If it ain't broke don't fix it

I dabble in road running, I'm constantly hiking, i attempt surfing I only get to go snowboarding when I go abroad in winter and ever since I got my bike stolen a couple of years ago I haven't gone riding. Of all the activities I tend to get involved in trail running has been the longest and the most consistent of them all. Maybe its the ease in which I can go to the nearest trails at the drop of a hat, pausing only to grab my shoes and head to the nearest trail. It seems to me the easiest and fastest way of getting both my adrenaline fix satisfied, as well as my yearning for being surrounded by nature.

All the years I've been trail running I have stuck fast and steady towards the first brand of shoe that I tried, the Speedcross Salomon's.

I carried out my first trail run in them, I ran the three peaks in them. Through each forest, muddy track and mountain path they have been with me, which is why switching to another faithful sole friend was unthinkable, until it came time to swap my battered shoes for new ones.

Now I cant be bothered with shopping around for new shoes or any other running clothing. I'm of the opinion that if it 'aint broke dont fix it' wasn't just a catchy phrase thought up by someone but also my mantra to live by and like most of the other products in my life this also applied to my trail shoes. So when it came time to put out to pasture my tired running buddies, a brand new pair of the same, be it, newest version of the same shoes was the clear choice.

The first run out in the Surrey Hills was not the best, things were not well as i trotted down the sandy path, the shoes hurt and they felt really tight, even though i had gone for a half size bigger at a 10 and a half.

Refusing to blame the shoes and putting it down to the fact that they were new instead, I stowed them away for the next run.

A week rolled by and again the shoe was pure torture. "They cant be too small" I argued with myself, I've been a size 10 for... well... for ever. Ever since my late teens anyway.

Begrudgingly I gave in and after hobbling back to the van I got straight on the phone to find a size bigger, but this wasn't to be. The size 11 had run out everywhere... were others having the same problem I thought?

Then I came across a forum that had a lot of guys claiming that the Salomons were too tight, that the shoe wasn't made for the average male wider foot, but I had gone years with the shoe with no problems, I was confused, had the manufacturers changed the shape of the shoe?

A week followed of not getting out onto any trails because of the now redundant running shoes stashed in my bag.

Looking back online i came across the INOV-8 range that, amongst other things, boasted that the shoe had a wider fit with running forums backing up the fact.

Resigned to my fate I ordered a pair of the X-talon ultra 260's and.... what a breakthrough! Yea the shoes I ordered were a size 11 so I had a bigger shoe length-ways but it wasn't that that has impressed me. The shoe was bigger along the top of the foot as well giving more room to move. My Salomons were snug to the point of tight around the whole foot. For years I thought the pain was just part of running. Am i being unfair un the Salomanes seen as though I havent tried a size 11...probably but now I'm running trails pain free and I'm not going back now.

You know what they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it!