Mountain Equipment Co-op provided me with much necessary trail running shoe porn this weekend. I have been trail running a bit this winter with my run partner and since he bought himself trail runners I can’t keep up in the mud. So this purchase is practical and competitive in nature 🙂

The Wall of Shoe Porn

I tried on New Balance, Salomon, Saucony, La Sportiva and Brooks shoes.

These Salomon Speedcross 3 CS runners below look amazing for winter running. They were ridiculously warm on my feet. Perfect grips for snow or mud and had the quick lace technology. It’s almost like velcro shoes for kids 🙂

I’m also a huge fan of New Balance shoes because they fit my narrow feet and always have great support. These were perfectly light and so comfortable but when comparing the treads and the toe caps from the NB to the Salomon ones, Salomon won out.

I ended up going with the lighter (and less expensive!) model of the SpeedCross 3 as these were a bit lighter, still very warm so I can still wear them in the winter but my feet won’t die a sweaty death during summer, spring & fall workouts 🙂 They also were a prettier blue colour vs. puke green but that didn’t affect my choice at all!!!! 😉

I told my Mom that I wanted to research camel packs for my trail running adventures and for my half marathon training and poof the MEC version which is 2L and a perfect pack size backpack appeared at the checkout as an early birthday present. I’m going to be well hydrated and well griped for my upcoming adventures. I cannot wait to get them out on the trail!

Happy Trail Running!