting thorns or rocks damaging your feet. Shoes of this type are always a compromise. Whether it’s a good compromise depends on what the... Read More

Enjoy lots of cushioning? You’re in the right place, as this week it’s our HOKA One One Bondi 8 review. The Hoka Bondi first came to the market in 2014 and remains Hoka’s most cushioned neutral training running shoe. The midsole is injection moulded. This makes the midsole more resilient to compression and gives it more rebound than models like the Hoka Clifton, which has a compression moulded midsole. Often injection moulded midsoles feel firmer, but the Hoka Bondi 8 has a new, softer foam meaning that the Bondi 8... Read More

This week we finished our much anticipated Brooks Ghost 15 review! The Brooks Ghost is a running shoe designed for everyday training. It is in the mid cushioning range, durable and offers a high level of comfort. The heel collar is well padded with a smooth Lycra cuff that gives a luxurious feel to the shoes the moment you put them on. The upper is now made of an engineered air mesh that uses a 3D printing technique to enhance the fit. This has reduced the volume in the upper... Read More

This week, I’m reviewing the new BOA-fitted La Sportiva Cyklon Cross GTX. The rain was relentless, coming down in near-biblical proportions since the early hours. After experiencing the hottest summer on record in the UK, readjusting to running in such wet conditions has been a challenge. However, I was excited to test the Cyklon Cross GTX. Without these, I would have used the La Sportiva Cyklon—a shoe I’ve enjoyed since its release—for a run along the riverbanks of Shotley Bridge. Testing the Cyklon Cross GTX in such extreme weather promised... Read More

We grabbed a pair of the brand-new graphene enhanced Inov-8 Roclite Ultra G 320 ahead of time, from our friends at Inov-8, and put in some miles to get you a launch day review! The Inov-8 Roclite trail running shoe was first ranged as a lightweight training shoe, along with the Inov-8 Flyroc back in 2005. The Roclite was perfect for training on the fells. The length of the lugs was enough to get you down steep grass descents, even on wetter days. The shoe offered more cushioning than the... Read More