Author: christianwarren@live.com

So… There is this little race in Australia, which starts in the beautiful town of Bright, Victoria called the Buffalo Stampede. I had heard about this in my trail journeys and everyone had spoke so highly of it in its inaugural year (I think 2014?) – how tough a race it was, the crazy climbs and hills, the spectacular scenery, the awesome organisation, the brilliant support and volunteers the list went on. I thought I just had to try it out.

On “enlisting” in 2015 I noticed that there were in fact 3 distances available – a 26km, 75km and 42km over the 3 days. Hmmm hang on, I thought to myself, that means in theory, I could do each one with a nights rest in between….! Sure enough, there was a “Grand Slam” option to do all 3 and I jumped at the chance. Fast forward to the actual race, and following a rather over exuberant day 1 (finishing 8th) which went totally against the plan of running conservatively, and the quite frankly brutal ultra on day 2 I found myself unable to even get to the start line on day 3!

I vowed revenge on Mount Buffalo, and registered for the mammoth task again for 2016. This time would be different… The plan (again) was to run conservatively across all 3 races, pace my self accordingly and leave enough in the tank for each day.

The day of the 26km race came, and of course I raced off at the start determined to at least crack the top 10! It was, as expected, another toughie – but I managed to come home in 8th place again – however, this time I knew I had enough left to have a reasonable go at the 77km ultra on day 2. There were also a few more people attempting the Grand Slam and we had chatted along the course and given each other a bit of a boost which definitely helped. 🙂

The ultra on day 2 was again, super brutal. This year was vastly different though – simply knowing what was coming up, how big the climbs were, the difficulty of the return leg and being mentally prepared made a HUGE difference. This time when I arrived at the 2 big last climbs, I was prepared for them, dug in and powered through. I had actually managed to get over the line a clear 1hr faster than last year, but felt I had paced myself almost perfectly and knew I had some left for the last day.

Day 3 was always expected to be a slog – a painful trudge through the first half of the ultra, back over those hills again… I had slept for what felt like 1 hour, and was up at about 4am with restless legs (don’t ask how that’s possible). After a long walk, I managed to loosen up the joints and my legs were moving (relatively) freely again, and I felt pretty confident about finishing the last day (at least i would start it this time). On setting off, it was VERY painful – the legs were so sore after the effort in the ultra, but I told myself the legs would hurt no matter what – even if this was my only race, the legs would be feeling it after the first half – the only difference was the pain was there from the beginning! After 30 minutes or so, it just felt like I was now used to the pain and running suddenly became much easier and I really started to power along the course. Passing a few people felt tremendous, I couldn’t believe I was still able to do that after the previous 2 days and it just spurred me on even more. Getting over Mystic and Clearspot gave me a surge of energy – it was total relief in the form of “thank Christ i don’t have to climb those again”! I literally felt like a rocket going up the big walk to summit Mt Buffalo and I passed quite a few people on this section. Getting to the checkpoint at the top and seeing my family pushed me even more and I even sped up here. The final loop around Chalwell Galleries was a blast, and on the final climb up to the finish, both a wave of relief and also disappointment hit – it was over, and I had done it – but there was a tinge of sadness that it was finished. I think it all got to me and I just sunk to my knees… 🙂

… then of course the realisation of what I had done kicked in…

My wife had rather awesomely remembered my finisher medals from each day, so i got to parade around wearing all 3 and enjoyed my 5 minutes of glory for all it was worth!

Well here goes – my third Hunter Valley race but 1st race report on this event…

After finishing the HV Marathon in 2012 and 2013 (4th and 3rd place respectively), I was pretty hyped to see that in 2014 they had introduced an ultra marathon distance (53km), and immediately signed up. I found the marathon to be a great event in this part of the world – you get to run through some very scenic parts of the Hunter, do some kangaroo spotting and (with the exeption of the quite horrific out and back section of Debeyers Road), its an awesome and challenging course!

The full Marathon is actually 2 laps of the half, and the ultra was the same, but with the added 10km course thrown in for good measure. So, I knew straight off that I would have to get up the famous “Audrey Wilkinson Hill” 3 times – awesome! In terms of the distance I was pretty confident, I had run a steady 50km night run a few weeks back and a 35km the weekend before with no issues.

So – to race weekend. Saturday proved to be fairly relaxing but I probably had a little too much wine given the impending ultra – but what can you do when there so many great wineries around? We were staying at Cypress Lakes which is a nice spot, and I have to briefly mention the awesome guys at Brokenwood, who were our last stop on the way home and although they were effectively “closed” still let us in to pour us wine and hear me prattle on about running…

Saturday night was not so great – I had planned to get an early night and plenty of sleep but my baby son had other ideas, and I would approximate my sleep time at around 2 hours – with all of it being broken sleep. So on race morning it was safe to say I wasn’t feeling the best.

The usual cold snap greeted all the ultra runners and thanks to the organisers we got off on time and didn’t have to stand around too long. As we set off, I recognised the front runner as last year’s marathon winner who ran a damn fast race – so my immediate plan was to try and stick with him – and perhaps try to push him to marathon pace (for me) for the first hour and hope that he wasn’t a usual ultra runner and might struggle after 45 kms or so.

