Customer Reviews Altra Escalante Racer

The perfect running shoe for me. I have slightly wider feet than normal, and I like a low cushion, zero-drop shoe. The increased toe box width allows my toes and forefoot to splay naturally when I run, and the amount and responsiveness of the cushioning is tuned perfectly. There is just enough cushion to make my runs comfortable, but not so much that I lose the feel of the road under my feet. I run shorter distances: between 2 and 4 miles.

Fantastic for short and long runs. Feels barefoot without being barefoot.

The shoes are light and comfortable

On my 3rd pair of these shoes and just love them. The weight is so light. The material just breathes so well. The shoe just feels perfect for my shorter distance and faster workouts. For my body, I think these shoes are best for runs less 13 miles. The other road shoe that I love from Altra is the Vanish Carbon.

I took these out for a 20 miler straight out of the box. The shoes feel great! Super lightweight. Mesh upper. Good feel with the road. Highly recommend!

No matter how much money I've spent on running shoes I've always had to adjust to what I didn't like about them. I honestly didn't think a perfect shoe existed. But this shoe is literally perfect! They felt fast when I pulled them out of the box and they didn't disappoint on the trail. Super lightweight, just enough cushion to not make them clumsy, ultra breathable combined with good looks on a zero drop platform. I'm in love and telling all my friends.

Please never stop making these shoes. The only shoes I have ever had that had both a confortable toe box and a snug heel that doesn't slip. Lightweight and zero drop, and while everyboduy else seems to be in a contest to see how high they can increase stack height, these have a low stack height. Perfect shoe.

I use these shoes for everything!!! From training runs to triple ironmans- these road shoes work well for me.

These are it. I hope the never change them. I switched to Rivera 2 for a short time and developed left knee pain, took one run in my racers and the pain was gone. The racer is the perfect shoe. I wear them to work as well. Please don't change them, they are pretty much the same since they made their debut. Brilliant shoe.

Road running. When they wear thin, I wear them at work. Best shoe. Minimal but not too minimal. Very light. Highly breathable. Last a long time. Please use the firmer EGO on trail shoes.

Since the early special edition (marathon "tribute") versions, I have had no need for any other shoe. I've tried a few, but nothing else compares to this light weight, extremely well ventilated racer-trainer. This is my daily trainer for everything from recovery to speed work to long runs including racing to 26.2 miles. Likely best for "normal" to light weight runners who are not heavy heel-strikers, as zero drop favors a mid- to forefoot landing. Notably, I have put up to 600 miles on a pair, typically replacing at 500 miles. True there was a lot of wear on the lateral aspect at forefoot, but as suggested by another reviewer, the Racer was designed as such, and racing shoes wear out faster.

Love these shoes! Anyone complaining about the quick wear does not understand what they are purchasing. Racers - made of lightweight materials that breakdown faster than other models made of heavier material.

This shoe is my favorite shoe and I'll continue to buy, recommend and love this shoe over all shoes I've ever used. Good for all runs under 45 miles - learning to use high cushion shoes after mile 45

This is my third pair of Escalante Racers, and for me this continues to be the perfect running shoe, in the goldilocks zone for cushioning, ground feel, weight, fit, durability and value. It's ideal for fast runs in the 5k to 10k range, and quite suitable for longer distances as well. For extended road training runs I do swap to something with more cushioning, but if I was racing a half marathon the Escalante Racer would be perfect for that as well. I'm so glad Altra has not changed this shoe, and hope they keep it like this forever. That said, I would love to see Altra bring out some new and limited edition colorways like they had a few years ago.

I really like this shoe. I use it for fast training runs on the track. I have a narrow foot, so wish I could get it in the narrow size since I've got 3/4" of unused width in my toebox in this shoe.

I recently purchased the Escalante Racer for the first time as I'm preparing for an annual 5K charity race. I love these shoes! They are light and comfortable. I'm 54 years and I am using these on a treadmill. I now run on treadmill primarily to avoid the some pitfalls of pounding on pavement. I was track and X-country in HS and I have some physical "baggage" that I deal with regularly. I've been using these shoes for my Tempo Runs and my 5K Interval Runs to prepare me for race day. I love the wide toe box, it's a natural feel, for me. I am very happy with the shoes, about 25-30 miles so far. I will definitely buy these again. Thanks.

Different shape with toe portion, but definitely comfortable!

Lightweight, highly breathable, and a great fit. I also wear Lone Peaks which fit me similarly. A great combination for road and trails. Highly recommend.

I have searched far and wide for a running shoe that accommodates my foot needs. The shoe width around the toes is perfect. I am a U.S. Marine and cannot wait to use these on my best fitness test. They also have a fantastic exchange policy and customer service that I leveraged while trying to find the right size. Highly recommend!

My favorite shoe ever! They feel amazing right out of the box. I have wide feet and these fit prefect with just a little bit of loosening in the bottom section of the laces. I put 475 miles on my last pair before retiring them. The soles held up amazingly well. Please don't change these shoes. But what happened to the black color? Please bring back black and other color options.

Hope they continue to make this exact product but we need it in more colors please.

I use this shoe as my run and "race" shoe exclusively on the road. I find it to be the perfect combination of width, lightness, breathability, and response without feeling like I'm running on a huge cushion of foam. They tend to hold up pretty well and I'm a fan of the non-white foam bottom of the shoe as it tends to make the shoe look great for longer periods of time. Additionally, they seem to hold up quite well to a run through the washing machine. I run in them until the foam stops feeling responsive and replace them with another set or color.

I have always had issues finding the perfect shoe for my wide feet. These shoes are the answer. My toes have plenty of breathing room and my feed no longer sweat around 6 miles. I am on my third pair.

I am currently rotating 3 pairs of Escalante Racers and exclusively run on the road with them for the last 3+ years. They are hands down the best running shoe out there for everything from 5K to Marathon+. The only thing I would say they struggle at is mid-winter cold days because they are so open your toes can get cold - but nothing a nice pair of warm wool socks won't remedy. With this most recent color - the only nitpick thing I would change is that the laces are a different size and smaller than all other Racers I've owned in the past. Hard to double knot them (which I'm assuming almost all runners do). Also - I wish you would bring back the fun designs like 4th of July (so many people love seeing those shoes and I love running in them) and the major marathons.

I was having calf pain while running, training for a triathlon. I was getting frustrated. A couple days before the race I overnighted these. During the race no calf pain. I don't recommend making big equipment changes so close to race time, but I needed a solution! Very happy!