Mount to Coast - R1R

R1R then. These don’t have a good step in feel and walking is underwhelming, but as soon as you hit a running stride… perfect.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mount To Coast R1’s. Anyone who says otherwise hasn’t run in them😜

The H1 are a great versatile pair of shoes. But yah, the arch could be adjusted by a millimeter or 2. Same issue in the R1. Right foot is fine. Left arch is painful no matter if it's stock sole, Superfeet or Curex insoles. Hey MTC, if you're reading this, please fix this minor issue.

i’m the same weight and height ish, and i’d tend to agree. but i have just over 200 miles on my SB2 and they still feel like new. will easily get these to at least 4 if not 500. only other shoe i’ve done that with is MtC R1.

It's as close to a do-it-all shoe as I've ever seen, agree with everything you said. Used the H1 in a 50 miler on gravel and it was great. I had a blister on one big toe and mild bruising on the other big toenail, so I need to look at how I'm lacing them, but those were minor issues. I love the supportive feel, though I know some people find the arch support intrusive. My R1's got 700 miles without much obvious wear, so durability alone makes them a good value. You mentioned breathability, I did notice foot odor issues on the R1, but that's the most minor of problems. The upper is super comfortable.

I have 700 miles on my mount to coast R1's, and they don't seem ready to retire yet. Usually I retire shoes around 500 miles. To nch000's point, I used the H1 for a recent 50 miler and had a manageable blister on one big toe and mild bruising on the other big toenail, so I probably would have done a shoe change if it were a longer race.

The Mount to Coast R1s are also amazing!

It’s my favorite shoe. I get excited to wear them then they disappear when I put them on. I use them primarily on dirt roads for runs above 6 miles and below 20. Edit: I don’t have the H1s yet but do have the R1 and T1.

It is. I live in the desert so the roads are pretty much always dry. They were pretty sketchy the couple times I’ve encountered mud.