I got these shoes to replace the Salomon Sense 3's that i had and that were faulty. As the Sense 3's were not available in my size as a replacement i opted to upgrade and pay the difference to get a pair of the Salomon Sonic Pro's. I'd seen them in the emails that i get from various running organisation, blogs and shops. They looked to have a similar shape and styling but me more of a road shoe than a hybrid or trail. I then read the reviews from Ultrarunner Podcast and that was it - decision made.
They arrived last week and like a kid with a new anything i wanted to test them out. What better than a hilly 19 miler. Out of the box i did just that. Remember when you used to have to break shoes in before using them properly? Me neither.
Sunday's run ended up being 19 miles with 1,800ft of climb. I'm training for the Cheltenham Challenge Ultra so hills need to become part of my running life. The route was predominantly road but i did come down of Leckhampton Hill via a woodland trail path and some fields.
The shoes were great, they are great. There were no rubs or issues with fit - they were secure and even though it was also warm and my feet were sweating they gave me zero issues.
19.3 miles out of the box with not a single issue is really impressive.
Subsequent to Sunday i have run a further 26 miles or so in them this week entirely on tarmac. They still feel good but i am noticing that they are a little unforgiving compared to the Adidas Ultra Boost i normally wear. So much so that i think i will for 100% tarmac runs revert to the Boosts. The Sonic is a lovely shoe but, for me just not enough cushioning to make it a road shoe that i could wear exclusively. I will use it as a spring/summer trail shoe. I will also wear it in June for the Cheltenham Challenge ultra which will have a mix of terrain making this shoe the perfect choice.
I'll review these again in a few weeks when they have done more mileage to see how durable they prove.
