New Balance - Leadville v3

Was New Balance Leadville , and the New Balance Hierro 2

I did it twice in New Balance Leadville which don’t exist anymore but I’d recommend any medium trail shoe you don’t need big lugs as most of it is in gravel and sand. My husband did it twice too in Brooks Cascadia which worked well too. I’d steer clear of Hokas have seen disasters out there with other runners with the foam giving way in the conditions. I wouldn’t size up as suggested unless you are running small now as shoes too big will cause blisters. I did it twice with no blisters and in my normal size shoe. Make sure you get the gaiters glued and stitched on for sure and if you need help with training and keep reach out to me, I do online coaching and consulting too. Have fun out there it’s an epic experience.

I have 2E, high instep, high-med arch and med heel. Have always hard trouble finding the right shoes. Loved the old NB Leadvilles. Had been using the Speedgoats v5-6 the past few years, but found the v6 a bit narrower and causing some pain and blistering on both the inside and outside edges. Am now using the Inov8 Trailfly Max and loving it. I did need to go a half US/EU size up from what I used in the speedgoat due to different toe box shape. The NB Hierro and Hoka Challengers are similar in feel to me. The Hierro was a great fit, but too soft and unstable in the heel on technical terrain but I may still use it for more tame conditions. The Challenger is similar in ground feel to the Hierro, but the outside edge of the toe box curves in too early for my feet putting pressure on the small toe. Both the Trailfly Max and the Hierro required some playing with the lacing to get right. While the Trailfly Max is amazing on my feet, it is slightly snug in the midfoot, though I have higher than normal wide volume there.

New Balance has some 4e options. I’ve been very happy with their shoes coming from Topo

New Balance 4e (x-wide), Dynasoft Nitrel v6 Gore-Tex trail runners.