WRC Black Diamond Icon Giveaway Winner; VIVOBAREFOOT Neo (or Evo?) Winners; Random Shots of Beauty

It's time to announce our final winners from December's huge giveaway bonanza!

First, the winner of the Black Diamond Icon headlamp and Wilderness Running Company gift card is ... Shel! Contact me at the link below.

Moving on to the main VIVOBAREFOOT drawing - remember the ground rules here: depending on your shoe size and overall availability, you'll either receive a pair of the Neo shoe I reviewed, or the Evo, which in my opinion is a better overall shoe. With that in mind ... Marathon Maiden, Tim Butterfield, and treklightly, you're the lucky winners! Send me your address, and I'll pass your information along to my VB rep.

To everyone else who is interested in the Neo: check this product page to see if your sizes and colors are still available, or to put your name on the wait list for their official launch this spring. Thanks to everyone for playing!

*

As for this weekend's Random Shot of Beauty: I haven't written much lately about bike riding with my son, but it's still something we do on a regular basis. This photo was taken last week while riding through the Fort Ord open space:


Go ahead and add January bike rides to the long list of reasons I love living here.

Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

Read more...

Icebreaker GT 200 Sprint Legging Review

Quick administrative note: the Black Diamond Icon contest is officially closed, but you've got a little bit of time left - until close of business Friday - to enter the VIVOBAREFOOT Neo running shoe giveaway. Winners of both contests will be announced over the weekend. In the meantime, a review post for your enjoyment ...

*

When your choice of workout wear has a positive impact on your marital relationship, that’s a pretty cool thing, right?

That was one of the conclusions I drew after reviewing Icebreaker’s merino wool garments last year, thanks mainly to their outstanding odor-control properties. I’ll spare you the whole back story (but you can read the previously linked review if you’re interested), but my wife was even more grateful for my discovery of their performance tops than I was.

So when I had an opportunity to try a bottom layer from Icebreaker, I quickly jumped at the chance.

Icebreaker's GT fabric is still composed almost entirely of merino wool, but incorporates 3% lycra for improved fit and shape retention (my BodyFit shirts tend to shrivel just a bit coming out of the wash). You still get all of the benefits of pure merino wool – comfort, breathability, odor-resistance, and thermoregulation – in this fabric that Icebreaker calls the most technical and athletic of its product line.

Like other Icebreaker products, the GT garments are categorized by fabric density, ranging from 150 (ultralite) to 320 (expedition weight). The Sprint legging is made of GT 200 fabric, which makes it a light- to midweight layer that can be worn on its own, or as a base layer underneath a looser pant. I’ve worn them by themselves for running in temperatures into the upper 20s, and underneath a pair of MTB shorts for cold afternoon bike rides.

Icebreaker Sprint legging ... on a model that's NOT me. Alas.

Merino wool is renowned for its comfort, and the Sprint legging is constructed with additional comfort features such as a brushed elastic waistband, a guseted crotch for freedom of movement, and flatlock stitching throughout to prevent irritation along seam lines. However, from a comfort standpoint, I’m kind of lukewarm on these: there’s certainly nothing irritating or uncomfortable about running in them for a couple of hours, but the feel of GT 200 fabric against bare skin isn’t as soft as what you might feel with some synthetic performance fabrics. (One case in point is Salomon’s Trail III tight, which definitely feels nicer against the skin.)

A couple other minor drawbacks I’ve experienced are that the elastic waistband doesn’t have a drawstring for cinching in place, and there’s no available storage (like a key pocket) anywhere. The overall design is really more like thermal underwear than an outer layer ... which kind of makes me question whether I should have just admitted that I wear them by themselves a lot. (And not to get too personal here, but I do wear underwear underneath the leggings. In case you were wondering.)

All of the performance aspects of Icebreaker gear are present with these leggings: they provide an ideal blend of insulation and breathability during high-demand activity, and of course the odor resistance thing is still a huge selling point. Another strength of this fabric over synthetic materials is how it maintains effective thermoregulation even when it's wet or sweaty. The leggings are probably best suited as a base layer, but versatile enough to be used on their own in moderate conditions. If you’re looking for a single bottom layer to use for multiple purposes, the Sprint legging is an attractive option.

Icebreaker’s GT 200 Sprint leggings retail for $90 from Amazon.com as well as the company website (links above) and other online vendors.

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

Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

Read more...

Hot Laps at Laguna Seca

A couple of administrative updates to lead things off ...

