Brooks ASR7 Review

Brooks has recently released its newest version of the road/trail hybrid Adrenaline ASR line. The ASR7 remains in the mold of previous ASRs with a few upgrades. The shoe is still based on the Brooks Adrenaline road shoe. It still provides some stability and is a good fit for a current adrenaline wearer looking to hit the trail. The new version is styled more like a trail runner with its overall appearance and a more aggressive tread pattern.

Montrail Claims Prestigious Awards

Montrail has just received two highly coveted awards from prominent outdoor publications. The Mountain Masochist shoe has received Gear of the Year Award from Outside magazine in the trail running category, and the Hardrock 09 was given the Best Run/Hike Crossover in Backpacker’s annual Gear Guide. Here is a link to the press release.

As you may know Montrail was purchased by Columbia. There has been a lot written and commented about how Columbia has ruined the Montrail brand of shoes. After testing the Hardrocks and looking at the new Mountain Masochist along wiht the above stated awards Montrail has addressed these concerns. I believe that Columbia has brought Montrail into the present with well designed shoes that meet the needs of the average trail runner. Once again this is my opinion and time will tell if I am correct. I believe that a large company like Columbia understands marketing and competition very well and based on competion from companies including Inov-8, Pearl Izuma, and Stumptown, has made the necessary changes to stay relevent and hold market share. I know that the trail runner does not care about market share, but a good product will lead to higher market share, especially in this market. I have no brand loyality when it comes to shoes, if It feels good I wear it. Most of us probalby feel the same way. So do not judge Montrail until you check out the new line of shoes and give them a try.

Montrail Hardrock 09 Preview

I just picked up a pair of Montrail Hardrock 09 trail running shoes. I plan on wearing them this weekend when I complete a 40+ mile training run for MMT. A few quick look / short run observations and comparisons about the shoes:

• Feels much lighter than the old version (I will post actual stats in the forthcoming review)


• Appears much more breathable than the old version


• Feels much more flexable (think running shoe, not hiking boot) than the old version


• Size run large (I wear an 11 in the old version and a 10.5 in the new)


• New lacing system distributes weight better


• Less "beefy" tread pattern than the old version


• Same width or maybe even a little wider than the old version

One other glaring difference I noticed in just a 2 mile run on grass is that my feet did not fall asleep. When wearing the old version on long stretches of flat non technical terrain (think fireroad) my feet would fall asleep. This eliminated me from wearing the shoe in most races. The other quick observation is the toe box could be higher. When wearing them with thicker socks I noticed a little rub on my right little toe. This did not happen when I was running in them, but I am anxious to see if this is an issue after many miles on the trail.

Look for my full review sometime early next week.

Laurel Highlands Ultra 2008 Fact Sheet

• Temp: 60 - 70


• Weather: Rained for 12 hours straight, heavy at times


• Weight: 183 lbs. pre taper and eat week


• Health: It all feels good going in


• Trail Conditions: Course was wet before it rained, very wet and muddy afterward, my feet were wet for all but miles 19 - 23, I changed shoes at 19 and it started to pour at 23


• Injuries: I fell once - it did not hurt anything
  
  
  
  • IT Bands - Both knees hurt when running down hill in the middle miles, this went away, I took advil and did not run so much, did not hurt at all after race
  
  
  • Left Ankle - hurt from wearing hardrocks, not to bad in race unless I landed awkward on it, really hurt next day - I was on crutches until wed after race
  
  
  • Blister on the heel of right foot - hardrocks (maybe, new socks could have also caused it)
  
  
  • Feet - as beat up and sore as to be expected
  
  
  • Toenails - right big one is very black and sore, I may end up losing it soon
  
  
  • Overall soreness - very sore for 2 days, muscles felt ok after that
  
  
  • Fatigue - Very tired entire week after the race, still tired 8 days out
  
  
  
  


• Equipment - ASR4s and injini toe socks rock - I wore these for majority of the miles with soaked feet and no blisters, this is the winning combination from now on. I love this combo


• Food - Shot block every 10 minutes for the entire race - 200 cals per hour + gator and some food from aid stations


• Hydration - 2 to 3 nuuns every 8 miles, carried hpl 020 for entire race and one hand bottle for 40 miles or so, could have got buy with just hpl 020 I think and nuun


• Lights - Petzil tikka headlamp (sucked) and princeton tech led hand light (rocked

Blue Ridge Mountain Sports Rocks

Blue Ridge Mountain Sports is great. I bought a pair of Montrail Hardrock shoes there last week. I ran in the shoes over the weekend, the signal knob run. They did not work out and my feet were hurting 5 miles in. Then I place a second set of insoles in them with the arches cut out and ran 3 miles in them again. My feet fell asleep. These shoes are not for me.

I called up BRMS and asked if I could return them. I felt kind of bad returning used shoes, but he said clean them up and bring them in for us to look at. The next day I returned them for a full refund. What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that I bought them on clearance at 50% off. This store rocks. I will be a lifelong supporter of them. I just bought a pair of La Sportiva Fireblades on sale form there website. Support Blue Ridge Mountains Sports!