A few odds and ends for this weekend's post, none of which necessarily relate to each other ... but that shouldn't really surprise anyone, I guess.
First, the main order of business is to announce the winner of Bryon Powell's Relentless Forward Progress book. Running Preacher:e-mail me your address - you've won a signed copy of the book! Thanks to everyone else who entered - and for those who indicated that they'd probably buy it anyway, I'd definitely give it a high recommendation. The book is quite affordably priced on Amazon, at $10.17 for the paperback version, and $9.66 in Kindle format. Thanks again to Bryon for providing a giveaway copy.
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Our Random Shot of Beauty features a backdrop that's somewhat out of the ordinary for me:
The Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City, where I've landed for a bang-bang weekend visit, but still thankfully managed to spend a couple of hours on the trail in the early morning.
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Finally, I wasn't quite sure where to put this item or exactly what to say about it, so we'll just call this a Random Shot of Whaaaat? and move on.
On the off chance that you needed any more convincing that the minimalist footwear revolution is creeping its way into the popular conscious, consider the following photo that was snapped by TMZ.com earlier this week:
That would be Steven Tyler, of Aerosmith (a band I adored as a kid, by the way) and American Idol fame, doing ... well, exactly what he's doing is uncertain - as is the question of what might have happened to his pants. What's clear, though, is that he's wearing a pair of VIVOBAREFOOTs on his feet.
That's right ... hard-rocking, cross-dressing, brain-cell-baking, common-decency-stretching Steven Tyler is now one of us. I suppose whether that's good news or bad is open to debate.
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"My body tells me no - But I won't quit, 'cause I want more ... I want more!"
- Young the Giant, "My Body" (video after post)
Under normal circumstances, if you’re looking for some solid heat training in preparation for a summer 100-miler, finding a race in Auburn, CA at the beginning of June seems like an absolute slam dunk.
And then there’s 2011 – where January featured beach weekends strung back to back to back, February saw winter snowstorms return with a vengeance, and March had so much rainfall that the neighborhood animals were lining up in twos. Springtime has been one of those schizophrenic seasons where you have absolutely no idea what to expect – so I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that a plan I crafted back in February to get some heat training in June wouldn’t exactly turn out the way I wanted.
That doesn’t mean the day was disappointing, however; the Auburn Trail Runs feature small crowds, beautiful trails, and great aid station support on a course that includes an 8-mile stretch of the Western States Trail as well as one of that race’s most famous landmarks. I came with two goals in mind: 1) stretch the 34-mile race into a 50-mile training day, and 2) get some familiarity with part of the trail that I’d be returning to as a pacer in a few weeks – more on that later.
The only thing that was missing was the heat – and while I was more than a little bummed about the weather, it’s not like I haven’t had experience with running all day in the rain. You may recall that the last 50K I entered, at Woodside this March, had similarly wet and muddy conditions. You’ve heard the expression “Bring your own weather with you?” Apparently I’m the guy who brings rain to his 50Ks. There’s probably some symbolism in that … but I’m afraid to consider what. So let’s just start the report.
(As usual, click to enlarge all photos.)
One thing that continually impresses me about ultrarunners is that there’s very little drama; before the race, I didn’t hear one complaint about the weather, and nobody made it out to be a bigger deal than it was. The only acknowledgement of the rain came from RD Robert Mathis, who told us “I’ll keep my announcements to 30 seconds, so you can start running in the rain rather than standing in it.” I thought that was considerate.
The first four miles of the course are mostly downhill on the Western States trail until you reach an aid station at No Hands Bridge. During the WS100, No Hands is at mile 97 - and for most runners, crossing it is the point where they realize that the finish line they’ve struggled toward all day and night is finally within grasp. During the Auburn Trail Run, I’d end up going back and forth across the bridge 5 times in 10 hours, so the mystique wasn’t exactly the same – but it’s still a pretty cool landmark.
After crossing the bridge, you leave the Western States trail and start the first of two loops with what’s known as the “training hill” – a 1000-foot climb in less than one mile, complete with roots and rocks and, particularly on the second time around, quite a bit of mud. I'd say that makes for some pretty decent training.
