Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

Photo by The Gazette

By TOMMY MANNING

Editor’s note: Manning is a math teacher and cross country coach at Fountain Valley School who’s part of the U.S. Mountain Running Team and finished runner-up in the 2011 Pikes Peak Ascent. He provides periodic tips — all of which can be found here on OutThereColorado.com.

What is the most important thing to think about when it comes to running?

Besides your health, I would say you need to think about what’s on your feet. Shoes are an important component to running but typically thought about only when it’s time for a new pair.

Traditional running companies such as New Balance, Saucony and Brooks make at least one trail shoe. Then you have companies such as Inov-8, Montrail and Salomon that focus almost exclusively on footwear for trails.

When trail shoes started becoming popular 15 years ago, the question was whether to trust an outdoors company that makes boots to make a good trail running shoe or to trust a shoe company that has made quality running shoes for years to modify its outsole for the trail?

I definitely leaned toward the traditional running shoe companies. I didn’t trust a hiking boot company to manufacture a high quality running shoe. I opted for New Balance more times than not because I found the shoes to be “fit” for me. They were cushioned, supportive and performed extremely well on the trails.

Now the trail companies are making more reputable shoes and more people are buying trail shoes. I run in Inov-8 shoes when training. Granted, I’m sponsored by Inov-8 but I joined the team because of the quality of shoe I was getting in return. They are lightweight and comfortable. The element I like most about them is their outsole, featuring great big lugs on the bottom. They’re almost like soccer cleats and really grip the dirt and gravel well on trails.

Some people will go with a traditional company for running on roads and a trail company for trails. This is a great idea, especially if you can own more than one pair of running shoes. You can pound the roads with shoes made for roads and you can hit the trails running on shoes with outsoles designed to give you a better grip on the technical terrain. All runners are different and you should stick with whatever you prefer. If you run on the trails and have not tried a pair of “trail” shoes yet, then you should at least try a pair and see what you think.