“After much deliberation, and help from Charlie at Northern Runner, I decided to give these Altra Paradigms a try. I was concerned they wouldn't be wide enough, I usually wear a UK size 10 New Balance 4E width. I was advised to go up half a size as Altras are typically slightly smaller. I went with a UK size 10.5. To be honest I think a 10 would have been fine, these seem ever so slightly too big for me. The toe box is very wide, and I can comfortably wiggle my toes around – something I've never been able to do in other running shoes. As a result of wearing too narrow shoes for too long this has caused my toes to be squished together into the toe box, causing issues like cysts. Also, wearing too much support in the past has weakened my feet, exacerbating the problem with my weakened feet. I have been running intermittently in these Altra Paradigms for around 3 months now, and have noticed I am landing more in the mid / forefoot area, whereas before I would heel strike. My feet / toes don't hurt after running, probably as a result of the toes being more splayed out whilst running. My feet seem to be getting stronger, even though I've only intermittently been using these Altras on all my recovery runs, and medium longs up to around 12 miles. For the longer stuff I find I still need my New Balance for the additional support, but in time, I hope to fully transition to these Altras as I know the zero drop is going to benefit my running form and feet long term.
Some other comments:
The stack height has taken a bit of time to get used to, as these are the most cushioned Altra road shoes, I found I was scuffing the heels a bit when running in the beginning, but over time I've adapted and am lifting my legs a bit more.
The top of the shoes are nice and soft, no annoying seams like some running shoes that can cause rubbing / blisters on other shoes.
Design / look of the shoes is very nice, generating a lot of interest from people at Park Runs.
Overall, very happy and looking forward to trying the Lone Peaks on the trails soon.
Thanks Northern Runner!”
“In recent years I have noticed a marked narrowing of forefoot/toebox in running shoes, resulting in sore feet and toenails problems quite often. In my search for something better I came across Altra and decided to give these at try. What can I say? These shoes are an absolute game changer for me - a nice roomy forefoot and decent cushioning. No more squashed feet. The shoes seem well built and I hope to get many happy miles in them. I really hope Altra keep making shoes like this - I'll never buy anything else again. Magnificent product. Any runner who finds their shoes too narrow needs to try Altra. I cannot recommend these highly enough.”
“Having used a number of running shoes in the passed and mostly Nike's lunarglides for the passed few years. I made the change to Altras after watching Durianrider on vlogger on YouTube from Australia. He rated them highly. Durianrider is predominantly a cyclist bit has ran a number of 2h15m marathons. I'm a larger built fellow and hover between 15-16st so need something which offers some support. The Altra paradigms do just that. I think the are a great shoe and have definately made the switch now. Don't like mentioning negatives, but i think they could improve the longevity of the sole and it has started to show signs of wear after a few runs.”
“The shoes are good for stony ground due to thick soles. There is good protection around the sides, so I am not expecting them to split. The toe box is not the usual permeable material, so you don't get much ingress, which I like. I may need some decent socks in the summer. I purchased these because of knee problems, these are helping a lot. The colour is much better in real life than in photos, not that I am atall concerned with colour, but more wacky would be fun, 3 runs in and they are already splattered with wet cow pat, so colour is transient in any case. They are obsorbing my 53year old 91kg quite well, although they don't feel bouncy, my complaining right knee is quiet.”
