Hi Leslie, I too am running a HM distance trail run in August - it's actually 12 miles(close enough). I've been running trails since Feb. I now do about 98 percent of my runs on trails as I am fortunate to have several trails near my house. I am running about 20-25 miles a week. When is your HM?

melistic - I have read some not-so-favorable reviews on the Teva's, but they might be good for you. Two cents.

Joshua

Mel- the way i started in my first trail shoe was to find the trail equivalent to my road shoe. Depending on what your road shoe is, there may be one. Then the rest is just trial and error. Unfortunately.

Hi everyone!

It looks like we've got a few of us at least...hopefully more will join us as we go along. I'm in Carrollton, TX (Dallas suburb). I, too can only get to a trail on the weekend, as the nearest one is about a 20 minute drive from me, and that's too far to go for my regular weekday runs. The trail I've run so far is along the northern shore of a local lake (it's called the "Northshore Trail", how creative!), and is about 9 miles from one end to the other. So, it theory, I could get in an 18 miler out and back. So far, the most I've done out and back for 11 miles, but I didn't run all of it. The trail has lots of ups and downs (it feels like alot more ups than downs, although I know that's not possible on an out and back run). My regular street runs are very flat, so I'm still getting used to the hills, plus the irregular surfaces. My husband, who thinks running is boring, has started coming with me, and is really enjoying running on the trail.

I have North Face Ultra 103 XCR trail shoes that I bought at REI after striking out at my local running store. They didn't have my size in the shoe that they recommended for me, and neither did either of their other area stores. I specifically liked these shoes because they have a wider toe box than some of the others I tried on, and my feet are wide.

There is a trail running club in my area called the North Texas Trail Runners, but all I've done so far is take a look at their website to find local trails. They have a few race events throughout the year, so I may try to check one of those out this fall.

Lorrie

Hi there. Can I hop on? I used to run trails all the time, but only do occasionally right now. I live in Northern Utah, and have miles upon miles of great trails at my doorstep. My problem right now is that I don't have a running partner, and don't feel 100% safe running in the mountains by myself, so my trail running isn't consistent right now. But I have dreams of an ultra someday (maybe in a year or two - I'm working on my first marathon in October right now).

I run in Solomon trail runners (not sure of the exact model) and they work well for me.

~Christie