Shoe Review: Saucony Shay XC

Let me declare a prejudice at the outset of this review. I'm no fan of specialist cross country spikes. Whenever i've tried them in the past they have been heavy and stiff. In fact they have felt like a pair of trainers with nails in the sole. I've always pressed into service last season's track spikes as this seasons cross country shoes and even on the muddiest of British courses have been fine.

So the prospect of getting the new Saucony Shay XC didn't exactly set me on fire until I tried them on. And boy are these shoes good. They are by a mile the most comfortable spike I have worn and much of that has to be down to a similar inner shoe design as Saucony use in the A2. The forefoot is nicely gripped and the heel sits snuggly as well. The heel tab, while looking fairly high, is deceptively positioned and also actually quite soft so caused me no problems. And at 195 grams these are proper lightweight shoes unlike some previous specialist XC spikes.

Wearing them on a grass circuit this week felt great, almost like running barefoot. Like most XC shoes the spikes are recessed a bit so in effect are about 3mm shorter than their nominal length. The supplied 9mm spikes should be fine on american golf course type cross country but I was beginning to struggle for grip on the corners by the end of the workout so will be shopping for some 12 and 15mm spikes in time for my first cross country of the season next weekend.

A note on sizing. I mentioned in the Fastwitch 3 review that the Saucony racers were a slightly closer fit than the trainers of the same size. With spikes I dont wear socks, even thin racing socks I have gone down a half size in the Shay XC compared to my other Saucony shoes. The Shay XC is available in the UK exclusively at Sweatshop.

What is your experience of the Shay XC ? Post a comment ...

Shoe Review: Saucony Fastwitch 3

I've been breaking in a new pair of Saucony Fastwitch 3 racing shoes for my upcoming marathon in Geneva so here are a few observations after a few runs.

First thing is the sizing. I usually go down half a size in racing shoes to allow for the fact that i'm only wearing thin racing socks compared to thicker socks and orthotics in my trainers. But with the Fastwitch 3 I'm wearing a size UK 8.5, the same as my ProGrid Triumph 5 trainers. The Saucony racers do fit a bit closer than the trainers (same applies for the A2) so this is something to keep in mind. My local Saucony stockist Tri UK holds a pretty comprehensive range of sizes which made life a bit easier.

The fit is what attracted me to this shoe. I have a narrow heel and broad forefoot so can have a problem with my heels slipping around and the consequent blisters. These fit like a dream, nice grip on the heel and plenty of room in the toe box. First time out they were fine, no problems with blisters or bruising.

The ride is somewhere between soft and hard ! The shoe has a decent amount of cushioning and some medial support so should be fine for longer races up to the marathon. For a real low profile shoe for 5-10k I would probably go for the super skinny Saucony A2.

Because this shoe has a blown rubber outsole there is some wear on it already but as I normally destroy the midsole of my racers before the outsole i'm not overly worried about this. Will report back when they have done a couple of hundred miles though. One point to note is that like many racers these days there are holes in the midsole to save weight. On a wet road this is OK but when I ran through standing water I got wet socks. So hopefully no big puddles in Geneva !!

Updated:

Here is a picture of the sole of my Fastwitch 3 racers after 150km of running. There is some wear at the back of the forefoot and also where I push off on my toes. Otherwise they seem to be holding up well.


How did you find the Fastwitch 3 racers ? Post a comment ...