The Rights Shoes For The Job

When Inov-8 first announced the Oroc range of shoes, I was mentally hooked. A shoe with great grip on snow, ice, rock, tree roots, etc, etc was just what I thought I needed for winter running. Although I coped ok in snow and mud with other shoes from the Inov-8 range, ice was pretty much all about just trying to get enough traction to stay upright. Unfortunately for me, the Oroc's weren't available in the UK until late Spring of 2011 and by that time the need for something which coped with ice was pretty much gone.

Wait.

Winter 2011/12 came and I resisted the urge to buy a pair of Oroc's as I was managing to get around fine in my Mudclaws or Roclite 295's. Still slipping and sliding away when it was icy, but those days weren't too common in the early part of that winter. Then came the fateful time in early February when I set out on a snowy Saturday for a long run out to White Edge and beyond. Ice had formed on the moors and it was a challenge to keep upright, but experience helped and I managed it. This was the stuff Oroc's were made for. So why hadn't I bought some yet? 4 miles into the run, as the snow got heavier, I hit a patch of snow-covered ice. Not normally a big problem, but my concentration had momentarily lapsed and I happened to be turning slightly to position myself straight on a track. Over I went and there was a loud crack. That was me done with running for 3 months. No need for Oroc's then.

Rest & Recuperation.

By the time I was eventually allowed to run again, it was almost summer. I began running every day as soon as I could. Sometimes just a mile, but I figured that if I tried to run every day, it would speed recovery. 9 months on, I can't say whether or not it did speed my recovery as I have no baseline to compare with. However, I am definitely fit again, and I think faster than before the accident - although not necessarily up the hills.

Winter Comes.

Winter was a bit slow in getting started this year. Apart from a cold snap at the beginning of December there was barely a frost in the latter part of 2012. As a result, buying a pair of Oroc's hadn't actually occurred to me. Mainly because I've been told by my better half that if I go out on ice and get injured again I have to make my own way to hospital and I needn't expect any sympathy! By chance, however, an opportunity raised its itself for me to acquire some Oroc 280's at a reasonable price. This was early December and there were some icy pavements around in the evenings which made progress tentative in fell or road shoes so I bought the Oroc's and wore them once before the weather warmed up again. First impressions were a great fit, like my X-Talon 212's and a decent amount of grip. Just how much grip wasn't clear at this point.

Wait.

After plenty of wet weather, winter arrived with a vengeance in Sheffield on January 11th 2013 with a few cm of snow. Great! Now it's time to use the Oroc's in conditions they were designed for. As of writing this blog I've run in them every day for 10 days and they do not disappoint. I've taken them out on a mix of road and off-road runs. Grip has been better than expected and every time I wear them I trust them a little more.

On-Road

I'm pretty sure these shoes were not designed with road running in mind. The metal 'dobs' clatter on the tarmac and the lack of significant cushioning can lead to some soreness - particularly under the ball of the foot where one of the primary studs is located. However, when it's icy, needs must. There's a road local to me which is just under a mile long uphill. The last part of the uphill is extremely steep, so much so that I've almost stalled running up there in road shoes in the past. I ran my best (recent) time up there just prior to the 'big freeze' a couple of weeks ago in road shoes. I ran my second best time up the same hill in Oroc's when there was frozen packed snow on the steepest sections of the road. There was only a couple of seconds difference. To be honest, I thought I'd beat my PB by a few seconds, but it was not to be. I wasn't disappointed though, given the conditions and the shoes. I went on to do a decent road run that day with good overall pace on a mix of frosty pavement and frozen snow. This was when I began to love the shoe. On a run a couple of days later, when it snowed heavily, I was able to run downhill at sub 7-minute mile pace comfortably on packed snow without any fear that the Oroc's would not grip. I defy anyone to attempt that safely in anything other than orienteering shoes.

Off-Road

Although I prefer off-road by far to road running, most of my recent off-road runs have been in the 5-9 miles range on a variety of tracks and trails through local (hilly) woodland and a bit of moorland. The Oroc's have shown good grip in almost all of the places my Mudclaws have, but they have also clung on to wet and icy wood in the form of tree roots, fallen trees and a wooden footbridge. Landing on the local gritstone rock is sure-footed as I expected, even when it's wet or icy. The metal dobs bite in and the rubber studs just build on that grip. I set new PB times on a few sections on one of my tougher local routes last week wearing Oroc's instead of Mudclaws. I was quite impressed as it didn't seem any faster at the time. Maybe the Oroc's just require less effort to go faster so I ran harder to get the same perceived level of effort I would have in the Mudclaws?

Are they for you?

Well, that's a good question.
At £80 (Internet prices) they're some of the more expensive off-road shoes on the market and you'll probably only use them a few times a year unless you're an orienteer or climate change brings us lots of cold, snowy winters. That said, if you want to be able to get out and run without too much fear of slipping over, whatever the conditions, then I'd recommend these shoes.

If you are used to wearing highly cushioned road shoes, then you might want to try the heavier Oroc's (340's) as these have more cushioning and have a greater heel to toe height differential (9mm) which makes them a little closer to the feel of road shoes.

What do I like about them (if it wasn't obvious enough already)?

• Great grip on tarmac/rock/snow/ice/wet wood/firm mud
• Great fit. Feels like a slipper rather than a running shoe
• Speed. Despite the clattering of the studs on hard surfaces, these shoes don't just feel fast, they are fast.
• Did I mention the grip?
• Lightweight. At 280g for a size 8, they're at the lighter end of the spectrum of off-road shoes. They actually feel light too.

What don't I like about them?

• Clattering on hard surfaces prevents stalking
• Running on hard surfaces: e.g. hard ice or tarmac/concrete can lead to sore feet after a few miles.
• Price: £80 is a lot for a shoe you might only need to use a couple of dozen days of the year.

Conclusion

In case you didn't already figure it out, I love the Oroc 280's. So far, they're everything I need in a winter running shoe. I'm a big Inov-8 fan anyway, so the shoes didn't need a big sell, but I wouldn't praise them unless I thought they deserved it!

I have to say, though, that they have not yet had a dunking in a peat-bog. It seems a shame to do that to them really, but next weekend is the Tigger Tor race which might need them to ensure a safe passage around the Peak District. The race has a mile long crossing of peat-bog and two marsh crossings which if not frozen solid, will give the shoes something less pleasant than woodland trail to contend with!