Running Tweets

I’ve made an observation to several friends recently that bears repeating here: I would SUCK at Twitter.

All it takes is one look around this place to know that brevity isn’t exactly my thing – so living in a “140 character or less” world would be something akin to the tenth circle of Hell when it comes to my writing proclivity.

However, it’s impossible to ignore the impact Twitter is having on modern athletics – most notably, in the form of high-profile athletes (such as Lance Armstrong or Shaquille O’Neal) who dispatch several tweets per day to hundreds of thousands of admirers who subscribe to their feed. Amateur athletes – including a fair number of bloggers - have embraced the trend as well, using the medium for both rapid, spontaneous communication and to bolster their social networking prowess.

So while I’ll never embrace Twitter, I certainly recognize its impact on the endurance sport community – which was the idea we applied to our latest Monterey Herald column.

My friend Mike and I sent an e-mail to every local runner we know – including coaches, current and former Olympians, and a whole lot of regular Joes – and asked for their best “Twitterized” running advice. (And since we told them it was for publication, I feel OK including their names here.) The result is the article that follows.

**
Running Life 7/30/09 “Running Tweets”


First things first: We’re not on Twitter. We’ve never tweeted. We’ll never make anyone’s top feed list.

However, we were curious as to whether Twitter has any value when it comes to dispensing sage running advice – so we asked many of the best local runners and coaches to tell us how to be a better runner. We only gave them one rule: their answer had to be 140 characters or less.

Here are our favorite responses from the experts …

Former Olympic marathoner Nelly Wright from Pacific Grove: “It is all about attitude. Be positive. Be a good sportsman. Be consistent. Be passionate. Don’t let setbacks get you down. Have fun.”

Professional triathlete Alexis Smith from Seaside: “Set a goal. Write out the training plan. Follow through with your workouts; consistency plays a major role in becoming a better runner.”

North County coach Gus Ibarra took the team approach: “Everyone is a winner. Running takes work. Expect the best. The Team/Family concept overrides any individual achievement.”

Chris Zepeda, Hartnell College coach: “As you get older focus less on the mileage and go back to your youth and hit the track. Train like you did in high school and college.”

Jeff Magallanes from Marina was very specific: “Get Fast! Mon. do 3 to 7 one mile repeats at 10K pace. Weds. do 16 one minute “pulls” at 5K pace. On Sat. a four to 10 mile tempo run at half marathon pace.”

Jim Scattini from Salinas showed impressive versatility, as his answer qualified as both a tweet and a rhyme: “You want to run fast? Just get off your behind or you will place last!”

Matt Clayton, a former 2:14 marathoner from Salinas: “There are no secrets or shortcuts in this sport. Train hard, but be smart enough to listen to what your body is telling you. Don’t let your ego get in the way.”

Some local runners didn’t even need the full 140 characters to dispense their wisdom …

Olympic Marathoner and former Runner’s World Magazine runner of the year Maria Trujillo: “Run fast and work hard.”

Patty Selbicky, former winner of the Big Sur Marathon: “Intervals, intervals, and more intervals…..and listen to Glynn Wood.”

Of course, we then went straight to Glynn Wood, the dean of local runners, with over 65 years of competitive running and coaching experience. His tweet? “Run Run Run!” It’s kind of eloquent in its simplicity.

We were actually fairly surprised to discover some valuable lessons in these short bursts, and considered our Great Twitter Experiment a bona fide success. Each individual tweet is interesting on its own, and when we put all the recommendations together, an ideal overall strategy emerges:

* Be positive and optimistic.
* Be consistent in your training.
* You have to be thoughtful and have a plan.
* To be fast you have to practice running fast.
* There are no secrets and there is no substitute for hard work.
* Enjoy the process and every part of the running life.

Sounds like great advice.

Read more...

The Barefoot Files

Before we get to today’s post, a quick reminder: you’re running out of shopping days to get great deals on La Sportiva Wildcats, La Sportiva Crosslites, or Injinji socks at Wilderness Running Company. All of the items are on sale for 10% off, plus an additional 10% by using coupon code R&R10 – and if you buy either pair of La Sportivas, you’ll also get a free pair of Drymax socks. These deals end on July 31 for the shoes, and August 3rd for the Injinjis - so get a move on if you want to grab them.

