Well, the day has finally come. Here I am talking about a road shoe. And, a road shoe that I LOVE, at that. Now, let’s be careful in assumptions, I have not learned to love running on the road, but it has become a necessity this winter [yes, it is STILL winter in Maine]. To make it [road running] more tolerable, you need the right shoe.

Let’s make it clear – I cannot characterize myself as a shoe nerd, or perfect fit specialist or even claim to know what you need most in your shoe, BUT, I definitely know what I like [and, love]. So, I am going to share that with you.

When I like something, I like something. Over the last couple of months, I’ve grown very fond of my Topo Athletic shoes – we do spend a lot of time and miles together after all. They have taken over the shoe rack and I have a pair for every adventure [trail, road, gym sessions]. You all know that the Topo Terraventure [trail shoe] was love at first run [I shared those thoughts here] and I haven’t really taken them off since. The Topo Athletic Ultrafly was not much different.

I broke the Ultraflys in over a 15 mile road to nowhere run [dreadmill, treadmill] – they didn’t disappoint, my body didn’t reject them and I made it through all 15 miles. When you can check those things off the list, the shoe is probably a good [to borderline] great fit. 

So here are my thoughts:

Fit: This shoe will give your foot a big hug, but it won’t smush your toes together. That means, the Ultrafly is narrow through the mid foot and still has a wide toe box for the coveted toe splay. I never really understood the wide toe box craze, and that’s probably because other brands  tend to have a wide toe box and a wide shoe/mid foot [with a narrow foot, this isn’t really the perfect fit]. But, I understand the value of space now — and, it makes for happy feet [Remember, I like what I like]. The Ultrafly is just right [think Goldilocks and The 3 Little Bears mentality] in the support and cushion department. The shoe is supportive [but, not overly supportive] and provides enough cushion without becoming a moon shoe. They pamper your feet and still give responsiveness to the road and run. I wear a 7, which is what I usually wear [well, sometimes a 6.5 too], but I will point out that Topo Athletic suggests sizing up.

Aesthetics: The look of a shoe matters. I’ll admit it, I buy shoes based on appearance too. Who doesn’t? Maybe you don’t quite admit it yet, but I’m certain we are first drawn to the look of a shoe before we figure out the functional details. Once we determine that it looks good, we then decide if it feels good too — and, while feels good is always MORE important, when it comes to shoes, look matters. I have the purple/lilac Ultrafly [but, I really love the ice/red combo too] — see look good & feel good!

CHECK OUT THE ULTRAFLY here ! 

Company: Topo Athletic has been around for a few short years and the small team is definitely making a mark in the shoe industry. By now, you all know, I love a good company – this is important. And, Topo is genuinely amazing – responsive, the customer service is spot on, and the team is passionate about what they do. Make sure to stop by the booth at the Boston Marathon Convention and say hi or soak up the cheering from somewhere around Mile 7 on race day.

Make sure to enter the Instagram GIVEAWAY to win a pair of Ultraflys.