A few years ago running natural was considered something for the elite, for experimenters. Those who ran like this had very particular shoes, often without any cushioning, with a very wide toe box and especially with 0 drop. Let’s face it, to be considered a natural runner you had to be willing to use shoes that were a bit extreme or at least unusual: comfort was a bit neglected and you had to have very well-trained feet because if you miss the work that the midsole does, biomechanics, i.e., the muscles and bones, have to step in.
Running natural in short was a very specific choice that did not allow for any variation in the type of shoes. Or rather: if you ran natural you could also run in traditional shoes but not vice versa.
Over time there has been a welcome convergence between the two families of running shoes: those that have changed the most have been the natural ones, that is, the most radical in origin. They have begun to have more generous midsoles and seemingly resemble their traditional cousins. But not in the geometry, which has always remained true to its origins: wide tip and 0 or very small drop.
And we come to Altra, that is, a brand that has espoused the natural philosophy since its inception and then followed the evolution toward comfort.
Comfort
I start from this very feature to talk about the Torin 5. I remember when I tried their distant cousins: the Adam ‘s had no drop, no cushioning, and no laces either! They were grade zero of the running shoe. And they certainly could not be called comfortable.
The simplest way to describe the feeling of wearing the Torins is this: it is like running in Adam’s but with a lot of substance underneath, because they are very cushioned and soft shoes. Yet their shape and behavior is very similar to that of the Adam: same wide toe box (to open the toes and dump propulsive thrust onto a larger surface) and same zero drop. It’s kind of like running with the Adam again but on a road magically made of a soft substance.
Natural running fundamentalists might see this evolution as a betrayal, but I say there is nothing wrong with running while being comfortable, especially when the rest of the experience of a shoe that is still pure in DNA is maintained.
The setup
As I ran with it, my thoughts and feelings focused mainly on two aspects: comfort and stability. Comfort is distributed throughout the sole of the foot but without giving the impression of resting on a sagging surface. Because the magic, in a sense, happens just below, on the tread. When the Torins touch the ground they communicate to the entire leg the clear perception of stable and balanced support. It is not always easy to achieve a good balance between cushioning, stability, and responsiveness, but in this case-aside from the normal and not overly responsive response of the midsole-you have to admit that the magic succeeded.
Not to mention something that matters more than many technical issues, and that is: when you decide which shoes to use for running, do you feel like using those very shoes because you run well in them? That’s it, there is no better way to tell if a shoe is giving you good sensations, and with the Torin 5’s this happened to me.
Two pieces of advice at the end
One is for Altra and one is for you. At Altra, I recommend that they revise the design of the tongue: it is a flat type and not padded, typical of the racing shoe. It uses little material and is very stable. The problem I found, however, concerns the upper edge of the tongue, which is too flattened inward and rubs annoyingly on the ankle, irritating it. I have only had this problem with the right, so I attribute it to a circumscribed defect, perhaps due to suboptimal conformation. The only way to avoid annoying abrasions was to wear high socks but you shouldn’t have to, especially when you’re used to running in very short socks almost year round like me.
And finally, a word of advice to you: if you decide to buy them, seriously consider taking half or even a size up because, as they say, they “wear little.” You can feel it mostly by walking; by running, paradoxically, you feel less that the “right” number bands a little too much. However, you should not overlook the fact that the longer you run, the more your foot expands, so during a long run you may feel little freedom of your foot inside the shoe. Just know it, and now you know it.
But speaking of long: the Torin 5s are great for these lengths and for those who, perhaps not quite at a healthy weight, want to run a lot. Having excellent cushioning you can in fact expect to run in them a lot, knowing that they will support you. So slip them on and go!