As for today’s post, we’re moving away from shoes in the most fundamental way possible …

**

“And what about those shoes you’re in today?
They’ll do no good … ”
- Jack Johnson, “Gone” (video after post)

*
I mentioned in my Injinji sock review that there’s a notable progression towards a “less is more” philosophy regarding trail running footwear, and I hinted that the idea has been quite compelling to me recently. Truthfully, it’s not just minimalist footwear that has me excited; it’s the thought of running with no footwear at all.

That’s right … I’m starting to run barefoot.

Although this is a brand new direction for me to travel, the idea has been percolating in my head for many years – in fact, almost as long as I’ve been a runner. When I was a novice marathoner nearly 20 years ago, I was enthralled by the story of Abebe Bikila, who won the 1960 Olympic marathon while running barefoot (he did it again in 1964, this time with shoes), and who remains one of my favorite symbols of everything that is admirable about running (I even wrote an article about him way back then, comparing his story to the lessons of the Christmas season. It's a novice effort, but you're welcome to read it.)


As a child, I watched the infamous Zola Budd-Mary Decker race at the 1984 Olympics – and what struck me most wasn’t the fact that the two runners collided (it happens all the time in track, after all), but that Budd regularly mixed it up in a pack of spike-shod athletes with no protection whatsoever to her own feet. And in recent years, I’ve admired the penchant of my favorite elite ultrarunner for logging several barefoot miles each week on high country trails in Colorado.


All three of these athletes have competed at the highest level of their sport, on every running surface imaginable (Budd actually won back to back world cross-country championships in bare feet). So I’ve never really questioned whether somebody could succeed while running barefoot – rather, I just wondered whether it was something I’d have enough patience and discipline to try.

While the notion has always appealed to me, somehow over the course of my progression from marathoner to triathlete to ultrarunner, the timing never seemed right. This summer, a couple of factors have finally persuaded me that there’s no better time than now to make a foray into the world of barefoot running.

The first factor I’ve described in some detail already: I read (and reviewed) the book Born to Run. In addition to being a great page-turner about one of the most fabled ultramarathons ever contested, it’s essentially a 300-page manifesto on the virtues of running barefoot. I won’t rehash all the details here – check out my review if you’re interested – but suffice it to say that I was inspired.

I’ve also mentioned the other factor that plays into this decision: namely, I don’t have anything else to do. My race season is over; there’s nothing on the calendar to distract my attention, and I don’t have to worry about maintaining a certain number of miles per week or pace per mile from one workout to the next. In other words, from a training standpoint, I’ve got nothing but time on my hands.

That last point isn’t insignificant – because from everything I’ve learned, going down this road is a very lengthy process. You have to start with baby steps, progressing from week to week by minutes instead of by miles, and always as the smallest percentage of your overall mileage. The handful of runners who run entirely without shoes build up to that status over a period of several years, not months. I’m going to make every effort to avoid having this become “The Injury Files” once we get fully underway.

It also bears emphasizing that my goal isn’t to become an exclusively barefoot runner (especially since I have a few more shoe reviews lined up - that would be awkward); it’s to incorporate barefoot running as a regular component of my trail running regimen, and get in touch with some of the unique physical, psychological, sociological, and seven spiritual aspects of kicking off my shoes and running free.

So this post is mainly an introduction, and a roadmap of sorts for some topics I’ll be exploring in separate posts intermittently over the next few months. I don’t have a real specific framework in mind, but here’s a sampling of some things I have in store:

* A basic explanation of the biomechanical/anthropological theory behind barefoot running – which, ironically, has recently been embraced and promoted by some of the wealthiest shoe manufacturers in the world.

* A beginner’s guide to barefoot training, based on my own experience plus guidelines from more experienced practitioners. I've done a couple of very short barefoot runs so far, and I'll try to provide specific details about these sessions as they develop.

* A review of the Vibram Five Fingers “shoe”, a brilliant product that straddles the two worlds of barefoot running and high-tech athletic gear, and may be – depending on who you talk to - nothing short of revolutionary, or nothing more than a gimmick.