1) I'm still waiting to hear from Julia, a winner of the Ryders Eyewear giveaway. You've got until the end of Thursday night, January 6 to contact me before I pick another winner.

2) Everyone still has a bit of time to enter the VIVOBAREFOOT Neo and the Wilderness Running Company / Black Diamond Icon contests. Get going, then come on back for today's post.

*

In more than 50 years of existence, Monterey County’s Laguna Seca Raceway has been the home of countless world-class events.


It’s primarily known, of course, for motor sports; every year, the track hosts multiple races ranging from historic sports cars to American Le Mans to Champ cars to AMA superbikes. Pick a summer weekend, and chances are that you’ll hear the roar of engines drifting over the nearby Fort Ord open spaces, or that you’ll be stuck in traffic behind thousands of gearheads who flock here from all over the world.

In recent years, the venue has hosted a wider variety of events, including music festivals and the wildly popular Sea Otter Bicycle Classic. One of the only racing events it has never hosted is a running race – but a friend of mine is trying to change that.

Even better, this friend is the kind of guy who has an ideal combination of passion for the sport and a long list of contacts to actually make his plans come to life. So he made a few phone calls, talked to some people, and checked a list of requirements for what it would take to pull off a running event on one of the most famous racetracks in the world.

And then he sent out an e-mail to a handful of friends: We’re doing a feasibility study for a race on the Laguna Seca Raceway – you’re invited to come run a few laps.

This isn’t the kind of invitation that comes along everyday; for obvious reasons, the course is pretty much never open to the public, and track management is extremely strict about keeping the course clear for various driving teams to run practice laps throughout the week. I had never set foot on the track in my whole life, and if my friend’s race plan somehow fails to materialize, I might not get another chance again.

In other words, I was in.


Which was how I found myself in an empty paddock (click to enlarge any of these photos) inside the raceway at 6:30 on a weekday morning a couple of weeks ago, along with a few other lucky friends willing to run a few hot laps under the guise of information gathering. After a few basic instructions - basically, 1. Stay on the road, and 2. Be off the track in exactly one hour - we were on our way …


… beginning, of course, at the track’s start line, to commence a series of 2.2-mile loops through motor racing history.


Several features of this track are legendary among auto race aficionados, such as the Andretti hairpin just beyond the opening straight. Honestly, the curve didn’t seem like such a big deal to us at approximately 8 miles per hour; I suspect that at 120mph it might be a different story.


The hairpin drops you in the main infield area, where you enjoy one of the few flat stretches of the raceway ...


... as Laguna Seca is more famous for its hills and curves, such as this climb up the Rahal Straight …


… leading to one of the most notorious spots in all of racing:


Turns 8 and 8A, known more commonly as The Corkscrew. It’s an S-shaped curve down a steep drop that is always a gathering spot for race fans generally looking for one of two things: spectacular wipeouts or spectacular passes. Even on foot, our first reaction to the downslope was, “Whoa, this is steep” – the thought of negotiating the turns in a Formula 1 car or a crotch rocket motorcycle was a little more than any of us wanted to fathom. I suppose that’s a reason why we’re runners instead of race car drivers.


After the Corkscrew, there’s a short straightaway before reaching Rainey Curve …


… and eventually the final drag in front of the grandstands to complete your first lap. By this time, our group was nearly unanimous in our belief that having a footrace on this track would be awesome – but since we still had plenty of time left over, we decided to do a couple more laps just to confirm our theory.


On our second trip around the course, I noticed a few maintenance people on the track, blowing pebbles off the asphalt, grooming the shoulders, or sweeping the blue and white course markers, and it occurred to me: this is probably one of the most well-groomed and well-maintained roads in America. Meaning, of course …


… that I had to try it barefoot. I kicked off my shoes for the final lap, and was amazed at how smooth the ground felt underfoot. If every road in America were like this, I’m pretty sure there would be a lot more barefoot runners out there.

Unfortunately, time ran out on us after the third lap, so we climbed back into our cars (which still weren’t allowed on the race track, by the way) and headed for work, agreeing to compare notes and discuss the possibility of hosting an event here sometime in the future. There are still a lot of considerations to account for and hurdles to overcome, but one thing seemed clear: this would be an ideal setting for a race.

Hopefully things will come together for such an event to happen, but even if it doesn’t, I’ve got some cool memories of our hot laps in the dead of winter this year.

Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

Read more...

