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Trail runners and mud?

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Laurie Sanantone

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We’re starting out from St. Jean on April 25 and I’m vacillating about my footwear. I’m trying out new Keen Voyager hiking shoes, and I’m also looking at Brooks Cascadia 12 trail runners (I love my Brooks running shoes and thought the Cascadias would fit about the same). But I’m worried what happens with trail runners in mud — seems like they would be a muddier mess than hiking shoes. Any advice out there from the veterans?
 
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Hello

I've walked in Altra Lone Peak trail runners and don't remember having a problem with mud. The shoe seemed to coped well with the stickiness and kept its grip. I've had occasion to dip them in the odd puddle to clean off cloddy mud but it's not been a problem. If anything I found that the lighter trail shoes dry out faster so I didn't have to put a wet shoe on in the morning.

Hope this helps
 

Trail runners are, by nature, designed to handle the varying conditions of the trail. I've used them (New Balance 910s) over thousands of backpacking mile and on Camino.
 
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I had no issues with my New Balance trail runners during camino rainy days. Good luck and enjoy the whole camino enchilada, have a Feliz Navidad, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.
 
 
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First camino, last 100km in Merrill boots, black tonails. Second camino, the Camino Primivo in Altra Lone Peak Waterproof with ArmorSkins. It was dry, but here in southern WV we walk in state parks in all weather and never had a problem with mud.
 
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It was my experience that trail runners gathered far less mud than boots with thick soles and deep treads.
 
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Another plus with trail runners in the mud: boots tend to weigh a lot more, and I swear that my shoes pick up another pound of weight when walking in thick mud. So you don't have to lift even more weight when in mud with trail runners.
 
This is a helpful thread as I am asking myself this exact question while planning my May 2018 Camino.
I have walked the Frances and Salvador / Primitivo in Solomon X-ultra gortex hiking shoes and they have been great. Walking in paths mimicking as ankle deep streams of muddy cow poop is never fun regardless of what you wear. That being said I wondered if Gortex trail runners would be better and based on the above comments I'll likely move in that direction.
 
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If you are hoping for a waterproof solution via Gortex lining, then it won't really help in many instances. Light moisture while walking on a non-puddly path will mostly keep things dry, but not so much in drenching conditions. Goretex linings also slow down the trail runners from drying out. Plus, for many, Goretex in warm weather can retain sweat, actually creating dampness on your feet.

My preference is decent cushioning, motion control, good tread, and material that drains water very well. I also carry an extra set of insoles so that at the end of the day, I can swap out the wet for the dry. I will also then change into a dry pair of socks and wear the shoes which will boost the drying time, even though they dry pretty quickly anyway.
 
Thanks for the tip
 
Trail running shoes worked for me. I tried Merrill's prior to leaving for the Camino in April but they were stiff and gave me blisters. So I switched to Innov-8 trail running shoes with insoles. They worked well, enough tread but not too much, flexible, reasonably light. After wet days on the Camino they dried quickly. I have had good luck with Altra as well.
 
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I like trail runners (fitted with shock cord lacings for ease of putting on/taking off) in the dry but having cold, wet feet puts me off using them in the wetter seasons (so, most of the year here in the UK) but am tempted to use them on the Ingles in May so thanks for the tips about a second set of insoles.
 
I went looking at trail runners yesterday and the salesperson cautioned against them because he feels the treads will wear down very quickly if one walks on roads. The Frances and Primitivo both had a fair bit of asphalt.
Has this been a problem for anyone?

Jamie
 

The outersoles will wear out more quickly than boots, but that is not much of a problem. Quality trail runners will give you anywhere from 600 to 900 miles. The composition of the outersoles which makes them more friable than boots, is also what helps make them more comfortable to a lot of backpackers.
 
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