The reward for the climb is the open meadows and gently rolling terrain of an area called the Olmstead Loop, where the trails are extremely runnable and your legs can settle into a nice rhythm for several miles.
My other reward near the top of the climb was catching up to my soul sister Gretchen, who obviously wasn’t in much of a hurry on what would be her last long training run before Western States in three weeks. She was taking it easy and enjoying the day – several times, she made a point of saying “This is what we do for fun!” – which meant that I had a somewhat reasonable shot at keeping up with her. We ended up running most of the race together, which was perfect practice for both of us, since she also happens to be the runner I’m pacing at States.
It was also nice to have someone else taking pictures every now and then, since there’s no way I would have run back and forth across this creek several times in hopes of getting a self-timer photo in the rain.
Approximately 13 miles into the race, we reached an outpost near the small town of Cool, whose name predictably lends itself to some pretty fun wordplay. For example, that’s a Cool little aid station pictured above, don’t you think? There were some Cool people there with Cool snacks and drinks for us. And since we were doing two loops, Gretchen and I were already looking forward to coming back again later – because you can never really have too much Cool.
After the aid station, we encountered another cool (small c this time) part of the course: we got to take a short cut! There was only one catch …
… as this particular section of the Western States trail is extremely rocky and technical, which combined with slick conditions and a fairly steep downhill grade to make this the most challenging part of the course for me. See that blue dot in the distance? That’s Gretchen, who dropped me like I was hot as soon as I lost my Cool.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long before I was able to see No Hands Bridge at the bottom of the canyon, where Gretchen was socializing with a friend of hers while waiting for me to catch up. Seriously.
By this time, the constant rainfall of the day had made trail conditions pretty sloppy …
… but no less pretty, of course.
The rough trail conditions posed something of a challenge for my moccasins – which brings me to my minimalist tangent for today. Although the trail outsole on my RunAmocs isn’t nearly as aggressive as traditional trail running shoes, there were only a couple of instances where I felt like I was at risk of losing my balance. I think this is largely due to keeping a short stride length and landing fairly flat-footed, which keeps my center of gravity above my base of support (Sorry, I can be a biomechanics geek sometimes) and increases my initial surface contact on the ground. I also noticed that my feet were able to flex and contour very nicely in response to rocks and roots and other trail irregularities. So, yes, wearing moccasins in the mud was a little tricky – but not nearly as tricky as you might think.
Meanwhile, back at the race …
One nice thing about spending four hours in the rain is that you don’t worry about getting your feet and ankles wet at river crossings anymore.
On our second trip around the loop, Gretchen began pulling away from me on almost every little incline – but since it was a fun run for her, she never took me up on my suggestion to just leave me in the dust. (Or mud, as the case may be.)
So here’s something that isn’t so Cool: this photo isn’t from the trail – we took it in the parking lot after the race. The reason I’m putting it here is because when we got to the Cool aid station the second time, we asked one of the Cool volunteers to take a Cool picture of us with my cool camera. The volunteer appeared to take two Cool photos of us, but when I got home, somehow they weren’t on my camera. She must have pushed the wrong button or something. Very unCool.
Gretchen waited up for me again on the long descent to No Hands Bridge, where we faced a 4-mile uphill return to the finish …
… which was far and away the most difficult part of the whole day for me. It’s one thing to plan on tacking miles to the end of an ultra, but it’s another thing to keep that same mojo when you’re soaked to the bone, dragging yourself along on sore and tired legs, and struggling to keep up with someone who’s clearly taking it easy out of sympathy. Each step drew us closer to the parking lot, which normally would be a good feeling … but all I really felt was increasing dread about having to turn around and retrace my steps for another four hours after getting there.
Eventually I made it to the line for my official race finish, where … yeah. She had to wait for me again.
Perhaps if I had time to stand around and think about it, I might not have headed back onto the course. However, since the rain was still falling, I knew that if I wanted to stay warm, I had to keep moving – so I stopped at my car, strapped on a hydration pack, bid farewell to Gretchen until I see her again at Western States … and headed back down that very same trail toward my turnaround destination at Cool, just over 8 miles away.
