Brooks is my favorite brand of shoes for general living and walking in my neighborhood. So of course I was all in for trying the new Brooks Glycerin SF 21. I had already been seeing the ads on social media (thanks algorithm) and was ready for the promised lighter than air running experience. See all our posts on Brooks here! First impressions from opening up the box was that the Glycerin looked more like a…
I’m always happy to sing the praises of Salomon trail running gear – it’s innovative, sleek, and often synonymous with elite. We all know shoes are probably the most subjective piece of running gear and Salomon is coming out with some great options that meet in the middle of minimal vs. high drop. The Pulsar Trail Pro 2 has a 6mm drop, 3.5mm lugs, my favorite Quicklace system (with lace garage), an integrated gaiter, and…
When I was preparing for my first major trail race, I was informed it was essential to get good trail shoes. After a few years running in various road shoes across diverse terrain, I didn’t get what the big deal was about these supposedly super important “trail shoes.” The wiser runner told me that the right trail shoes would have me running up and down mountains like a billy goat. With my new Jackal Women’s…
It is pretty strange to be a runner who is watching the weather in hopes of a rainy day. But that was exactly my conundrum after receiving a pair of UA HOVR Infinite 3 Storm shoes. These babies were made for challenging puddles. I mean there is literally a paragraph on the shoe about being created for the exact weather we have so often in the Pacific Northwest. “This product is designed with water-resistant technology…
The running shoe world is dominated by a few main brands. And they are great for lots of reasons. But real innovation and creativity comes from new voices and new ways of doing business. That’s why I’m happy to write about my experience with Relance, a French running brand that is using Kickstarter to get…well, started. Pulling the shoes out of the box, I would have known these shoes were from France without a single…
I was asked to test run the Brooks Hyperion Elite running shoes a few weeks ago. They came quickly and I was eager to get some mileage on them. I received the black model and as soon as I took them out of the box I felt how light the shoe is. I laced up and stood up. A new running shoe always feels good, but this shoe was different. They immediately made me want…
Altra continues its dominance in the trail shoe market with its latest update to the Superior model. Version 4.0 is a major jump from 3.5, with many notable changes. The first big thing is the weight. Altra dropped 2 ounces with this latest edition, making it the lightest trail shoe in their lineup. They also made a major change to the midsole, moving away from Abound to something called Quantic, which is the name for…
The brand new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19 were launched November 1, 2018 and I, for one, really love the update. I’ve ran in them over the last month, putting over 100 miles on track, treadmill, roads, paved trails, and even to some cross training classes. After this wide array of usage, they are still holding up like new and have become one of my go to shoes. In fact, the GTS literally stands for “go to…
Over here in the Central Oregon trail shoe test lab, I received a pair of Altra Lone Peak 4’s to eat up the high desert dirt and rocks. Having had the distinct pleasure of racing in a pair of Altra King MT 1.5’s for the last few months, I was excited to try something else from the Altra trail shoe arsenal. Therefore, without further adieu, let’s break it down. Whenever I do shoe reviews, I…
For the past month or so, I’ve been testing a pair of the brand new Brooks Levitate running shoes for regular easy runs between 3 to 7 miles. (I normally go longer on my long runs, but I’ve been getting over hamstring and Achilles tendon strains from an Ultimate game a few weeks ago.) The Levitate’s big selling point is that it is one of these “energy returning” shoes; basically, the super springy pad on…
