My Year in Shoes 2016 - from Altra (Instinct 3.0) to Altra (Torin 2.5)

My Year in Shoes 2016

the uphill road to 1700+ miles and countless sneaker purchases

January

I started the year ensconced in the Altra Instinct 3.0.  They had been a great shoe for easy to run trail races like the Rosaryville 50K in November of 2015. And I was running 5Ks in them as well - starting the year with them on my feet at the Montgomery County Road Runners Club New Year's Day 5K.  I upgraded to the Instinct 3.5, and was pretty dissatisfied with the update. The harder more structured upper was much less comfortable and even began to cause a bit of foot pain on the top of my foot. Plus, they were uglier than your average Altra, which is saying a lot.

I did some trail running in the Altra Lone Peak 2.5, a nice shoe but which I found a little too sloppy over rocks and roots. I now use them as a walking around shoe, and haven’t tried out the 3.0 yet.

Instinct 3.0

Instinct 3.5 fugly

February

Challenger ATR 2

I ran some trial mileage in the Hoka Challenger ATR 2, wearing them for an uncomfortable soggy 24K at St. Mary’s Frozen Heart and for the relay at the Mid Maryland 50K. The ATR 2s were nearly perfect except for being a bit too tight in the toebox. I have read that the ATR 3s remedied this issue, but haven’t had the chance to try them on yet either.

Breakthru 2, Breakthru 1

As I didn’t have a good road shoe after tossing the Instinct 3.5 asides, I experimented with the Saucony Breakthru 1 and 2.  Neither was wide enough for my foot, but I enjoyed running in both shoes on shorter and faster race courses.  It is at the bottom of the line for Saucony, but they did well on that model.

I ran in the Breakthru 2s mostly during the March-April-May timeframe.

July

Clifton 3

By July, the tightness of the Breakthru’s were starting to wreak havoc on my feet, so I went back to Hoka to give the Clifton 3s a try. They seemed to get the shoe into a good place the third time around - a better tongue and upper material solved a bunch of problems from the first two models. I used the Clifton exclusively through July and most of August, squishing the Strava miles in them through the most unpleasantly hot and humid days of the summer when the material couldn't hold up to what I dished out.

August

At the expo for the Annapolis 10 miler race, I made an impulse buy of the Saucony Triumph ISO 2. It was a cushier and better fitting version of the Breakthru 2 for me, and I do love the ISO sockliner quite a bit. I ran with them for the A10, Larry Noel half, Parks Half, and the National Capital 20 miler. By the end of the run in them, I started to get some pretty severe heel pain which wasn’t going away from alternating some runs in the Clifton 3.

October

I went back to the Adidas Supernova Glide, 8th edition, in October. I put a couple of hundred enjoyable miles in them with no discomfort, successfully running the Howard County Metric Marathon and the NCR Marathon.

November

Once again, I was undone by an update, this time from the Supernova Glide 8 to the next version, simply called the Supernova. The update had a lot of great pluses - more TPU cush in the forefoot, better cushion around the ankle, a more padded tongue. But damn if the shoe wasn’t tighter in the forefoot than its predecessor. After 50 miles, it was clear it was causing pain in my right foot.

December

Altra Torin 2.5 penguin shoes

What goes around comes around. I started the year happy and comfortable in the Altra Instinct 3.0. And so I decided to come home to Altra, relying on roadtrailrun.com ‘s review of the Torin 2.5. And I swallowed my pride, putting function above style.

25 miles in, and I’m pain free and putting in comfortable daily runs. I think if I know what’s good for me, I’ll stay put.  As a sneaker geek, I always want to upgrade to the next model in the line, but as my experience with the Instinct 3.0-3.5, the Breakthru 1-2, and the Supernova Glide 8-Supernova shows, newer is not always better.  In fact, it's usually a step down.

Saucony Ride 9 thoughts

I ordered a pair of the newest version of the Rides - the 9 - and returned the same day. Some quick thoughts:

- Definitely narrower in the toebox than I remember the Ride 7 being
- Footbed/arch has a feel similar to the Breakthru 2s, but a little more lift on the outer heel.
- The upper was a tighter material than I remember the Ride 7 being, and definitely stiffer than the Breakthru 2.
- I was surprised to find the midsole relatively firm, not super cushioned. If I give the Breakthru 2 a 4 of 10 - 10 being most cush, I'd give the ride a 5-5.5 of 10. Nowhere near the Triumph in terms of cushioning.
- The tread on the left shoe wasn't glued properly, so the rubber outer piece was coming off the shoe (out of the box). I don't know if this is an outlier or if there are more general quality issues on the first run of this shoe.

Bless you, Saucony. Breakthru 2 review.

Nearly every update is a car crash.  The manufacturer can take a perfectly great shoe and make it worse.  Even when they improve something, often it will result in changes that make the shoe unusable for others who loved the original.

The Saucony Breakthru was a workmanlike neutral road trainer that could be used on race day. It was nothing fancy - it reminded me of a version of the Mirage from a few years back - a nice fit, firm outsole, pretty light - good for everyday use and good enough for race day up to a full marathon.  The best part - it is extremely durable and $100 bucks - a veritable bargain in the shoe market these days.  See my blog post on the Breakthru original.

It was boring, no flash, so I ended up drifting away from the shoe. But over the last month, I put it back in circulation and have enjoyed it anew.

It was with some trepidation I saw the Breakthru 2 was out.  Surely, they'd screw up something.  But from unboxing, it looks like very minor changes that address exactly the minor issues with the first edition.

- The outsole is exactly the same. Powergrid, IBR+, XT900 rubber. Same level of firmness, same tread. 
- The midsole is a bit different.  More foamy than superball.  If the first version was a 3 out of 10 in terms of softness, this is closer to a 4 with 10 being the softest.   
- The upper is more of a mesh than a tight weave nylon.  This should help with breathability during warmer weather, and makes the upper fit more comfortably for me. On my first run, it was absolutely clear this is a looser and more comfortable fit. It is much less tight than the original because the fabric is completely different. On the Breakthru original, it was plasticy. This is pure fabric. I imagine it will be less durable as a result, but time will tell.
- The tongue is a padded material similar to the mesh upper.  The old tongue was more spongy, sort of like the Brooks Launch.  It was ok, but could bunch a bit. This seems like a minor improvement. The tongue stayed in place during the run - better than almost any shoe I've owned.
- Slightly more room in the toebox.  But not a roomy shoe in either iteration.
- The heel looks the same.
- The weight is lower by .1 oz, which could easily be margin of error.

I'll put it directly into daily use, and update this post if necessary. Thanks for not mucking it up, Saucony!

Side by side uppers (Breakthru 2s on left):

No change to outsole whatsoever (2s on the bottom):

Different overlays, breathable mesh on the upper (2s bottom).

You can see the different weave on the upper fabric and the different tongue (2s on right).

Post half-marathon update (3/13/16): I enjoyed running in these guys. My feet felt like they had plenty of room, yet they were a stable and supported enough ride for 13.1 miles. I'm really quite happy about these for road racing. Perhaps enough to coax me into doing a road marathon this year!


Second post half-marathon update (3/21/16): after running my third best HM time in these shoes on 3/12, I ran my second best HM time on 3/20.  They are lighter and more comfortable than the originals, making for a great racing shoe for me. At mile 56, they have a core position in my shoe rotation along with the originals and my Hoka Challenger ATR 2s.