Altra Women's Olympus Trail Running Shoe

This is the most comfortable walking shoe I have ever worn. I have had a lot of problems in the last year with a trochanteric bursitis and was walking 1,000 miles a year on trails with uneven surfaces. I have curtailed this almost a year due to hip pain. These shoes were recommended to me by a podiatrist and I am ecstatic with them. With a combination of Physical therapy and these shoes, the pain I have felt is almost gone. I have been able to increase mileage from a mile a day, up to 4 miles per day.I had to return my first pair as I was told that they ran big, compared them to my shoes that I was using on their site for comparison, and it said to get the same size. I did, but they were definitely too short. The shipping to return through Amazon was free and I just dropped them in a UPS drop box with the label I was able to print after I contacted them that I was returning for a larger size. I received the new pair the day after I shipped the old ones back with no further charge on my account. This has been a very successful transaction.I love the color. I love the insole. They are a wider shoe, which is good, as I usually order wide width shoes. They really didn't take much time to get used to them. My physical therapist had never heard of them, so I brought in the brochure. Even they were impressed. It really helps me to walk correctly with the heel, toe. They are so comfortable that I even wear them inside my house. I walk in a lot of sand, and the insole is removable, and that way I can shake the sand out of the shoe bed easily.I am extremely pleased with these shoes and will definitely repeat the purchase when these wear out. Thank you Altra!

Honestly, I wish I could give these shoes 10 stars. I have been dealing with plantar fasciitis (and a possible stress fracture) for almost a year. It came on after years of using my treadmill almost every day and a lot horse-riding. It seemed like the plantar fasciitis symptoms decreased, but I had worsening symptoms in my left foot...it would throb at night, ache during the day, was painful to walk on, and I even have a feeling when I'm in the shower of stepping on broken glass- but the feeling is coming from the inside of my foot (I'm thinking from pieces of bone?) So I wear a splint at night, and during the day, I was alternating between an air-filled CAM boot, my Kurus, and my RX Crocs, all with orthopedic inserts. I also do lots of stretches- my husband is a physical therapist and I've also seen a chiropractor and a podiatrist. I've had the cortisone shots, which did nothing. Anyway, my husband had a patient with PF who swore by these shoes, so I ordered them. The VERY first time I walked with them, I could have cried. I didn't have the sharp pains in the front of my arch, along the inside of my foot, or in front of my heels, that was always there. I was able to shop at the grocery store without even thinking about my foot!!! I feel like I'm wearing supportive shock absorbers. I hope whatever is in the soles holds up, because these shoes have been a miracle for me. I'm glad I read the reviews, because I normally wear an 8, but I ordered an 8 1/2 and they fit perfectly. I still use the air-plus orthotics in them (found at Walmart for 9.00), but even with the orthotics these are the most comfortable and supportive shoes I've ever tried!

Zero drop is where it's at for me. I am a mid/forefoot striker and non-zero drop shoes rotate me onto my forefoot, causing blisters when running longer than a 5k. I have had very few blisters with these shoes. I also love the wide toe box so my toes aren't squished all together which helps keep blisters between my toes at bay.I tried a minimalist shoe with zero drop, but I prefer some structure to my shoes, so I went looking for zero drop in a "real" shoe. And found Altras. Now I have a full range of Altra shoes. I have some high cushion road shoes (Torin) for street runs and 5ks, a max cushion shoe (Paradigm) for longer street runs or races, and these Olympus for trail work.I would not recommend the Olympus for running on road. The tread will get worn out quickly and while they are great on trail or gravel, they feel a little unstable on pavement.They are very cushioned, so if you don't like a lot of cushion, try one of the other models like the Lone Peak or the Superior. I do like a lot of cushion, so they're great for me.They do run quite small. I wear a 5.5 in "street" shoes and usually a 6 in running shoes, but the 6.5s are just about right in these shoes.I only have about 50 miles on them right now, but I like them so much, I bought another pair for endurance horseback riding so I can hop off and run with my horse some. I'm very careful about tracking mileage on my shoes, so I wanted to have one pair that I only use for running and not get them "used up" by riding.I hated the "ribbon" laces that came on them. These laces are very hard for me to get adjusted. So I bought some lock laces that work great. That added 8 bucks to the price of the shoes, but worth it so I'd actually wear the shoes.I currently run up to 20 miles a week with 6-9 miles of that on trail with these shoes.Dec 23, 2018 updateI still love these shoes! I don't care for the later incarnations and still these are my go-to trail running shoes (not the same pair...) They last about 350-400 miles for me before I retire them to horseback riding shoes and start on another pair. I've worn out several pairs running trails for marathon cross-training. I have run trail halfs in these. Still just love them. I wish I could have them forever, but they're hard to find now. I really hate that about running shoes. Find that perfect pair and then you spend the next several years trying to find another perfect fit.