Once I got over the mental hurdle of heading back onto the course, the remaining miles actually felt surprisingly comfortable. The No Hands volunteer was still there, and let me eat a potato before wishing me a happy run …
… which is exactly what it turned out to be. There was also a far different mental vibe about being on the course by myself; this time around, there wasn’t a race going on or anybody else to worry about - it was just me getting to know the trail, soaking (literally) in the experience and enjoying almost every step of it. Gretchen was right: This is what we do for fun.
When I got to the Cool aid station, it had long since closed down … which was actually a pretty Cool feeling for me. And then another Cool thing happened: the rain broke for long enough for me to take a timer photo …
… which would be this one. That’s three fingers, as in 3 Times Cool. Boo-ya.
The return descent to No Hands was remarkably mellow, and I was feeling really happy with the decision to add extra miles, and with the way the whole day had turned out. There was only one thing that didn’t go the way I hoped: since it rained all day long, I didn’t get to display my Soft Star shirt for anybody on the course – which, considering how I recently christened myself Team Soft Star, seemed like kind of bad form …
… so I decided to stop and give the sponsor some love. Admittedly, it’s not much, but I felt like I should at least make the effort.
Shortly after this photo, my camera finally succumbed to the moisture and grit from 10 hours on the trail, and the lens began to malfunction so that I couldn’t take any pictures. It didn’t come back to life until I was about an hour down the road in my car, finally dry and warm after a long day in the rain – and fittingly, this was the first thing I saw out my window:
I guess there’s some symbolism in there as well … but this report’s already long enough, so I’ll think about it another day.
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As for the musical selection - it's one of those "overnight success" stories that was at least seven years in the making on the Southern California concert scene; not a bad little analogy for the benefits of perseverance.
Young the Giant, "My Body" (click to play):
*See other race reports under tab at top of page.
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This book review is unlike others I’ve done recently, mainly because I know the author personally, and I happen to be a big fan.
I’ve had opportunities to spend time with Bryon Powell both on and off the trail, and can attest that his dedication to the sport of ultrarunning is absolutely remarkable. He’s probably the first-ever beat reporter that our sport has ever seen; Bryon’s been known to drive back and forth across the country and even travel overseas in order to provide front-line coverage of major events for his iRunFar website. And while he has very impressive talent of his own – sub-20 hours and age group winner at Western States, top 10 at Leadville – he has spent the better part of two years publicizing the exploits of countless other top ultrarunners all over the world.
He also has a mission to strengthen and support the ultrarunning community through various avenues. His website is an outstanding interactive resource with contributions from elites and midpack runners alike. He offers coaching services for runners of all abilities, and is a contributor to several major publications such as Outside, Running Times, and Trail Runner magazines.
It’s that same spirit of helping others that is the premise of Relentless Forward Progress, an ultrarunning instruction manual that was released this spring. The book contains excerpts from previous articles, extensive original content, and contributions from many elite runners – and it’s definitely the most comprehensive overview of trail running and ultrarunning that I’ve ever seen.
Bryon essentially starts from square one – what is an ultramarathon, basics of trail running, and so on – and touches on pretty much every conceivable angle that ultrarunners consider in training and racing. Although it’s generally targeted towards novices, it’s a great resource for experienced ultrarunners as well, if for no other reason than to compare notes with people who have achieved a great deal of success in the sport. I’ve been an ultrarunner for almost 10 years now, and I quickly found a few tips that I started implementing into my own training and racing this spring.
One of the things I really appreciate about the book is that while it’s chock full of specific instructions like day to day training schedules, hydration strategies, and trail etiquette, Bryon also recognizes that there’s no magic formula that works for everybody. For example, I was especially interested to read Bryon’s take on barefoot and minimalist running, because it’s a topic he and I have discussed at length in the past. In Relentless Forward Progress he essentially lays out the rationale for minimalism without specifically endorsing or dismissing it; he then includes an appendix by noted barefoot experts Michael Sandler and Jessica Lee from RunBare.com. Similarly, with topics such as speed work, cross training, weekly mileage, and selecting an ideal race, he presents all the pertinent information and lets you decide for yourself.
