No rain today, so I ordered new trail running shoes. Dry weather running shoes. Maybe you’re wondering what one thing has to do with the other. The answer is; my feet. 

If you can follow this illogical logic, you know my feet as well as I do. My flat feet don’t like hard, flat roads. They like smoochy, small tracks, soggy fields and wet trails through the forests. They like natural cushioning. That’s why I don’t do any road races. 

The problem is; we haven’t had rain in ages. As a result the trails are as hard as tarmac. It doesn’t matter if I go into the forest, or if I just run on the road, my ankles take a beating every step I take. 

Great running shoes

I have great trail running shoes. The Brooks Cascadia 16. They are rugged, have great traction and definitely have some cushioning, but on the road they still feel pretty hard to my ankles. 

Now I do have road running shoes. Also Brooks. The Glycerin 20. They are super soft. But they are road shoes, and I prefer to keep them for the road. Simply because they are less rugged. So, I ordered a new pair of shoes today. A combination of the Cascadia and the Glycerin; the Caldera 6. A shoe for smoother trails, but with cushioning. 

Yes, it’s Brooks again. My feet aren’t only flat, but also very wide. Maybe because I don’t have a lot of arches. What I miss in height, I make up for broad-wise. For now I will call my new shoes dry weather running shoes. Perfect for trail running on paths that feel like tarmac. 

Steam Trail

Having said that, I do hope we will get some rain soon. The garden will love it. Especially our vegetable garden. The farmers around us will love it. The forest will love it. The creeks, that are totally dry, will love it and I will love it. 

This Saturday I have a trail run race coming up, the Viking Steam Trail. A 25 kilometers run. I will tell you a bit more about it this week. But I wouldn’t mind running running it on soft forest tracks, instead of on dusty, hard trails. So let’s keep our fingers crossed.