path surface?

[rogfi]

I know what the path is like to the top of loch Lomond but after that I wonder if anyone could tell me what it is like in terms of firmness, uneveness, wetness etc.

I'm trying to decide re changing to road shoes at the top of Loch Lomond

Roger

[vinegarhill]

Hi,

Good question. I have been thinking about this too. Also, what is the first section like under foot?

[georger]

I cant be bothered with shoe changes for the most part so Inov@8 Roclites for me all the way.

Even in the first section where you have some road you also have some trail, Connic hill if its wet you need off road shoes, Up side of Loch you need trail/off road shoes IMO, Crianlarich at the farm was 6 inches of cow poo 2 weeks ago.

I know some folks will run all the way in road shoes but their are sections where i feel you need more grip.

Last year I wore Montrail hardrocks all the way. But I find the Roclites lighter and more responsive.

Their are a couple of places where their are foot bridges across streams but its faster to run straight through stream so trail /off road shoes are better here as do not retain water like road shoes.

[Tim]

It's only 53 miles so shoe choice doesn't really matter. ;-)

Of course I'm (sort of) joking, you should wear what's comfortable for you and what you've trained in. Changing shoe type just before the race would be a mistake even if it might have theoretical advantages.

As George said, many folk have run the whole WHW in road shoes (myself included). I've also run the Fling in trail shoes without problems. Trail shoes do have theoretical and real advantages for some stages of the WHW but some trail shoes are a bit lacking in cushioning for long distances. When I tried to run the WHW in my trail shoes last year I had to change shoes after about 70 miles as my feet were getting too tender.

In answer to your specific question though, I'd say that road shoes are fine for 90-95% of that last section, but there is a short stretch after crossing the A82 that can be very muddy & slippery (depending on rain & cows). A road shoe with a grippy sole pattern is a popular compromise. Dunno if they still do them but Saucony Jazz shoes used to have a good triangular lug pattern that was popular amongst some runners.

[johnk]

I have always run the WHW in nothing more than NB 832 or 834 road shoes and never had any probs even last year when conic hill was a little wet and slippy i suppose i may of lost a few seconds on the descent but who knows, there are no real problems with these shoe`s shedding water as the uppers are predominately mesh and they dry real quick.

I guess it depends what you are used to for eg i run mostly on the Lakeland fells and therefore i find there is very little of the WHW to be particularly technical, there are some slippery roots and rocks but for me at least not enough to justify going for a dedicated trail shoe as opposed to going for the cushioning of a road shoe which is a big plus given the distance.

[rogfi]

thanks everyone that's useful, I think I might change, if only to have dry shoes for a bit half way.

Roger