My first shoe, but absolutely love these. Have relatively wider feet so fit well, cushion is great. Am overweight and run relatively steep terrain but the grip downhill is pretty awesome. Logged 100 miles so far so not too much.
3 in rotation. Brooks Caldera for most of my trail runs; a pair of Timp 4’s hybrid road/trail (bumped down from 1st string once the tread started to wear) and Solomon Speed Cross for extra traction when it’s wet (rare, since I’m running in the Sierra foothills mostly).
Think I can chime in on this one - just finished Gorge 100k in the Cascadia Elites last Saturday. Truly a fantastic shoe, never needed a shoe or sock change and felt like they were stable enough to handle really rocky sections, cushioned and soft enough for the back half, but speedy enough to carry me faster on longer descents.
I have insanely wide feed too, almost always wear 2E widths. I’m a huge Brooks fan and burned through just about every trail option available from them trying to find a racing shoe before getting my hands on the elites a couple weeks before the race. Calderas didn’t feel poppy enough, Ghost Trails felt kind of flat too. Cascadia Elites left me with almost no hot spots on my feet after 100k, which is truly unheard of for me in ultra races. Ran a 24 miler on trails with significant vert 3 weeks out fresh out of the box and they felt fantastic even then.
They’re pricey, but glad I pulled the trigger. Probably the best race shoe I’ve ever run, up there with the best shoe I’ve ever put on my foot outright. The tread could be slightly more aggressive on snowy, muddy, or other extremely technical terrain, but function really well as a moderate trail/road hybrid. Will get another pair this year. I hope they put out a 2nd.
Really interesting! Great example of why taking a rando’s perspective over the internet on anything should be with a grain of salt. :)
What did you end up racing in? Hope the race went well for you. I’m a Montanan and thought I’d be prepared for the rocks and terrain in your neck of the woods (I was wrong). That footing is no joke, just constant jagged/chunky rocks all day.
Hi everyone,
I use the Brooks Caldera 8 for trail running. I bought them in January 2025 and have run about 300 km in them so far, including a few races. I weigh 85 kg.
In the last few weeks, the left shoe has started to cause blisters on the inner side of my foot, right above the arch/midfoot area.
Up to around 250 km I never had any issues, regardless of whether I used older socks or new ones.
My right foot, on the other hand, has no blister issues at all.
I’ve also noticed that on technical terrain I feel a lot of rubbing in that exact spot, whether the lacing is tight or loose, so the tension doesn’t seem to make a difference.
What also feels strange to me is that after just 300 km, the midsole foam might already have lost some of its elastic properties — which seems a bit early for a shoe in this category.
Does anyone know what this could be due to?
Any advice or similar experiences with the Caldera would be really appreciated.
The pictures below are just to show exactly which area is affected.
Thanks!
I bought a pair of Calderas for trail running because Im a fan of Brooks Ghosts so thought they'd be a great 'sister' trainer. Boy, was I wrong. I cant even place what's wrong with them, they just dont feel right so they've gone to the back of the cupboard and I bought some Solomons instead.
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