* A brief foray into the support network of barefoot runners; if you thought ultramarathoners were a crazy fringe element of the sport of running, just wait until you meet some of this crowd.

* Finding the right balance between barefoot running, training shoes, and everyday footwear that optimizes the training and (presumed) health benefits while dampening the “freak factor” that inevitably occurs once people notice my absence of shoes.

I may work some other angles in there as warranted, but this certainly gives me enough to chew on for a while. I’ll also be open to any suggestions for topic ideas as we get further along in the process. Just understand that I don’t really know where this little experiment is going to lead – but I’ll be glad to have some company to share my results with.

*
It’s turning into a Jack Johnson theme week around here – but since we’re in the middle of summer, there’s really no reason to avoid it. Here’s one of his classics, which was later remade by the Black Eyed Peas: “Gone” (click to play)

Read more...

World Keeps Spinning

"Who's to say -
What's impossible, well they forgot -
This world keeps spinning and with each new day -
I can feel a change in everything ... "
- Jack Johnson, "Upside Down" (video after post)

*
This is a fairly well-known landmark in the Fort Ord open space:


It’s affectionately known as “Hurl Hill” by the local mountain biking community; a short, steep, choppy quad-buster that lies near the end of a 5-mile single track loop through an area called Couch Canyon.

The hill is physically and technically challenging, but just forgiving enough that dismounting to walk your bike seems like a cop-out. Consequently, Hurl Hill doesn’t really give you a choice: your pride says you have to ride it, but your legs and lungs (and maybe, considering the moniker, your digestive system) will hate being worked to shreds while you’re doing it.

So I wasn’t expecting great things from my 11-year-old son when I took him there for the first time last week.

We were halfway through a 10-mile ride, and I had been telling him about the challenge of Hurl Hill at the end of the canyon. As we approached, I gave him encouragement, while at the same time lowering the bar of expectation, so that he wouldn’t be too disappointed if he had to walk: OK man, here we go … it’s a tough one, but just do the best you can … work hard and see what happens … just go as far as you’re able to.

His response: OK, and he rolled off toward the hill while I hung back to take another picture.


I took one frame, then refocused and took another, and was zooming in for a third when the realization hit me: He’s riding a lot further than I thought.

I kept watching … and he kept riding. And riding. And riding some more.

By the time I hopped on my bike and sped into the hill to catch up, he was more than two-thirds of the way to the top; the bike was swerving and wobbling and moving in slow motion, but moving nonetheless. Constant motion, one slow pedal stroke after another, until I had to take my eye off him to make sure that I navigated the hill properly myself.

Once we finally crested the hill, I let out a big “Woo hoo!!”, and asked the question I already knew the answer to: You rode that whole hill, didn’t you?

His response: Yeah. In the midst of very audible hyperventilation – and a very visible smile.

We stopped for some water, took in the view around us, and let the moment settle for a few minutes before finishing off the loop and eventually returning to the car. Aside from the three or four minutes spent on Hurl Hill, it was just like any other bike ride.


Shortly after he got his bike last summer, I wrote in a joking fashion about how the only difference between his performance and mine was the relative strength of our engines. No longer could he use the excuse that his bike wasn't good enough to keep up with me; in fact, his ride is far more advanced than my 20-year-old Rockhopper, so he’s actually working with an advantage. Tagged onto that post, a friend left a comment that has become one of my favorite analogies: dropping your dad on a climb is the new arm wrestling. It's outward evidence that the strength and determination of the pupil has finally surpassed that of the teacher.

I’m not foolish enough to think that my son would never outclimb me – but I figured I had at least 10 or 15 more years before having to deal with such an indignity. However, those few minutes on Hurl Hill made it clear that the time may be coming far sooner than I thought. Our worlds keep spinning, and there's no more time to waste. I suppose I should embrace this revelation as good news … but you’ll forgive me if it feels a little bittersweet as well.

And lest my kid starts getting cocky, there’s one final point that deserves mentioning: I’m not going down without a fight. When our changing of the guard finally comes, that kid’s going to know that he earned it.

