Wearing Trail Shoes on Tarmac

Q. I have a pair of cross country shoes that I was going to use for a ½ marathon I have entered. Will they be ok?

It sounds like this might be your first ½ marathon. Trail shoes or off road shoes are built specifically for that. They have much deeper tread for grip, but often also have much leaner impact absorption, because there is less requirement for it on soggy ground. However, this makes them pretty unsuitable for road running ( I’m making the assumption that you ½ is a road run). You’re putting your knees and joints at risk, and will probably be quite uncomfortable on the day. Further to that, all those training miles, I guess would be in off road shoes. Not a good idea.

There are some really great road shoes available. Amongst the best running shoes for what you describe would be something from the Asics range. High quality cushioning and structure should you be an over pronator.

So are your cross country shoes ok? Well, you’d probably live, but it might be a better idea to spend the £60-80 and get yourself kitted out.