Inov 8 MudRoc 280 Trail Running Shoe - Men's - 2007 BCS

Seriously, with a pair of shoes that weighs under 600 grams, how can you not go fast?! The super-minimalist approach suits me fine! The less the shoe does, the stronger my feet and ankles get. I don't like shoes with burly overgrown heel crash pads or that are so wide to give the perception of support that the footprint I leave is three sizes larger than the shoe. Inov-8 keeps it simple, I feel the ground, the shoes grab onto anything wet or dry in my experience and my feet & ankles just get stronger. One thing, however, as with the Nike Free shoes, it's a good idea to do some plyometrics for a few weeks before running anything over 5k in these: most people's foot musculature won't be ready for this minimal approach.

This is a case where the star-system really doesn't make sense. For someone with feet like mine, this shoe should get zero stars. I have now given these shoes three different shots with three different sock/liner/footbed combinations - and each one of them has resulted in my heels being absolutely torn to shreds after less than three miles of running - a feature of the shoe that was definitely not evident when I initially tried them on or even ran around in them a bit. I know of at least one other trail runner who has had similar experiences. That said, I also know a guy who loves these things, who has had absolutely no heel rub and would readily give these shoes 5 stars. If not for the rampant destruction of my heel, I, too, would consider these shoes wonderful. They are light, have a very low profile and are very good on rough or damp terrain - especially given their weight. I would suggest just being very careful in determining the fit and whether heel rub might be an issue given the fact that the back of the shoe is not well-padded and does not come up as high as most other trail shoes (including most other inov-8 models).

These shoes are great, they meet all of my needs for a trail shoe - lightweight, great traction, low profile, comfy. I've only used them for shorter distances (25k) so far, but they gave me no blisters or hot spots.

My husband said these shoes felt like they had a vice grip on his heel. Maybe they run small or narrow, but keep this in mind.