Last year I hiked over 2200 miles wearing Montrail Hardrock trailrunning shoes. They were sturdy, comfortable, protected well against rocks, and drained water well. I literally couldn't say enough great things about them. This year was a different story though. I bought a new pair of Hardrocks while in Colorado, that I planned to wear while hiking the almost 500 miles of the Colorado Trail. I actually started the trail with a pair of GoLite Sundragons, but they fell apart due to a manufacturing defect after only 75 miles. I realized that I shouldn't have messed with a good thing anyway, and bought the Hardrocks in Breckenridge. After about 50 miles in them though, both my ankles started to get extremely sore. It got so bad at one point, that I had to hike for an entire day in my crocs. I just figured that I got a stiff pair or maybe they just weren't broken in yet. I hiked through it and finished the trail.
on to the present...
about 2 weeks ago, I ran in my first ultrarun: The vermont 50. I knew I wasn't going to wear my Asics Gel road running shoes, so I went to get a new pair of Montrails. This time, I opted for the slightly less clunky continental divide shoe. At about mile 30 of the race, I was greeted with that familiar ankle pain. I'm assuming that Montrail has changed something in their design this year. I had no problem with brand new Montrails last year right out of the box causing any kind of pain. After the race, I spent nearly two weeks researching new shoes. I'm a pretty neutral runner (don't over or under pronate) and I wanted something that wouldn't rub funny. After trying on numerous pairs of runners at various stores, and after reading hundreds of reviews, I finally settled on a pair of Cascadia 3's by Brooks. I've only had them out a couple of times, but already, I can say that they are extremely comfortable, and they do not rub on my ankle bones. I am looking forward to taking these out on a long test run, but so far....I am really happy with this purchase.
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