"This world keeps spinning and there's no time to waste -
Will it all keep spinning spinning round and round and upside down ...
I don't want this feeling to go away."
-Jack Johnson, "Upside Down" (click to play):



(In case you were wondering, the song and video are from the delightful Curious George soundtrack.)

Read more...

Injinji Performance Socks Review

Before we get to the review, let me clearly state my bias for the record: when it comes to socks, I’m completely, head over heels, ‘I’d get down on one knee and offer my final rose’ in love with Drymax. Having said that, I’m aware that there are other fish in the sea … and in my evolving role as a product guru, I’m more than happy to try other brands to see how they measure up.

Injinji is a fairly well-known commodity among ultrarunners. They enjoy a devoted following, and the company is affiliated with many high-profile events – such as a little race I completed in Auburn last month. The company sponsors four separate teams, in adventure racing, triathlon, ultrarunning, and regular running (although the distinction between running and ultrarunning seems quite blurry, as the running roster features a very popular blogger who has also become a fantastic ultrarunner). In other words, Injinji is out there, supporting endurance athletes and events in growing numbers since their inception about ten years ago.

As the official sock sponsor of the Western States 100, Injinji sent a pair to all entrants in advance of the 2008 non-race. This spring, when Wilderness Running Company sent me another sample, I figured that receiving two free pairs was some sort of sign that I should sit down and write a formal review. So away we go.

Obviously, Injinji are distinctive for their patented tetratsok design, which is a cool (if hard to spell) word they invented to describe the separate toe coverings; it’s the foot equivalent of putting your fingers into a glove instead of a mitten. This design has several intended benefits: it enables your entire foot to perform in a more biomechanically natural manner, and prevents the moisture buildup and “toe on toe” friction that leads to blisters.

(On a completely unrelated note, the tetratsok design has another fringe benefit: on summer mornings when I want to roll out of bed and slide into a pair of shorts and flip-flops for lounging around the house but my toes feel kind of chilly, I can put on a pair of Injinjis and still wear the flip-flops while warming up my toes. Sure, I look like a nerd - but the rest of my family has long since made that conclusion, so my overall rep is pretty much unchanged.)

Sock nerd in the house!

Injinjis are also very comfortable to wear, which was one of my concerns before trying them out. The individual toe sleeves are seamless, and the fabric blend feels very nice against the skin. The performance sock (the model I tested) features wicking CoolMax on the skin side and nylon on the outside, which help moisture transfer during long, hot activities. The double-layered welt top holds the shape of the sock and keeps all the parts positioned where they’re supposed to be.

Nevertheless, Injinji’s primary marketing strategy isn’t related to the sock’s comfort – it’s in how the sock helps your foot perform more naturally while running.

This “natural running” idea is one that’s gradually gaining traction in the fitness world, and one that’s been especially intriguing to me in recent months. I’ll explain more about my own interest in a separate post next week – but it’s important to note that Injinji has historically been way ahead of this curve. The company was founded with the primary intention of maintaining the foot’s natural anatomy and function in a way that traditional socks couldn’t match – basically, to mimic the feel of running barefoot.

There’s a difference you can feel with your very first run in a pair of Injinjis: instead of just rolling over the ground as a single cohesive unit, your toes immediately start shifting, adjusting, and gripping differently in response to each footfall. It feels a bit odd at first, but once you realize what’s going on, it’s kind of a cool thing to experience – it’s like your toes are waking up and saying “Hey! We can do whatever we want in here! This is great!”

From a biomechanical standpoint, this makes perfect sense: the toes were created (or possibly, evolved by mutation and completely random happenstance – that’s a separate discussion) to facilitate balance, stability, and forward propulsion of the foot. Injinji socks allow this process to happen, but how much functional benefit you actually gain is difficult to assess – which leads to the primary drawback I found with Injinjis.

If your intent is to replicate the function of the human foot while running, the socks you’re wearing can only go so far. A vastly more important factor in this regard is the type of footwear you use; if you’re wearing Injinjis in a pair of motion-thwarting stability shoes, or with artificial arch supports, or in bulky shoes with an elevated heel and hugely cushioned midsole, the normal mechanics of your feet are so stringently diminished that the socks you’re wearing probably can’t make up for it.

