Top 5 Trail Running Shoes of 2012

As the year draws to a close and the promise of new and improved trail shoes hangs in the air, I decided that it would be appropriate to make a list of my top 5 Trail Running shoes of the year.  This year the traffic on my blog has increased drastically, and my most read posts are related to shoe reviews.  As a result of that, I have had an increase in manufactures sending me shoes to test and review and/or evaluate.

I only have one absolute rule for what goes on my feet.  The difference between the heel and forefoot cannot exceed 5mm.  My sweet spot for a long distance running shoe is a lightweight upper combined with enough cushioning to run for hours upon hours at a time.  I have sorted my list based on the number of miles I have put on that model this year.  As of this writing I have run 3048 miles.  Over 1500 of those miles were run in these 5 shoes.  With that, I give you my top 5, in descending order. 

Salomon S-Lab Sense

#5 Salomon S-Lab Sense. (56.2 miles)
Pros - Light weight, snug fit, great rock protection, bad ass looking
Cons - Traction could be better, $200 MSRP, reported short life

I love the way these shoes feel.  I have run few miles in them because I'm trying to "save" them for just the right race and training situations.  You can read my review of them here.

Running High Mileage with Plantar Fasciitis

It makes me so sad.  When I first started running I jumped up in the mileage pretty quickly.  What resulted, other than stronger legs, was a case of Plantar Fasciitis.  I struggled with it for months before going to a foot doctor.  He diagnosed me with PF and sent me to Granite State Physical Therapy.  This is when I met Brian Verville, the owner, for the first time.

Over the course of several weeks (maybe 6?) Brian got me back up and running using the techniques that I will describe in this post.  During this same time I also realized that my shoe choice might be another factor and began experimenting with more minimal, less cushioned and more flexible shoes.

The net result is that it went away.  I wasn't sure how much was due to the PT and how much the shoe change, but all that mattered was that it was gone.