Considering how much the popularity of ultrarunning has exploded in recent years, a book like this was long overdue, and Bryon was probably the perfect person to write it. And luckily for one of my readers, Bryon thought that I was the perfect person to give one away. I have a signed copy of Relentless Forward Progress that I’ll give away to one reader; leave a comment below this post, and I’ll announce a winner this weekend. If you’d rather not wait, the book is available for $11 from Amazon.com, and for $10 in Kindle format.
Very big thanks to my friend Bryon Powell for providing this book for review, and good luck to everyone who enters!
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Saturday was a very long day on the trails, so I'm tossing up a quick RSOB and calling it a weekend:
No Hands Bridge in Placer County, as seen after a rainy, muddy Auburn Trail Run 34-miler.
As to what I was doing there after the race ... if you've been following along this spring you can probably guess, otherwise you can wait for a full report later this week.
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Despite the recent explosion in minimalist athletic shoe options over the couple of years, the dress shoe market has been very slow to keep pace. Prior to this spring, that market was essentially dominated by VIVOBAREFOOT's extensive collection, along with a few single-model options from various manufacturers such as the Sanuk Boardroom, the Simple Gumshoe, or the Patagonia Pau (review coming soon) that offer reasonable crossover appeal for natural movement proponents.
Merrell Barefoot Tough Glove, in Honey Brown
A few months ago Merrell entered the dress shoe game, and just as they did with their outstanding running shoes, they hit a home run on their first time at bat. The Merrell Barefoot Tough Glove is good looking enough to wear in practically any formal setting, comfortable enough to wear all day long, and has all the features and biomechanics that minimalist users desire.
The uppers are constructed of full grain leather that’s available in three colors: black, aluminum, and honey brown. The colors are somewhat oddly named, as you can see on this Merrell product page: the aluminum actually has kind of a beige tint, the honey brown looks more like dark chocolate, and the black … well, OK – it looks black. Both the black and brown colors are very office friendly, and go quite nicely with a shirt, tie, and khakis, or even formal slacks and a jacket. Having leather uppers instead of mesh doesn’t add a whole lot of weight, as the Tough Glove weighs in at 7.1 oz compared to 6.2 for the Trail Glove.
Thin ankle collar padding; anti-microbial footbed
The thin leather also happens to be super comfortable, and softens very nicely around the contours of your foot as it gets worn in. The shape of the upper is similar to Merrell's Trail Glove, with a relatively narrow midfoot area secured by the same Omni-Fit lacing system that the trail runners have. Putting the Tough Gloves on isn’t as tricky as I described with the Trail Glove, perhaps due to the fact that my dress socks tend to be very thin compared to running socks, and very slick compared to bare feet. Just like the Trail Glove, the toe box of the Tough Glove has plenty of room for your toes to move around unimpeded, and there’s a 2mm antimicrobial footbed underfoot to provide comfort and to help diminish the stink factor.
Super-flexible midsole and outsole
From the midsole down, all models in the Merrell Barefoot line are essentially the same: there is 4mm of compression-molded EVA with a 1mm forefoot shock absorption plate in the midsole, and zero drop from heel to forefoot. The entire shoe is highly flexible and allows natural foot movement in all directions. Standing height (outsole, midsole, plate, and insole) is approximately 12mm, which is the one major aspect where Merrell compares unfavorably to VIVOBAREFOOT, whose pure minimalist dress shoes are typically 3 to 5mm off the ground. I discussed this issue in my Trail Glove review: basically, the height and material construction of Merrell’s Barefoot line places it in an ideal crossover position between the minimalist crowd and more mainstream users who want natural mechanics without sacrificing comfort.
Rugged Vibram outsole
Keeping you in contact with the ground is the same outstanding Vibram outsole that Merrell uses on its trail running models. Honestly, the amount of traction this outsole provides is complete overkill when it comes to casual shoes – but I have to say that it’s kind of cool to zip around the corporate office in them. I can stop on a dime in the slate hallway, make a sharp pivot on the linoleum in the break room, or cut tight corners around the long conference room table. And I can grip the asphalt like a gecko when I need to race across the parking lot to beat my co-workers to the lunch truck.
