Earlier this year Adidas discontinued their Response Trail running shoes. I wish they would have given some kind of advance notice because I would have bought 10 pairs and stored them in my closet. I’ve been running in them for 11 years. (Marathon Girl, looking over my shoulder as I type this, reports she’s been wearing them since 1996.)
It was Marathon Girl that introduced me to the shoes when we were first dating. I resisted trying them until I bought a pair of Nikes that sucked. We went to the store and found a pair of Response Trail shoes. It was love at first wear.
I have flat feet. Very flat feet. Wherever I go I wear customized orthotics in my shoes or else my feet turn inward and hurt like hell. It’s nearly impossible to find a shoe that had the perfect blend of cushioning and support. The Adidas Response Trail shoes were perfect. I could go on long runs and my feet would feel fine. The shoes would last forever too. I could get tons of mileage out of them before they needed to be replaced.
Then, when I went to buy a pair in March, I couldn’t find them anywhere.
Since then I’ve been trying to find a pair that has the same mix of cushioning and support. I haven’t been able to find anything that works. At least not yet.
All the ones I’ve tried so far leave my feet feeling like I’ve run barefoot on cement. It’s made it hard to go running every morning. I’ve done it but it’s not the same.
Tonight, while looking for another alternative, I noticed that Adidas brought out another response shoe—the Running Response ReRun. It’s not a trail runner but a lot of the people who have bought them are former Response Trail runners. Reviews are mixed. Those who wore the old Response Trail either love them or hate them.
Hopefully, when the shoes arrive later this week, I find myself in the former category.
My feet need a break and now that the weather is warm, I want to enjoy long Saturday runs with Marathon Girl as much as I possibly can.