Why The Long Sky 2s Are My 2025 Pick

It's no secret I've been an Altra Lone Peak lover for the longest time. I did my first 50k, 50 mile and 100k races in them, they remained comfy throughout and kept me injury free with their neutral, zero drop construction.

When I signed up for my first 100 miler I wanted a shoe with better grip for the mountainous terrain and more cushion for the distance, so along came the Merrell Agility Peak 5s. They did me solid, getting me through the whole thing in a good time whilst protecting my feet well.

However going into the end of the year neither are suiting my needs anymore, I wanted to talk through why, and the reason I've landed on a middle ground between the two that feels perfect for me.

Previous Options

Altra Lone Peak 7/8s

Why was I so in love with this shoe? Why did they remain my main shoe for so long, and what finally put me off them.

The main selling points of Altra's are that they have a low to zero drop between the heel and the forefoot, whilst sporting a comfortable wide toe box.

• The low drop means better stability, and encourages a more natural running form
  • This can reduce forces on your upper legs, at the expense of asking more of your calves and ankles.
• The wide toe box allows your toes to spread better, making them more comfortable over distance whilst reducing blistering

Folks who switch to Altra often struggle going back to other brands, as once you get use to a large comfy toe box all other shoes feel too narrow.

The Lone Peaks exhibit these properties the most out of the Altra line up by having the widest toe box, a relaxed long fit and "just enough" cushioning. The stack height is low which helps reduce the risk of ankle rolling and provides better stability, and the grip is a good jack of all trades.

To this day they are that rare shoe I can just slip on and run miles in with no issues. They're always my backup shoes in a drop bag, I know I can complete pretty much anything in them.

So why are they no longer my main pick?

Well for all their strengths, they do come with 2 major downsides that are becoming more impactful the more I want to push a pace:

1. The grip is ok for most surfaces, but struggles in mud and the wet more than a lot of brands.
   1. This is exacerbated by how quickly the grip wears away, less than ~200k and heels are already getting flat.
2. There's no propulsion to the shoe, it doesn't help push you forward.
   1. This is due to a combination of the zero drop, a minimal midsole, and no rocker to spring you off.

The second point is especially important when it comes to ultras, when you feel exhausted, ready to drop down to a walk, the shoes are happy to oblige and give no push or oomph to keep running.

Merrell Agility Peak 5s

I bloody love these shoes, head over heels for them. They are an excellent all rounder for going long on trails: a great outsole from the Vibram Megagrip, plenty of cushioning in the midsole and an upper that locks down well.

Of the shoes on the market today, these are the ones I'd recommend to trail runners over any other: fast enough to race in, bulletproof grip for gnarly terrain and cushioned enough for any distance.

I spent most of 2024 training in them, did a range of races leading to the Epona 100 miler, where they treated my feet well and got me through almost without injury.

The almost is the real kicker: about 30 miles in I got a stress fracture on my right foot, right at the pinky toe joint. The shoe didn't cause it directly (it was an old injury that hadn't healed right), however the high drop and where the rocker sits means it put pressure directly on said injury.

It means that wearing them now is uncomfortable and risks further injury whilst it slowly (oh so slowly) heals, which really sucks!

Something that helps mitigate the disappointment is how the Agility Peaks treated my feet during the EDDUM. It's a rough race with uneven, marshy ground throughout, and the higher stack height meant I was constantly twisting over on my feet, leading to 2 very black toenails by the end.

Enter the Long Sky 2s

Merrell proved with the Agility Peaks that they know what they're doing when building a good trail runner. I'd heard that the Long Sky 2s were very similar fit and grip wise, but in a lower stack more racing focused model aimed at Sky Racing (shorter technical races over mountainous terrain).

They come with the same aggressive 5mm of Vibrams Megagrip on the outsole, but a lower drop of 6mm, reduced cushioning and a wider toe box.

There are two versions of this shoe: the originals and the new Matryx version. Both are solid choices, however the latter has a Matryx upper: this very lightweight yet durable (thanks to kevlar threading) upper which fits like a glove, locks down better than any shoes I've used before. It's the same upper you can find on the Hoka Tecton x3.

I've done just under 700km in my two pairs (originals for training: 500km. Matryx for long runs and racing: 200km) and they have blown my socks off.

The fit and feel isn't far off the Lone Peaks with their low stack, connected-to-the-ground feeling and wide toe box, yet they have that same bulletproof grip and propulsion the Agility Peaks have. They sit nicely in the middle between the two shoes.

That Matryx upper combined with Vibrams outsole mean durability wise they'll last longer than either of the other models, so I can get more mileage for my money. Talking of money, they come in at £155 in the UK, nicely mid range price wise and a steal considering the quality of the materials.

Considerations

So I like them, and they like me, keeping my feet happy throughout. The one word that keeps coming to mind when using these is "longevity": they are well made with materials that last, whilst the low stack, low drop, wide toe box reduces toe damage and risk of injury from rolling over, keeping me running longer.

The one thorn in my mind at the moment is that low stack is very low for longer distances. Merrell themselves have said they'd take the shoe up to 50k, but for more would recommend the Agility Peaks, and I'm inclined to agree.

However many of Merrell's own athletes use these exact shoes to race 100 milers, 200 milers, as well as a slew of shorter mountain races, and the more I use them, the more I feel it's a case of adaption: train hard in them and get used to the lower stack, and they'll perform well, just like the Lone Peaks (with a similar stack height) did for my earlier ultras.

The Plan

Like I did with the Agility Peaks in 2024, I'm going all in on the Long Sky 2s for 2025, using them for the majority of my training and planning to do my races in them, with the ultimate goal being they've be on my feet for the Wild Horse 200 miler in May.

If, in those earlier events (Celtic Trails, Hateful 8, CANUM, HOWUM) I find that the lower stack really is a barrier as the distance creeps up, hopefully by that point my toe will have healed enough to give the Agility Peaks another shot. But honest I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that, I vastly prefer how connected I feel to the ground in the Long Skys, and that lovely comfy toe box is hard to beat.

In the mean time the Lone Peaks are now my hiking shoes, whilst the Agility Peaks I'll do some infrequent training in to see how they feel.