NorthernRunner.com Blog

Obviously, no one shoe is for everyone. We all have different shaped feet and hit the ground with different forces. Some of us pronate and need some support in our shoes when others use an orthotic to give them some support. That being said, there is one at Northern Runner Newcastle that has been a top 3 best seller since it came on the market over 10 years ago.  The Brooks Dyad was created in response to the Dutch Brooks distributor wanting a stable, yet neutral shoe. Initially Brooks made... Read More

The New Balance Tempo is the replacement for the beloved New Balance Zante. However, the Tempo is not just the Zante under a new name. As the name suggests, the New Balance Tempo is a shoe made for running at a faster pace. Compared with something max. cushioned like the 1080, if you prefer a firmer, less cushioned ride and naturally faster tempo in all your training, then the Tempo could even be your everyday trainer. For most people though, this will be a shoe for your tempo runs, steady... Read More

Topo Magnifly 3 Review – Part 1: Intro For those unfamiliar with Topo, Topo is a brand that is all about letting the foot function. So all the shoes have a low heel to forefoot drop to allow a more natural, midfoot landing. The heel to forefoot drop ranges from 5mm to 0mm with a variation of cushioning levels/stack heights and different levels of flexibility. So whatever your skill level there is a Topo shoe that will meet your needs. The toe box is broad and rounded, more like a... Read More

Updated: Hoka Torrent 2 Review The bulk of this review was created for the original Hoka Torrent and the Hoka Torrent 2 has a only a few adjustments/improvements. As a result, all of the content below is still super relevant. A whole new review would feel incredibly repetitive. Instead let’s look at what’s changed with the new version. Torrent 2 vs Torrent – A Durability Upgrade The Hoka Torrent 2 is the same nimble feeling trail shoe described below that’s great for harder broken trail like the original, that I... Read More

Altra Provision 4 Review There aren’t many if any running shoes on the market that are made to allow your foot to function naturally but also give some guidance or pronation support. The reason for this is that most runners who land on their midfoot tend not to then pronate, as a lot of pronation is caused by the initial breaking force when the runner’s heel hits the floor. The other reason is that it’s difficult to make. If you put a mechanism in the shoe to actively reduce the... Read More

The Altra Timp is Altra’s well cushioned trail running shoe. Designed for mainly hard packed trails but versatile enough for some tarmac and some wetter trails too. Like all Altra shoes the Timp has a broad and rounded toe box aka FootShape and is Zero Drop. In combination with each other, these two aspects of Altra running shoes allow your foot to both splay on impact & function inside the shoes whilst giving them room to expand as they land and naturally warm up. You are even encouraged to run... Read More

The Altra Lone Peak is Altra’s original and most popular Zero Drop trail running shoe. It has developed a lot over the years and has become one of the most popular trail shoes that we sell at Northern Runner, with a mid/boot version and a waterproof version also available. The current version is the Lone Peak 4.5, which like all Altra shoes is Zero Drop, with a broad rounded toe box (aka FootShape) and as such is designed to allow the foot to function naturally and encourage movement through a... Read More