Fortunately, there seems to be a clear “less is more” revolution taking place with trail running footwear - as evidenced by the lightweight yet durable La Sportiva models (the Crosslite and Wildcat) I reviewed recently, and by other brands of footwear that strip away as many impediments to the natural function of the foot as possible (spoiler alert – this is also a HUGE hint for an upcoming review I’ve got on deck this summer).

One other small criticism of the Injinjis is the lack of variability in fit. More specifically, the toes of the tetratsok get progressively shorter from big toe to pinky toe – but my 2nd toe (would that that my index toe?) is longer than my big toe, so the fit of the sleeves feel slightly irregular on either side. It’s not enough of a problem to keep me from wearing them – just a little something else for me to gripe about.

No freak toes, please

Overall, the Injinjis are an interesting option if you’re looking to explore the possibilities of running with a more natural feel. They’re also comfortable enough to wear with your regular trail shoes for moisture management and blister prevention.

Injinji performance socks retail for $12, but Wilderness Running Company has them at a 10% discount through August 3rd, and if you use coupon code R&R10, you get an extra 10% off. It’s a good opportunity to start using your toes again.


See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

Read more...

The Moment: American River Crossing

How do you compress a 4,000-word race report with more than 40 pictures into a 600-word newspaper column with zero allotted photo space? That’s the question I faced in writing last week’s Monterey Herald article.

Here’s the back story, in case you’re unfamiliar: last year, in addition to my regular running column, I did an extended training diary series in the months leading up to the Western States 100. It built up a fair degree of anticipation within the community (especially, for some reason, in retirement homes – I’ve got a HUGE following in the over-80 demographic), which of course led to some public dismay when the 2008 race was cancelled.

This year, I kept my training relatively low profile. I didn’t really mention it in the Herald column – and since much of the octogenarian crowd can barely use e-mail, let alone search for a blog on the inter-web, most of my fan base who followed along last year had no idea that my candle for Western States still burned, or that everything finally came to fruition at the end of June.

So I wanted to write again about the Western States 100, to bring everybody up to speed, provide a description of the event, and give a sense of the overall experience - all in about one-sixth of the space that I used for my official race report. And as everyone around here is fully aware, brevity isn’t exactly my strong suit.

In my final entry of last year’s training diary, I waxed philosophic about why ultrarunners do the things they do. This year, instead of psychological analysis, I tried to capture a solitary moment; a snapshot of the race that could somehow encompass everything that was good, bad, and crazy about the act of running 100 miles.

And I knew immediately what moment I’d pick.


The American River crossing at mile 78 was the segment of the course I was most looking forward to before the race, and remains the most indelible impression in the aftermath. Cautiously stepping through waist-deep rapids (assisted, as always, by generous support crews), nervously clinging to a guide rope that I could barely wrap my fingers around, when by body was simultaneously blowing up and shutting down, with my race goals long since obliterated, knowing that I still had almost eight hours ahead of me but uncertain if I could actually do it … that’s my Western States experience in a single moment.

It was great, it was terrible … and I knew I had to include it in the Herald article. But instead of trying to make sense of it all, I left it somewhat inexplicable – either a “you get it or you don’t” kind of thing. For the newspaper crowd, I figured that would be enough - however, I made sure to steer people toward the full blog report if I somehow piqued their interest.

One postscript to this story: the day after the article ran in the paper, my 89-year-old grandmother called me to report that the maintenance man at her retirement complex spent his lunch break reading the column out loud to a small audience of listeners. She said I’m some kind of folk hero at the hacienda now … so I’ve got that going for me, I guess. The Monterey Herald article follows below.

(And if you’re really looking to kill some time, the whole training diary series remains on my right-hand sidebar.)

*
Running Life 7/16/09 “Surviving the Western States 100”

Last year, I wrote several articles about training for the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, only to have the race cancelled due to wildfires. Don’t worry - I won’t take it personally if you’ve forgotten.

I, on the other hand, never forgot about the race – if anything, my desire to participate grew even stronger during the fall and winter. This spring, I trained my tail off, and finally toed the line last month with the best ultrarunners in the world.

