R1

I went from something like 10 pairs of shoes (3 road, 7 trail) to 4 pairs (1 road, 3 trail) which will eventually become 1 pair of each. Not counting spare pairs I keep in reserve when you find a winner and just KNOW the brand will mess it up in the next version. The whole time, I was looking for my ideal and separate road and trail shoes that fit well, were adequately durable, and could work for every combo of easy/hard and short/long runs. The shoes that didn't fit were just returned or donated. The others had something going for them and were tolerable, so I used them up. Loved the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3s, averaged ~900 miles/pair but got discontinued. But over several years I eventually burned through my pairs and it got supplanted by the 4s. The 4s were way too narrow so I donated them rather than rack up 500+ miles of having my feet crushed. Mount to Coast R1s feel great, durability is great so far, works well enough. The Saucony Endorphin Edge fits and runs great for me, but the outsole had just average traction and relatively low durability. I straight up lose outsole chunks in them. The Tomir 2.0 is a great durable shoe though a bit thin for me for long efforts. The Mount to Coast T1 checks all my boxes, durability looks good so far but need to get it to 300+ miles to get the full measure.

Had a pair delivered last night and did 16mi in them this morning. They’re great shoes.

The R1 might be their widest. Their shoes are designed with ultra runners in mind, who deal with major foot swelling during that extreme period of time. I have both and can’t tell a difference in width, I just really enjoy the extra space for my toes to splay. I often get numbing in my left pinky toe on runs, these are the only shoes I don’t deal with that.

I did a 23km easy run today (5:30m/km pace) in mount to coast R1s. This is my 3rd long run in these shoes and they are still amazing. They don’t feel fast, but that pace is close to last years half marathon PB pace and I was strict about saying in low zone 2 hr. Also my ground contact time is lower in these shoes than any of my other shoes, despite every run in these bing my slow days (quicker paces = less GCT for me). They are very efficient. More importantly nothing felt different at km 23 than it did at km 2 aside from slightly tired legs. I’m not sure I want to find out the bottoming out time/distance to the foam these guys use. I use Saucony endorphin speeds for progression runs/intervals and Saucony Ride 18s for daily training.

Mount to coast R1 and nothing else has come close. It’s not a super fun shoe, it’s a “wow, did I really just run 20 miles? I feel great” shoe. Which is 100% what I want in a dedicated long run shoe.

I went through a lot of shoes looking for this one. Many were okay, none were great. I finally let my running shoe store talk me into the Mount to Coast R1. Perfect.

The Mach 6 is good for me up to about 8 miles, then they get a little pinchy. I can do big miles in the Ride 18 comfortably to about 15 miles or so. I personally hate max cushion shoes. They are too soft and I get Achilles tendinitis from them, and my feet get fatigued. My current favorite long run shoe and the only shoe in my rotation is instantly replace with the same exact one if I lost it is the Mount to Coast R1. For reference I run 50 to 60mpw, easy pace around 9:15. current rotation: Daily - ride18 mostly, the Mach 6 and New Balance Rebel v4 get some action Tempo and intervals - Endorphin speed 5, sometimes the mach6 for short (less than 8 mile) runs Long - M2C R1 Shoes I tried and hated: Novablast5, NB FF More V4, NB 1080v14, Ghost Max (Version 1), Triumph 23. The glycerin max didn’t wow me, but I didn’t instantly hate them. I didn’t like them enough to run in them more than once

I personally love the 2. One of my all time favorite shoes. But I prefer a firmer shoe. Not a fan of the SB3. My absolute favorite shoe right now is the Mount to Coast R1

I’d recommend the R1. By far my favorite road shoe. At any pace, except maybe really short max effort intervals

The R1 is my favorite shoe I’ve ever worn, at any pace, for any duration. I’m going to get a pair of these for a “trail” marathon. It’s just well maintained gravel roads, no actual trail running/technical stuff. The R1 DOES NOT bottom out. Mile 20 feels the same as mile one for me. Never experienced this in any shoe I’ve worn. Closest was the asics superblast 2, but it’s not even that close.

My HM PR (1:41) is in the mountains to coast R1. And that was a long Fartlek run, not even a race. I love this shoe. Definitely worth looking into.

I’d highly recommend the Mount to coast H1 or T1, and recommend it a lot. Most people ignore these recommendations because the shoe is not widely known/reviewed. But people that have them swear by them. The R1 is hands down my favorite shoe of all time. Some running stores stock these, if so try on a pair.

4 shoe because I don’t train in race shoes Ride 18 - Daily/long Endorphin Speed 5 - tempo/workouts Mount to Coast R1 - tempo, workout, long run, race if I had to stick with 3 shoes. Endorphin Pro 4 for the race

The R1 is my favorite shoe I’ve ever worn and it’s not even close. Second place is distant, but the SB3

Superblast 2 and the Mount To Coast R1 do it for me.

The Mount to Coast R1s are also amazing!

I alternate between Altra FWD Via and Mount to Coast R1. I just bought a pair of EVO SL but I don't like them very much. I use Hoka Skyflow for super duper easy runs. Other shoes I bought on super sale and am sending back: Tempus (too squishy), Adidas Prima 2 - too squishy I don't like squish/too soft of a shoe.

I have super high arches. I tried the Phantom 4 but they were almost too cushy for me and I found my toes started to go numb around mile 4. They are great shoes though. The R1 are a completely different beast. They have an 8mm drop, which is generally too high for me (the person at the running store mistakenly told me 6mm & I didn't think to check). I like them for my super long runs. They use a toggle system for the half of the laces near the forefoot, so they are adjustable. But they are definitely more narrow than Altras or the Topo toe box (midfoot and heel are similar though). Not sure what their wides fit like.

I have two pairs of Altra FWD Via (bought a second pair on same to store when the 2 came out because I love the 1s so much); Mount to Coast R1, two pairs of Superblast 2 (same situation as the FWD Via), and a worn out pair of Hoka Skyflows I haven't thrown out yet. I learned from Brooks to always buy a backup pair of a show you love because the company *will* ruin what you love about it when they put out a new model.

I have recurring PF. A combination of PT strengthening and good shoes helped me a lot. Currently running in: Altra FWD Via, SB2, and Mount to Coast R1. I also learned to never walk barefoot - Oofos all the time.

R1s are awesome. I did 9 miles in them the other day and felt great after (I'm prone to some hamstring issues).

Superblast 2 (easy run, strides, longer races) - I'll cry when these die because it's hard to find a firm yet cushioned shoe Mount to Coast R1 - anything over 15k Altra FWD Via - daily, shorter races (5-10k)

The two pairs of shoes I have in my current rotation are the Altra FWD Via and the Mount to Coast R1s. That said, the R1 has an 8mm drop so it is a very different shoe.