Changes

Running shoes frequently surprise me, and normally not in a good way. The Solstice is that rare exception when I have low expectations, and but find myself pleasantly surprised. Altra market the Solstice for "everyday wear or shorter road races", and they seem to think of it as an "entry level" shoe. My initial impressions were suitably underwhelming, as the Solstice is not terribly light, or unusually well cushioned, and it doesn't have any remarkable featurefeatures. Nothing remarkable that is, until I started putting some miles on them, and discovered just how much my feet liked them. Unlike some shoes, when where I have to push myself to put the miles in with them, I found myself automatically reaching for the Solstice. And when I test tested other shoes, I find found myself missing the Solstice. While the solstice is not ultralight like the long gone [[New Balance RC5000‏‎]], or massively cushioned like the [[Hoka Clifton]], or amazingly fast like the [[Nike Vaporfly 4%]], it is remarkably comfortable. Like all Altra shoes, it's near zero drop, and has an outline shape that matches a healthy human foot. Unlike most Altra shoes, the Solstice has a reasonable amount of headroom for the toes, allowing for a more natural foot movement. I was surprised to find myself packing of the Solstice for a vacation instead of my venerable [[Nike Zoom Streak LT 3]], which have been my companion on every vacation for the last few years. I'm rating the Solstice as "Highly Recommended", and I hope you enjoy your running in them as much as I am. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}

As you can see from the images above, there's surprisingly little abrasion on the exposed midsole after 200 miles. Typically, I'm gentle on my shoes, partly due to my weight (140Lb/64Kg) and partly a soft foot strike. As with most shoes, the limiting factor is more the compression of the foam than abrasion, but after 200 miles the compression is fairly modest. Most of the compression is actually the insole rather than the midsole, so if you can find some decent [[Replacement Insoles]], they could prolong the life of the Solstice.