Western States took me to some unbelievable places, both physically and psychologically. Some were wondrous and exciting. Others were dark and terrifying. A few were just plain bizarre. The end result was a journey that was both humbling and empowering, discouraging yet ultimately uplifting.

The race begins in the former Olympic Village of Squaw Valley, where you rub elbows with the superstars of ultrarunning, see the Olympic rings displayed everywhere, and gaze at the tall mountains you’re about to climb. You can’t help but be inspired - and more than a little bit intimidated. By the end of the race, 160 of the roughly 350 runners at the start line would drop out at some point along the way.

Over the course of 100 miles, I completed 18,000’ of climbing, and 21,000’ of descent traversing one rugged canyon after another en route to the finish line in Auburn. In the two steepest and tallest canyons, temperatures reached 105 degrees on race day. Fortunately, there were river crossings at the bottom of each canyon, where I soaked in the water for several minutes in order to lower my body temperature enough to survive the heat.

The river crossings continued throughout the race – in fact, the biggest one came in the middle of the night. It’s situations like this – standing waist deep in class 3 rapids of the American River at 1:30 in the morning, after running 78 miles with another 22 still to go, so fatigued that you have spasms in every muscle of your body and so sleep deprived that you start to hallucinate – that make you either fall in love with ultrarunning or realize just how crazy the sport is. Or, if you’re like me, both these things happen.

During the 28 hours I was on the course, I battled sore feet, muscle pains, dehydration, mild renal failure, and severe nausea. I danced on the razor’s edge of medical stability, needing several minutes of observation at some mandatory health checkpoints. I was so debilitated that I could barely walk at times, and so discouraged that I wondered why I wanted to.

There’s a popular saying that the person who crosses the finish line of a 100-mile race is far different than the one who starts it – and at Western States, that’s especially true. The course breaks you down in every conceivable way - physically, spiritually, psychologically - and makes you question every aspect of your being. It strips you of all pretense and reveals the very nature of your soul.

Sure, it’s not the most pleasant place to be, but surviving such a gauntlet instills an unbelievable feeling of accomplishment, as well as a sense that anything is possible. All from the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.

If all this sounds insane, believe me – this summary barely scratches the surface. There’s a very detailed race report and photo tour of the Western States 100 on my website which may give you the full measure of how crazy and amazing ultrarunning really can be.

Read more...

La Sportiva Crosslite Shoe Review

This review won’t be as lengthy as the previous one – I’ll refer you to my Wildcat review for a brief overview of the La Sportiva company – but it’s every bit as enthusiastic. I’ve put about 100 miles on my La Sportiva Crosslites, and I’ve found it to be a truly remarkable shoe.

Truthfully, I’m a little late to jump on the Crosslite bandwagon: the shoe has already won a handful of “best in category” awards, including a Best Buy award from Runner’s World magazine and a Gear of the Year designation from Outside magazine. So it’s not exactly a secret that the Crosslite is outstanding; the only question is what type of mountain running this model is best suited for.

On that point, it’s worth noting a few differences between the Crosslite and the Wildcat, and from other shoes in the La Sportiva line. While all of the classic La Sportiva characteristics that I described in the Wildcat review – lightweight, low-profile, slipper-like comfort right out of the box – are present in this model, the Crosslite also has some distinguishing features to set it apart from the rest of the line.

The primary difference is on the underside of the Crosslite. La Sportiva’s patented FriXion AT rubber is still utilized, but the lugs are much larger than the ones on the Wildcat, and spaced further apart. The wide spacing helps the sole shed mud more easily – which, combined with the outstanding traction of the soft, sticky FriXion rubber, make this model ideal for mucky, sloppy, muddy conditions.

The sole also features La Sportiva’s Impact Braking System, which is the official designation for the layout I described in my Wildcat review: namely, the outsole lugs are oriented in opposing slanted directions. The result, according the La Sportiva website, is a 20% increase in braking power and a 20% decrease in impact forces. It also helps explain why La Sportiva shoes have a nicely cushioned feel even without the thick midsole that most trail shoes rely upon for shock absorption.

Having said that, the Crosslite isn’t quite as well cushioned as the Wildcat (despite being very similar in weight, at roughly 12oz), and therefore may not be as well suited for super-long duration runs. The La Sportiva rep explained to me that the Wildcat is recommended for distances from 100K to 100M, and the Crosslite is recommended for anything shorter. (More on recommended uses in a minute.)

