Malmesbury Bikes

My running takes me off-road – not only does it avoid the knee-jarring impact of normal tarmac-pounding, but it’s a much more interesting place to be. There’s none of the constancy of ‘normal’ street furniture, which doesn’t change from month-to-month, season-to-season – apart from the rain and occasional snow storm. No, instead the fields and ground underfoot are always changing, not to mention the wildlife, sounds and smells along the way.

Having had a couple of near-death experiences last summer trying to run across tracks made treacherous by unseasonal downpours in my old road trainers, I decided to get some proper trail shoes.

I won’t go into the pros and cons of other brands – suffice to say the Mizuni offer the following:

Wide fit with space for the toes – space for thicker socks and not uncomfortable when the going gets wet.

Intermediate grip – they’re not fell-running spikes, but I need to run on-road to get to the trails and then to cross a few roads. So the flat chunky tread works in my favour, creating a nice stable platform.

No padding – strange as it might seem, although there’s virtually no padding or support in the sole, the shoe feels remarkably comfortable. It’s probably as close to running barefoot as I’d be prepared to go, but the feedback from the undulating ground and the ability to respond quickly to changes (without breaking an ankle) is very satisfying.

Great colour – I know the 2009 yellow colourway won’t suit everyone, but I love it. Not sure why Mizuno swapped to a more muted red for the 2010 version.

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