What are the best shoes to wear when racing down hill? That was the topic of the evening while on my group run tonight. One of the gentlemen I ran with tonight, Peter Buchanan of Edinburgh, is running the Mount Everest Marathon, which has a net loss of almost 6000 feet from start to finish. It has to be the ultimate in downhill racing, with steep drops and very rough terrain, all at altitude. It takes the runners almost a month to get acclimated to the altitude before the start of the race.

We did not come to a consensus on what we thought would best serve his feet during the marathon. Our best guess was that he should get some trail shoes custom made that were tight in the heel but long in the toe. What suggestions would you have? I have to admit that my down hill racing has been a bit limited, and I have not done any real trail racing for years.