Another unique feature of the Crosslite is the external scree guard on top of the AirMesh upper, which is like having a gaiter on the top of your forefoot. La Sportiva’s even-torsion lacing system is used on this shoe, but only the top two eyelets are visible on the forefoot. The scree guard also keeps the lacing and the upper snug against the top of the foot, enhancing the fit of the shoe.


The Crosslite has a 2.5-mm composite shank in the midfoot to help with torsional stability, but it lacks the heel stabilizer device seen on the Wildcat, so the disclaimer in my Wildcat review about transitioning gradually from a more stable trainer is especially pertinent with the Crosslite. This difference, plus the slight disparity in cushioning, are likely the rationale for using Wildcats instead of Crosslites for longer distance racing.

Like other shoes in the La Sportiva line, the Crosslite is meant for running fast; they’re built for elites to win races, and for regular schmoes to feel swift and light on the trail. My training group does a weekly 12-miler on hilly fire roads, which often double as long tempo runs for the marathoners among us. It’s the one run each week where I know I may be fighting to keep pace right from the gun – and it’s the one where I’m most grateful for having a pair of Crosslites to help me keep up.

Obviously, all the mainstream fuss over the Crosslite is very well-deserved. Here are the conditions where I think it would be an exceptional choice:

* Wet, muddy, messy technical conditions where traction is especially important.

* Racing distances up to 50M.

* Fast training days where you want to push the pace with intervals, tempo work, etc.

Retail prices for the La Sportiva Crosslite are pretty consistent at $90 from multiple vendors, but Wilderness Running Company has once again agreed to hook my readers up with a sweet deal between now and the end of July. They’re currently listing the Crosslite at a sale price of $80 with free shipping, and if you use coupon code R&R10, you’ll get an extra 10% off that price, and a free pair of Drymax socks, just because they’re extra special awesome.

The Crosslite is a sleek, comfortable shoe that can handle any trail condition you encounter in training, and help you lower your PRs on race day.

See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com

Read more...

La Sportiva Wildcat Shoe Review

If I told you that you should buy trail running shoes from a company that specializes in wooden clogs and lumberjack boots, would you be interested? At first glance, probably not.

But if I went on to tell you that the company has a long history of producing durable mountain gear, and that they’ve expanded their original focus to include footwear for rock climbing, alpine hiking and adventure running, you’d be a bit more curious, right?

What if I continued to explain that the company has become one of the biggest supporters of ultrarunning over the past several years, sponsoring multiple race series and a team of elite trail runners? Or that they provide exclusive gear for the most hardcore mountaineers and high-altitude athletes all over the world? Or that the company’s shoes were worn by winners of this year’s Western States and Hardrock 100-Mile races? You’d definitely pay attention then, wouldn’t you?

Readers, meet La Sportiva.

Considering that the company is relatively novel to many trail runners out there, it’s remarkable to learn that La Sportiva has been around for more than 80 years. They originated, and are still headquartered, in a small mountain town at the foot of the Dolomites in northern Italy. (Reflecting their origins, it makes sense that La Sportiva very seldom uses the words “trail running” for their gear – they prefer the phrase “mountain running”.) It has remained a family business that passes expertise down from one generation to the next, while collaborating with its sponsored athletes to push the boundaries of innovation for high performance.

They’re also a very generous company, as reflected in their extensive sponsorships (check that roster for this year's Western States women's champion and the Hardrock men's winner), promotional efforts (they even have two blogs!) and race series awards – especially at a time when many other companies are withdrawing or limiting financial support of amateur athletes. I’ve wanted to establish a relationship with LaSportiva for quite some time, so I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to review two different shoe models from their current line.

Today’s review features the Wildcat, which is billed as a stable, neutral shoe – and the most cushioned shoe in the LaSportiva line.

