My Shoe Rotation 2025

I'm keen to "lock in" a set of shoes for 2025 as I'll soon be starting training for the Wild Horse 200. From experience with the Epona 100, spending the majority of my time training in the shoes I'm planning to race in pays dividends, so the sooner I decide the better really.

I'd be leaning towards the Long Sky 2s, having tested them the last few months. I loved the fit and feel, the bulletproof grip, the roomy toe box and more natural form, yet was worried about the minimalist stack height causing issues over distance.

2 runs solidified my opinion on this:

Firstly: I took my trusty Merrell Agility Peak 5s out on a trail marathon and was reminded how great they felt underfoot on longer distances and hard surfaces, with the bouncy cushioning working well on roads, even with those deep megagrip lugs

Secondly; I took the new shiny Merrell Long Sky 2s out on a 20 miler, pushing a tough pace and seeing how they'd feel going fast over harder surfaces. The result was some truly destroyed legs, these are great for soft and technical ground, but really suffer on long stretches of road. I think you could train up the strength to cope with the low cushioning, but I'm finding it hard to justify when I have shoes that already work better for me on longer runs.

The Line Up

Even though it's a shame the Long Skys didn't become the shoe I'd hoped they'd be, I'm quite happy I went through this testing, it's made up my mind for me and I'm confident in the boxes these shoes have landed in.

Main Trail & Ultra Shoes

It remains the same as 2024: the Merrell Agility Peak 5. I've found that, when twinned with a pair of thicker Bridgedale T2 Lightweight Merino socks, and some good old heel lock lacing, I can get the fit nice and firm whilst still having space for my feet to expand into on longer efforts.

The more I've used the since the EDDUM the more I've rekindled that love of them, and these will definitely be on my feet on the start line of the Wild Horse. No other shoe I've tried would stay comfy as long, whilst still performing well over a wider variety of ground.

Training & Shorter, Technical Racing Shoes

Whilst the lack of cushion has left the Merrell Long Sky 2s out of the running for ultras for me, I still love how these feel and will be using them for plenty of training runs. The thin midsole is great for training foot strength, and so far the durability has been excellent.

I also think these will become my racing shoe up to half marathon distances. For anything technical like fell races, local trail events and the like, they are a great fit due to the lightweight, nimble ride twinned with great grip & a stable, connected to the ground feel.

Road Shoes

Altra Torin 7s, now and forevermore. They are supremely comfortable with a wide roomy toe box, plenty of underfoot cushioning and a nice breathable upper. I use these for anything from a 5k park run to a marathon, and don't do enough road running to justify owning lots of different styles so am happy with this jack of all trades.

They also double up as a good recovery shoe due to that comfortable fit, I can plod happily for hours in these.

Hiking Shoes

It's a dark, dark day, but my first love, the Altra Lone Peaks, have now been relegated to my daily hiking / pottering about shoes. I don't run in them anymore.

If I want shoes that promote foot strength due to a lower stack height the Long Sky 2s have just blown these out the water for me, with better grip and durability whilst retaining that natural, connected to the ground feeling.

It was the last Hateful 8 race that did it for me, I ran the first event in Agility Peaks and felt they helped me push hard on the roads and stay stable on the trails, whilst the second event, in Lone Peaks, I felt slow, ploddy and held back.