My thoughts about the 2024 Saucony Xodus Ultra 3 after 500km of hilly trails. Almost all of those 500Km was run on trails with roughly 15% whilst the trails were wet and muddy. I also used them to complete in the UTS 55k race.
Since the purchase earlier in April there were moments I had my reservations. After a recce of the North Downs 42K which had a few steep descents, I discovered a couple of my toenails weren't looking their best and began thinking about switching back to my wider Topos. However, as the Xodus provide my cushioning I decided to experiment with different socks and focus on the lace tightness. For me this appeared to fixed the issue and happily I completed the UTS race without any further foot damage.
Obviously, it depends on your foot shape, best to try for yourself, but I've found them a good fit for my broader feet. When purshasing I normally choose a half size up for trail shoes compared to casuals and for the Xodus this rule remains the same.
My requirements for a Ultra running shoe are: comfortable on long runs with plenty of underfoot cushioning whilst allowing a feel for the changing terrain. They must be as lightweight as possible, below 280grams ideally. The underfoot lugs must be sufficient to grip wet greasy grass, muddy clay fields and offer support whilst hopping down steep rocky descents like the Pyg track, Snowdonia. During the wet winter months or maybe crossing a stream the shoe needs to expel water and stay comfortable whilst wet. Lastly durability without this cost per mile will be unacceptable.
After six weeks of running I've covered 500k of trail with the Xodus 3 and would now say they meet my requirements quite well, even go as far to say they do a better job compared with other trail shoes I've previously tried.
If you have any comments or questions about the shoes please leave a comment below and I'll get back to you.
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