However, it had enough cushioning that I felt protected from the road-although I wouldn’t wear it on technical trails,” said one neutral-footed tester who runs about 40 miles per week. “This is a minimalist shoe so I did not expect it to be cushioned. While still fairly light at 7.3 ounces for a men’s size 9, the Speed Trainer-that’s the “ST”-puts a 16mm midsole between your foot and the ground and uses an internal support skeleton with a few light overlays for a bit more structure through the upper. These kicks work for running, agility training, weight lifting, and more unlike the third version, this model incorporates an Ortholite footbed that softens the step-in feel without adding too much cushioning. Topo’s stripped-back ST-4 may be minimal in design, but it hits the maximum in versatility.
Maximalist shoes feature a massive, chunky, soft midsole, giving you tons of padding between your feet and the ground. Though maximalist shoes are still a little controversial in the trail trail running community, they’ve gained a lot of popularity over the last 10 years or so and it’s probably safe to say they’re here to stay.
Maximalist shoes for trail running are an acquired taste, but those who have acquired it may be running longer distances (Image credit: Fiona Russell) Interestingly, these shoes can also double as reliable hiking shoes if you like to slow it down or hike the steep parts. But if you’re looking at scree, mud and snow, you’ll want to check out a model such as La Sportiva Bushido II. In case you can’t tell from the description above, you’re going to add a few ounces and lose some trail feel in order to gain all of this protection, and if you’re really not planning on running technical terrain, these shoes will be too burdensome. These may or may not be waterproof and should come with gaiter attachments to keep stones out of your shoes. In a nutshell, that means deep lugs that give you aggressive grip on slick and steep terrain, a carbon plate in the midsole to absorb the impact of uneven terrain beneath your feet and help propel you forward when you don’t have the rebound of a hard tarmac surface, and burly uppers that protect your toes from rocks and roots.
For adventures that entail the latter, you’re going to need a more technical shoe. Trail running in itself is a misleadingly broad term that basically covers any running not on tarmac, which means that it can involve easy running on a soft path or technical mountain running. Technical trail running shoes these shoes can also double as reliable hiking shoes if you like to slow it down or hike the steep parts (Image credit: Getty) Further, you might find some overlap between categories, but by the time you’ve finished this article, you should be clear on what features to look out for, and of course, we’ve given you our favorite recommendations for each type so you can take the trails without delay. We’ll be honest, when it comes to types of trail running shoes, the lines have got a bit blurry and while details like drop used to be defining features of certain types of shoes, these days you might be able to find zero, low, medium and high drop all within one category. Different types of trail running shoes are designed to take on different types of terrain and for this article, we’ve done our best to divide them up into five basic categories. Trail running might mean a long, reasonably fast pace on a soft trail in Kansas City or an all-day slog on steep, rocky terrain in Colorado’s high country. Is rugged always better or should you shed as many ounces as possible? Do you want to feel the trail or bounce off it like it's a trampoline? The answer of course is that it depends what you’re going to do in them. Basically, it’s a great time to be a trail runner, but it can make it all a bit difficult to know what shoes you need.
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