Ready to Start

"Now I'm ready to start - my mind is open wide ...
To step out into the dark - now I'm ready!"
- Arcade Fire, "Ready to Start" (video after post)

Like many other New Year’s revelers, I staggered out of bed in the late morning of January 1st, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes for a few minutes, and tried to piece together exactly how my night ended.

I was out of my head for a little while there … I think I remember doing something kind of crazy. Did I really do what I think I did?

All it took was the first download of e-mail in the morning to confirm it: I had indeed done something a little bit crazy:

Click to enlarge

Hello, 2011 “A” race. Truth be told, it wasn’t much of a shocker that I’d end up on the start line of the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-Miler sometime; I basically fell in love with the course and everybody involved with the race when I was there as a pacer last summer. I knew that I’d be itching to do another 100-miler this year, and it was something of a coin flip between Tahoe and Western States. So when I came up empty in December’s WS lottery, I didn’t really shed any tears – I just looked up the registration date for Tahoe and knew I’d have an equally awesome experience there.

One of many breathtaking views on the TRT course last July

So I guess this means I need to start training now. December is traditionally my slacker month, where I allow myself to sleep in and eat whatever I want and don’t worry about skipping workouts if I feel like it – and when it’s dark and cold and it’s the holiday season and there’s cookies and wine seemingly everywhere I turn, and I happen to be spending an ungodly amount of time conducting some crazy blog giveaway spree, it gets easier and easier to blow off those workouts.

In other words, some things have got to change. The good news is, summer’s still far enough away that I can do a slow build through the winter and spring, and be ready to roll once July comes around again. The other reassurance I have is that I’ve traveled this particular trail before; I’m not exploring uncharted territory here - I’m merely making my way back to some wonderful places I’ve already been.

That doesn’t make the journey any less intimidating, however. The mornings will start darkly, the early training miles will be sluggish, and there will be more than a little bit of self-doubt that creeps in as race day draws closer. But those are other stories for other days. In the meantime, I just need to get myself running - and now I'm ready to start.

*
Arcade Fire, "Ready to Start" (click to play):

Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

Read more...

New Balance MT101 Winners; Ryders Eyewear VTX Winners; Winter Running Mojo from Anton Krupicka

A note of warning before we get to today's big announcements: the video that I've embedded in this post plays automatically - so if you don't want to get distracted while reading, scroll down to click pause before going back to it later. I can't figure out how to change the HTML, but if any code geeks out there want to help me out, I'd love to hear from you.

(*UPDATED: I never got things figured out. I took the video out, and placed a link to it instead.)

Now then - on to the important news of the day: announcing the winners of the Ryders Eyewear VTX glasses contest and the New Balance MT101 contest. Since one of my New Year's goals is to simplify and get to the point of things, let's just knock these out:

Ryders Eyewear VTX glasses winners: Woodrow and Julia (from South Miami)

New Balance MT101 winners: Turi, And Miles 2 Go, and MamaRunsBarefoot (awesome screen name, by the way).

If you're one of the winners, congrats! E-mail me your contact info which I'll pass along to the respective company reps. To everyone else, thanks for playing, and there's still time to enter the VIVOBAREFOOT Neo running shoe giveaway or the Wilderness Running Company Black Diamond Icon giveaway.

*

In lieu of my customary weekend Random Shot of Beauty, I'm doing a Random Video of Coolness instead. It comes from Running Times magazine, and features ultrarunning stud and New Balance consultant Anton Krupicka training in the early winter conditions of his Colorado home. Since I've attempted my own little offerings of winter mojo around here, I figure I'm somewhat obligated to recognize when someone blows my efforts completely out of the water.

Another interesting observation from a barefoot/minimalist runner's perspective is how impeccable Anton's running form is, even on the challenging trails and uncertain footing of his favorite mountain. If there's a poster boy for perfect stride length, foot placement, and trunk posture while running, it's Anton - and I've watched this video enough times that I'm now trying to visualize his form during my own long trail runs. I don't have any expectation that it will make me run like Anton ... but since it's New Year's Day, I think I'm allowed to dream a little.


"The Runner in Winter", from Running Times - See the video here.

Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

Read more...

Black Diamond Icon Headlamp, NRG Rechargeable Battery Pack, and WRC Gift Card Giveaway

Happy Old Year! Before today's post, let's do our customary rundown of status updates on previous contests ...

* The New Balance MT101 giveaway and Ryders Eyewear VTX giveaway contests are both officially closed as of this evening, and I'll announce the winners for each of these contests on Saturday.