That description doesn’t mean the shoe is bulky – in fact, the immediate observation I had about both models (the Wildcat and the Crosslite, which will be reviewed next time) is how sleek and light they feel straight out of the box; they’re the shoe version of an Italian sports car. And it’s probably not a coincidence that LaSportiva shoes are endearingly nicknamed “Sporties” by runners who’ve used them. They trigger a primitive reaction of sorts - you put them on your feet, and you instantly feel like running fast.

The Wildcat weighs just 12oz, with a low profile around the ankle, and a slipper-like feel through the forefoot aided by an even-tension lacing system and a thin, breathable sockliner. I felt like I could run a 50K in these shoes right out the door – they were instantly comfortable and responsive without any breaking-in period. Adding to the lightweight feel of the shoes are AirMesh uppers, through which you can literally feel air moving with each stride. The AirMesh provides this cool ventilation while preventing dirt and debris from getting through to your socks.

Fortunately, being lightweight doesn’t sacrifice the shoe’s toughness. There’s a molded piece called a Transkinetic Heel Stabilizer at the back of the shoe to help with stability on rugged surfaces, and some rubber-dipped mesh for extra protection in vulnerable areas like the tip of the forefoot to keep clumsy runners from injuring themselves too often.

LaSportiva prides itself in its outsole traction, and the Wildcat uses their patented FriXion AT rubber which maximizes grip and responsiveness on the most slippery and treacherous terrain. Basically, the rubber is softer and stickier than the outsoles of most other shoes, but die-cut and angled in various directions throughout the sole to enhance braking and minimize slippage while also adding to the cushioned feel of the shoe.

In practice, the traction control of the Wildcat is quite remarkable. I used these shoes during the first 30 miles of the Western States 100, on high country terrain featuring lots of loose rocks and long stretches of trail that were submerged in spring runoff. I didn’t have any missteps, and I felt so confident going through slick, rocky sections of trail that I frequently charged right down the middle of extended water channels that many other runners slowed to tiptoe around.

Overall, I was very impressed with the performance of the Wildcats, with a couple of caveats. The first is that, given my size (6’2”) and pronation tendency, the neutral support and low profile of this shoe takes some getting used to. I transitioned to the Wildcats from a pair of Montrail Hardrocks, and at first it felt like the foot equivalent of climbing out of a Hummer and into a Ferrari – you can definitely move faster, but you’re going to feel like you’re rolling all over the road for a little while. If you’re accustomed to a sturdier shoe, LaSportiva has a model called the Lynx which is built up slightly more than the Wildcat and marketed toward heavier runners.

The other drawback I found was that on the steep downhill sections of the Western States trail, I had a bit of contact on both sides of the toebox. Sporties use a narrower cut through the forefoot than most other brands (especially compared to Montrails), and although that slipper-like fit is generally very comfortable, it might be an issue on steep slopes if you have fat toes like me.

I was confident enough in these shoes to lace them up for Western States, but I was wary that the toebox situation might become a problem, so that was the reason for the shoe change I described in my race report. I had my “old reliable” Montrails waiting for me at Robinson Flat (mile 30) just in case I needed them - and when I arrived there, I didn’t have any blisters or major problems, but the concern was noticeable enough that I didn’t want to risk the next 70 miles and much steeper canyons that awaited. However, I’ve continued to wear the Wildcats since race day without problems – it’s only on those super-long, super-steep days that I might think twice about them.

Pricing for the Wildcat is fairly consistent: they sell for $100 at REI, $100 at ZombieRunner, and even $100 at Amazon, who can seemingly discount just about anything. However, my friends at Wilderness Running Company have put together a pretty sweet deal: the Wildcats are on sale for $90, with their usual free shipping - and if you use coupon code R&R10, you get an additional 10 percent discount, and they'll even throw in a free pair of Drymax socks - my favorite brand, and typically a $12 value - as a bonus. Trust me, this is definitely the best deal you'll find, and it's good until the end of this month.

(On a related note ... have I mentioned how much I'm loving Wilderness Running Company lately? Give them your business, people - they're working hard for it.)

If you’re looking for a very comfortable, durable, all-purpose trail running (oops – I mean mountain running) shoe that makes you feel like a speedster, and interested in supporting a dynamic company that invests time, effort, and money to the world of ultrarunning, the La Sportiva Wildcat will make an excellent addition to your gear closet.


See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

Read more...