Gearing Up with Altra Lone Peak 2.5

If you had to take one guess at where most injuries happen for runners, where would you think it was? The road? The trails?  Nope...on the track!  The repetition of impact leads to the highest amount of injuries in runners.

Meeting the creators of Altra Running shoes, I was blown away by the accomplishments these men held!  Golden Harper, who as a competitive runner holds the record for the fastest marathon at age 12 (2:45) worked at his family's running store.  He saw so many people coming in over the years complaining of the same injuries and issues...knee pain, foot pain, and shin splints.  He literally (in his toaster oven) began cooking up a whole new approach to a running shoe!

Enter the Altra Zero Drop technology!  Over the years with customers coming in for the "modified" shoes, Altra Running was born.  It's zero drop feature returns runners feet to their natural position along with their uniquely shaped toe box which best mirrors the shape of a foot reducing blisters and other foot issues.  The results...people are raving about a cushioned zero drop shoe that gives them what they need from running a 5k to 100 milers!!  And these guys know...they've run them all!  Their goal is to have healthy, injury free runners!

As part of the Runner's World weekend, Altra fitted and gave us our own pair of Altra shoes.  I chose to try out the trail shoe since I knew we had a trail run coming up and I had never had a pair of trail shoes before.  Golden, Brian, and Jeremy took the time to ask us questions and fit us all for a shoe that would meet our needs.  They even spoke with us after the race to see if it was still working for us....and yes they even showed us how to tie them like a cool kid!!

I tried out the Lone Peak 2.5 which is a moderate cushion shoe.

I could talk to you all about the fit...the awesome colors (you know I love a colorful shoe)...and how stable I felt running in them along the trails and rock beds but I want you to first hear it from avid trail runners first!



I wore the Lone Peaks all day on Friday on our first trail run with Bart and then on our trail race that evening.  My feet felt awesome!  I had a few aches but after talking with Brian and Golden I realized it was more of the fact that I only run trails once in a great while (which I really want to change).  One thing that I really felt was that my ankles and feet felt stable while running on the different terrains. These shoes kept my feet from getting hurt!!

I would highly recommend these shoes for those of you who are heading out on the trails!

I also wanted to share with you a few things Altra is cooking up for 2016!!  The first being basically a smart shoe!!

Inside the shoe is a chip which acts as a sensor and sends information to your phone or iFit that tells you about foot strike and other information!!!  It's amazing...and very cool when you flash light on it!!!

Also in their 2016 plans are a wicked lightweight jacket as well as a backless jacket that can be taken off while running (if you are that coordinated) and folded into a fanny pack!  It was very cool and Jeremy and Colleen were great models!

Altra is part of the Runner's World Half and Festival again next year and will be for the long haul!  Make sure you make yourself a part of this awesome weekend too!!