* There's still time to enter the VIVOBAREFOOT Neo running shoe contest, and to increase your odds of winning by spreading the word via return links. This contest will run through next week.

As for today's contest, I'm closing out the December giveaway bonanza with a couple of my most familiar companions: the Black Diamond Icon headlamp and Wilderness Running Company. If you're a regular reader of this website, my feelings about each of these entities are fairly well-established - and if you're a new reader, I'll just direct you to some links to help bring you up to speed.

Black Diamond's Icon has become my number one choice for ultrarunning; with 100 lumens, it's bright enough to light up the most technically challenging trails, and its long battery life will easily carry you through a full night of running. If you use its rechargeable NRG battery pack (sold separately), you can top off the charge to achieve full brightness relatively quickly, and you'll never have to worry about buying disposable batteries again.

In 2009 I did some extensive headlamp testing, including this in-depth review of the Icon and NRG pack. I also did a couple of head-to-head reviews: this one comparing the Icon to Petzl's equivalent MYO RXP lamp, and this one comparing the Icon to Black Diamond's equally impressive Spot and Sprinter headlamps. By the time the following summer rolled around, I had pretty much any headlamp I wanted at my disposal, and went with the Icon when it was time to pull a couple of all-nighters on the trail - and I never regretted the decision for a second.

As for Wilderness Running Company, my partnership with them is approaching two years now, and my professional respect for them grows more with each passing month. Sure, I'm probably a little biased because they hosted one of the coolest runs I did all year - but there's something about principal owner Stacy's passion for trail running, his business philosophy, and his commitment to provide first-class service that's extraordinarily impressive. And of course, they're an integral part of this giveaway.

To help you light up the New Year in style, WRC will award one winner a Black Diamond Icon headlamp as well as the NRG rechargeable battery pack - and if that weren't enough, we're throwing in a $25 gift card to spend on anything you like from their website. It's a value in excess of $100, and the only cost of entry is a comment below.

Since this post represents not only the end of the year but also the end of the Great Running and Rambling Giveaway Bonanza, we'll do this final contest in straightforward, rapid-fire fashion: one comment, one entry, with a winner announced Wednesday, January 5th. Big thanks to WRC, good luck to everybody who enters, and ... go!

Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

Read more...

VIVOBAREFOOT Neo Running Shoe Review ... And Giveaway (Maybe)

Kind of a vague announcement in the title there, huh? Don't worry, I'll explain as we go along - but for now let's get straight to the post ...

*

No one will ever accuse VIVOBAREFOOT of resting on their laurels.

It would have been fairly easy, and completely understandable, for the company to say, You know what? We nailed the minimalist performance running shoe this year – let’s just roll with this one for a while. Their outstanding Evo shoe became such a sensation among minimalist runners that the company couldn’t make them fast enough to satisfy demand – and I was so happy with the Evo that I quickly made it my first choice for ultras and super-long adventure runs through the rest of the year.

VIVOBAREFOOT Neo

Nevertheless, the company has a long-term vision to build a full collection of performance shoes with a variety of materials, designs and price points - which is very good news for anyone who has complained about the Evo's steep ($160) price tag. The first offspring of the performance line is the Neo, which retails for a much more running shoe-like $120, and which will be officially available from the Terra Plana website in March 2011.

The Neo is billed as a “new multi-terrain footwear innovation”, and was designed in conjunction with Lee Saxby, a distinguished barefoot running coach who has the endorsement of none other than a certain Born to Run author. Christopher McDougall has written glowingly about Saxby, and reports that, “Every time I run into Lee Saxby, I learn something that makes my head snap up.” While I’m not completely familiar with the expression, I’m assuming that means something good. (For an example of Saxby's exceptional teaching style, check out this video made by Terra Plana.)

Airmesh upper with fabric trim

So the Neo has the pedigree and the right profile to be worthy of the VIVOBAREFOOT line - and my first question upon learning about it was, What distinguishes this from the Evo? I’ve been running in the Neo for about a month now, and can attest that it is a very appealing option for minimalist runners. The performance dropoff between the Evo and the Neo is extremely subtle. and I anticipate that the Neo will get tagged as "the poor man's Evo", with a fundamental structure that is very similar, and a few stylistic details to set it apart. With that, we may as well get to the review.