If the midsole was Merrell’s drawback compared to VIVOBAREFOOT, the outsole completely blows it out of the water. Vivos have a shallower tread and can occasionally be slippery on wet surfaces; with the Tough Gloves, you’ll never be in danger of losing your footing, regardless of the weather or any terrain you encounter. Lifespan of the outsole is most likely well over several hundred miles; my Trail Gloves have a couple of hundred miles on them without showing any significant signs of wear.
Essentially, you’re showing up at the office in a pair of shoes that’s capable of running a mountain ultra, so to say that the outsole and midsole are durable for everyday wear is a significant understatement. Combined with the resilient leather uppers, these shoes are built to take just about anything. They’d also be rugged enough to use as hiking shoes, but with their great styling I suspect most people will choose them for business wear – and the pricing of the Tough Glove indicates that this is Merrell’s intended use as well.
Too stylish for the trails!
Retail price of the Tough Glove is $120, which is 10 to 20 dollars more than other models in the Merrell Barefoot line. However, the price is very comparable with most office wear – and since they’ll last you so long, their longevity will rival and possibly surpass the most well-constructed dress shoes from any manufacturer. If you just want a good general-purpose outdoor shoe, save yourself a few bucks and go with the Trail Gloves – but if you want great style along with your natural stride, spend a little extra for the Tough Glove. It’s a great investment to help you look sharp for years to come.
*Product provided by TravelCountry.com **See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.
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Before today’s review, a disclaimer is in order: there shouldn’t be any misunderstanding around these parts about my level of affection for the Soft Star company.
I first developed a crush on them after testing their Roo slippers, then fell head over heels in love when they introduced the RunAmoc last spring. Best of all, those feelings were reciprocated, as the company invited me into their product development process, provided prototype moccasins for me to test, and incorporated my feedback into what would eventually become my favorite minimalist running shoe. This spring I even started calling myself Team Soft Star, and wearing their logo on my shirt like a smitten schoolgirl wearing her boyfriend’s football jersey. You could say we had a thing.
Imagine then – if I can continue my tortured analogy – if you were that girl, and one day your boyfriend showed up with goth makeup, a terrible new haircut, about 6 crazy facial piercings, and said he was thinking of quitting the football team. You’d be a little bit concerned, wouldn’t you? That’s sort of how I felt when I first laid eyes on the new RunAmoc Dash. The shoe was ugly, way too metallic-looking, and had significant performance limitations. Even worse, the initial plan was to for it replace the RunAmoc I fell in love with; it makes sense now that I felt like a scorned lover, right? (Um … right?)
Soft Star RunAmoc Dash
Fortunately, as I described in this preview post, Soft Star never lost its ability to listen, and it never gave up caring about me (and by “me”, I really mean runners in general … but it’s much more romantic if I just say me.) They were agreeable to some makeover advice, and the revamped moccasin that I once considered a goth freak slacker version of its earlier self is now a very respectable partner that you’d be proud to be seen with in public – and in some ways, it’s actually a nice improvement over the original. I felt secure enough in our relationship to wear them through 53 muddy miles at Woodside in March, but I’d still rank them one notch below my first love, for reasons I’ll explain shortly.
Fun in the mud at Woodside
The good news is that instead of replacing its predecessor, the Dash is now simply an addition to the existing Soft Star catalog, so there should be a style of RunAmoc to satisfy just about anybody.
So how is the Dash different? Most folks will describe it in four words: A RunAmoc With Laces. However, the addition of laces to an old-school moccasin design has some significant ramifications, both from an aesthetic and functional perspective.
2mm street outsole
From a spec standpoint, the Dash is pretty much identical to the previous model, which for clarity is now referred to as the Original RunAmoc. Its weight is roughly 6oz, slightly variable depending on the size and outsole thickness. They are available in non-perforated leather – called the Dash Smooth – or in perforated leather, called the Dash Lite. Suede uppers or custom colors are available for an additional charge. All styles are available with either a 2mm Vibram street outsole or a 5mm Vibram trail outsole, and 100% of the ground feel and flexibility of the Originals are preserved in the Dash. Retail price is slightly more expensive, at $97 for the Dash compared to $87 for the Original.
