As a regular enthusiast of off road running over the years, I felt I needed to trial the Salomon Speedcross shoes we had now started stocking. Usually I don't need much wearing in of shoes, and these with their nice soft fitting uppers were no exception.
The Salomon Speedcross is a fairly low profile dedicated trail shoe, with what I considered enough grip to keep me upright on steep and muddy trails but also some cushioning to cope with harder packed firm based trails like forestry tracks or the firmer paths of our local Pentland Hills just outside Edinburgh where I run regularly.
I spent a couple of days walking around in them to get a feel for the fit. The quick pull lacing system I had not used for a while, but once mastered again enabled me to easily pull laces tight to feel my foot was held well in place and wasn’t going to slip from side to side on uneven ground. The heel fit was good even though I had gone for a half size bigger than I take on some shoes in expectation of the longer training runs and races I had hoped to do in the coming weeks and months.
A few days break in the Highlands was ideal time to test them out, and satisfied from my walking around in them, I set off from Killin village in Perthshire. On a damp winter’s afternoon in search of the forest trails above the village on the Lochearn side of the glen. As I steadily gained height through the pine forest I deliberately meandered up the trail, running not just on the hard packed tyre track sections but also the grassy and mossy central divide and the verges, both of which were soft and in places soggy after the recent few days rain. The grip seemed fine and although there was an abundance of them, I felt no effects of loose stones or pebbles digging into the balls of my feet, which is such a feature of Highland trail running.
After about 45 minutes steady climbing with occasional views of the surrounding hills and mountains seen through gaps in the trees to whet my appetite, I emerged above the tree line to be welcomed by a very strong wind which the trees and the lower slopes had obviously been protecting me from. I carried on up the track for a while but realising it was unlikely I would make the crest of the ridge and get back down through the woodland again before dark fully enveloped me I began to retrace my steps. After the steady ascent I was keen to see how the shoes would cope with the descent. They were absolutely fine as I put in a few good sustained downhill efforts both on the firm hard packed but occasionally muddy sections and also on the grassy and mossy borders which were saturated with all the recent rain. Only on short very steep section did I feel my foot moving forward slightly inside the shoe.
I gave them a couple of shorter runs on the next two days before the next major test: a 28 mile run in the Yaama Trust Ultra, on a stretch of the rugged West Highland Way from Kinlochleven to Tyndrum. This would be a true test for them as the terrain is a total mixture, but for 3 short road links of about a mile each at Kingshouse Hotel at Glencoe and Bridge of Orchy. It includes steep gravelly trails, sections over the famous Devil's Staircase where the path is littered with small rocky outcrops that you are liable to bash your toes on, the long and exposed stony Drove Road over the edge of Rannoch Moor, and more level well trodden paths on the glen from Bridge of Orchy up to Tyndrum. It coped with all the trail could throw at them. It was only on the last few miles that my by then tired feet would feel a few ripples under my forefoot from pebbles and the occasional sharp rock on the trail.
All in all although the Speedcross is slightly heavier than some dedicated trail shoes I have worn in the past, and also from its looks it seems to be slightly higher profile, it did not feel at all heavy. It had a good forefoot flex and on some of the slightly uneven technical areas my foot seemed to be held very well. The strong but light toe guard did protect my toes very well when tiredness caused me to kick a few! I will be happy to wear them through the Scottish winter for training and for longer trail races.
Adrian Tarit Stott