Close-up of breathable mesh upper

Visually, the Neo presents much differently than the Evo - you could say it's a more commercial look - mainly due to its redesigned upper. Whereas the Evo has a hexagonal TPU overlay on the entire upper, the Neo has a thicker, more traditional closed mesh with fabric trim around the toebox. Keeping with Terra Plana’s spirit of eco-friendly construction, the mesh is made from 75% recycled-content polyester, with a microfiber lining that is 55% post-consumer as well. Ventilation of this mesh upper is supposedly diminished on the Neo compared to the thinner mesh/TPU combination on the Evo, but I have to say I found it very comparable.

Thin heel collar; traditional lacing system; breathable airmesh upper

The heel collar of the Neo is slightly thinner than that of the Evo, and the entire sockliner has a sweat-absorbing antibacterial lining to maintain comfort on long runs. The lacing system of the Neo uses traditional eyelets instead of the fabric loops used on the Evo, which makes lacing the Neo smoother with an improved distribution of tension across the top of the midfoot.

Close-up of heel collar

Below the upper, construction of the Neo is nearly identical to that of the Evo: it has a removable memory foam insole, and a 4mm puncture-resistant outsole with the exact same tread pattern that’s perfect for roads and more than adequate for nearly all trail conditions. Both shoes are also 100% vegan options for animal-conscious consumers.

4mm puncture-resistant outsole

If you’re keeping score at home, you’ve noted that the Neo has essentially the same framework as the Evo, with a slightly more user-friendly upper, and a retail price that's $40 cheaper. For most folks, that's probably enough to seal the deal. Nevertheless, I'm a bit hesitant to embrace it completely for a couple of reasons: its overall weight, and a possible concern about its trail-ruggedness for my specific running needs.

The first item is something of a mystery to me, in that the Neo’s upper construction seems generally less-involved than the Evo – yet the webpage specs have the Neo at 9.5oz, which is a full 1.5oz heavier than the Evo. I'm guessing the thicker mesh material is the source of the difference - otherwise, for the life of me I don’t know where this extra weight comes from. However, considering that my other favorite minimalist shoe models (Vibram and Soft Star) are roughly 6oz each, this weight gap becomes fairly significant – at 9.5oz, the Neo is a full 50% heavier - so I’d prefer to see VIVOBAREFOOT trending lighter instead of heavier. And in the absence of any compelling performance benefit to choose the Neo over the Evo, my preference will be to stick with the lighter of two comparable options.

My other drawback about the Neo is just a suspicion I can’t yet prove: that perhaps the mesh upper isn’t as durable for trail running as the TPU-reinforced Evo upper. After our winter rainy season, the brush and wild grasses grow pretty thick around Monterey County, and I run a lot of miles that are borderline bush-whacking missions that assault my shoes and socks with burrs, stickers, and assorted brambles. I haven’t tried this kind of running with the Neo yet, but rest assured I’ll be paying attention during the spring, and I’ll report back here if I have any problems.

I suspect that for many folks, the Neo will be just what they’ve waited for: a VIVOBAREFOOT running shoe with nearly all of the quality construction features and performance benefits of the Evo, at a price point that’s significantly more affordable. The drawbacks that I've identified will be the only items on the wrong side of a pros/cons list, making the Neo a very attractive purchase option. And while I can’t argue with that conclusion at all, I think when ultrarunning season rolls around in the spring again, I'll still be reaching for my Evos.

The VIVOBAREFOOT Neo is part of Terra Plana's Spring/Summer 2011 line, but will be available in a very limited release (as in, less than 100 pairs) for $120 from the company website in the near future. The original intent of this post when I coordinated it with the company several weeks ago was to give away a few pairs of Neos to celebrate the advance release - however, since quantities are extremely limited and advance sales are eagerly awaited, we need to modify the ground rules just a bit.

So here's the deal with the giveaway: thanks to the completely awesome generosity of Terra Plana, three readers will be chosen as winners of a pair of VIVOBAREFOOT performance running shoes. If the Neos happen to still be in stock (they're anticipated to sell out within just a few days after release) and are available in your size, you can grab a pair of Neos for yourself. If not - which is a much more likely scenario - you'll get your pick of either the Evo or Evo II (which I just recently reviewed.) Winners will be chosen at random from the comments section below.

Since this is a major prize offer, the weighted-entry process is in play: one entry for a comment, one for a Twitter or Facebook link to this contest page, and a third for a blog link to this page. Let me know how many contest tickets you've earned, and all entries must be received by Friday, January 7th at 5PM PST. As always, a huge thanks to VIVOBAREFOOT for sponsoring this contest, and good luck to everybody!


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




Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

Read more...