Perhaps the addition of a simple set of laces, which give the Dash a more shoe-like appearance, shouldn’t be such a big deal to me, but I have to say that I dwelt on this aspect for a long time. Part of what I loved so much about the Original was its primitive simplicity: a rubber slab, two pieces of leather, and a string around the ankle holding everything in place. This might sound corny, but there’s a very native, ancestral vibe about wearing Original RunAmocs that’s lacking with the Dash. If I want minimalist footwear that looks like a regular shoe, I have plenty of choices out there – but if I want an old-school moccasin, there’s only one option. In that regard, I felt like Soft Star was moving away from its identity just a bit by adding laces.
However, I fully concede that I’m in the minority with this opinion, and that the addition of the laces addresses two important points of feedback from many RunAmoc users. The most frequent comments Soft Star received were either that 1) they wanted a moc that looked slightly more formal in hopes of wearing them to work or social gatherings without attracting attention, or 2) they reported that the midfoot and forefoot areas of the moc were too loose and floppy for running. With one design change, both of these concerns are fully resolved in the Dash.
Yes, they look more like shoes – I guess whether that’s good news or not is up to you. If you get a black leather version, they could certainly pass in most work settings without people thinking you’re an elf or a Hobbit. And when the laces are tightened across the midfoot, the upper of the Dash stays nice and snug against the foot, even when swinging it forward during the running stride. You no longer have to trust that the upper will stay correctly in place with each footfall; thanks to the dialed-in fit, you’re much more confident of this in the Dash.
There are subtle construction details that further improve the fit of the Dash through the midfoot and forefoot. The last is slightly narrower than it was on the Original RunAmoc, although there is still plenty of room in the toebox for natural toe splay. There’s also a lateral overlay of leather that’s continuous with the eyelet panel, so when you tighten the laces, the tension on either side of the upper increases as well. When tightened properly, the Dash actually curves to the contour of your foot, especially through the arch; this enhanced fit is a significant upgrade from both a comfort and performance standpoint.
With a traditional lacing system in place, the Dash lacks the lace through the ankle collar that was employed on the Original RunAmoc – and for me, this has been a source of some frustration, in part because I’m something of an oddball. During prototype testing, the fit of the heel cup was the last piece to fall into place; early versions were too loose, or too floppy, or just didn’t sit right on or around the ankle. On the final version, the fit of the heelcup is very comfortable around the ankle, and generally stays in place very well, unless you happen to have a strange stride like me.
Here’s what I mean: I tend to land on the inside of my heels - even with my practiced midfoot strike – especially on the right side. With an ankle strap to hold the heel section in place, I could secure the Original RunAmoc well enough that I landed consistently on the middle of the outsole – but with that heel strap removed, I tend to roll inward on the Dash.
As you can see in the photo above, the Dash does have a heel cup that should keep most users properly aligned, but for me, my right heel lands about a half-inch to the inside. I did all kinds of experimentation with the front lacing in an attempt to make the rear area more stable, but there wasn’t much carryover from lace tension to heel stability.
Consequently, I slide off the inside of the designated landing area - so after about 100 total miles, I start riding directly on the leather to the inside of the heel rather than on the outsole. This causes some comfort issues on multi-hour training runs, and ultimately limits the life span of the moccasin.
Right heel rolling inward after 53 miles at Woodside
Between the aesthetic preference and the heel issue, the Dash isn’t ready to overtake the Original RunAmoc as the love of my life, but it certainly has some compelling aspects that other users might prefer. If you found the Original too loose or unpredictable through the forefoot, or if you’re interested in a moccasin that can pass for an everyday shoe, the Dash was made for you. If you have heel alignment issues or prefer the tribal style of the Original, you’re better off sticking with that one.
So here are your shopping links for both the Dash and the Original models:
Remember that custom colors and materials are available for all of the options above. Pick a style and color, and get your elf on!
*Product provided by Soft Star **See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.