The first lap was uneventful, the ascent up to Audrey Wilkinsons winery was fairly easy, and after a rapid 10km, we settled down into something more akin to 50km pace and I tried to keep the leader in my sights. He was slowly stretching away however, and by end of lap 1 he was out of sight. I was also overtaken by 3rd place, and he looked very comfortable indeed. I was feeling good after 21kms, but was wondering how I could possibly catch the front 2. 🙁

On reaching the hill for the second time, the wind had kicked up and it was a bit of a fight to keep going, the wind had a real chill to it as well so it was very draining. I decided to bank some energy and walk half of it while chewing down a Mars bar and some energy drink. This was a good move, I felt pretty good on reaching the top and set off again. On getting to Debeyers Road on the out and back section, a little fatigue started to set in – the wind had stayed around and it wasn’t helping, plus this is the least interesting part of the course for me – the road is so straight and long you can just see forever and it really is strength sapping just to look down the road and see how far you have to go (and come back). It’s also a slight downhill, so you just keep thinking how you have to trudge all the way back up – ugh… I caught sight of the leader (going the other way obviously) who was probably a good 7 or 8 minutes on me already, and second place who wasn’t far behind and still looked strong – damn.



Strangely enough, by the time I had got to the McDonalds Road section, one of the marshals gave some encouragement and said “well done – keep going you are in second place”! Huh? what had happend to 1st or 2nd? I thought maybe one of them had run too quick on the first lap and had to bow out, or maybe the marshal was simply wrong – but then the next one also said the same thing, so someone had definitely dropped out. Anyway, it gave me a little boost and I flew into the gardens for the end of lap 2 and began the 10km course. By this time, there were a lot of slower runners/walkers on the course doing the other distances (thats not a criticism at all by the way) and it helped A LOT. Passing people is always a confidence booster no matter what and many of them shouted words of encouragement which was fantastic. In fact the enthusiasm of all the runners in this event is awesome and one of the main reasons I love this one so much – everyone is just so happy!



Anyway – its safe to say by the time I reached “the hill” for the third time, my legs were getting tired as hell. My hip flexors were pretty shot, and my knees were starting to hurt a little, so again I used this section to walk for 1 minute and absorb some sugar/carbs/liquid. Again, it proved to be a good idea, once at the top I was able to settle into a run once more. It was getting very painful now, but all the other runners on the course pushed me on – it was great. Hearing people cheer – “here’s an ultra runner, wow you guys are amazing!” just perks you up when you feel like you want to stop, and there was plenty of encouragement. By the time I was on the home stretch I knew I wouldn’t have to stop I could now keep pushing to the finish.

I was over the line in second place, and told that the front runner had actually been disqualified for using an iPod. It was stated on the rules, and also at the start that they were not allowed so I had refrained from using mine (i normally would use it in an ultra and especially one with multiple laps as it can get a little flat at times – and I did use it here for about 20 mins), but apparently he was warned multiple times by the marshals. I also had some communication from the race director who said he took the DQ very well, and accepted the decision graciously, so that’s good to know.

Also, the timing mats had screwed up, and since my Garmin had decided to to drain its own battery the night before, I had no idea what time I had finished in. I would guess approximately 4hrs 15mins…? (now found out from official time it was 4:13).

There was also further drama to come during the presentations when the winner and I were shocked to hear 2 other names called out for 1st & 2nd place! Eventually this was straightened out though, and obviously the faulty timing system was to blame here.

So, another great weekend at the Hunter and another great event I will be back next year to chase that 1st place that I just can’t quite seem to pin down, but given that I have now finshed:

2012: 4th
2013: 3rd
2014: 2nd
2015: ?

Pattern dictates that 2015 will be my year! 🙂

Although this is my 4th time running this event, this is my first actual North Face 100 Race Report. I felt compelled to write one this year (2014) for a few reasons:

1. Perhaps writing the report would help identify where I can improve.
2. I wanted to put into words why even though i had a (somewhat) bad race, and fell short of my goals it was still the most awesome day!
3. Just to be able to say thanks to all involved with this incredible event – the race director, organisers, volunteers and also all the other participants who make this 100km such a pleasure to run.

So, to begin with, the lead-up was reasonably good. I was training well and even with a son on the way (eventually born on May 1st), I was managing to squeeze in a decent amount of runs and thought it would be a good idea this year to enter some races on the build up, as I knew I would push harder. I decided to enter the STS trail series at Manly Dam and had a pretty good time of it, getting 2 first places and then winning the overall series. Although the course was only 20kms in length some strong runners competed, and it was a massive confidence booster. Training wise, I peaked at about 5 weeks before the race running about 140kms over 6 days – with the final “training event” being the Kedumba Half Marathon which I finished in 4th place. Shortly afterwards, an innocuous slip at home badly bruised a glute and put me out of action for about 10 days (seriously I could not even sit down) and forced a slightly premature taper and it certainly had an adverse effect…

I think the biggest disappointment this year was that my family were not there to cheer me on. With my son being born so close to race day, I could not ask them to be my support crew this time. It also meant I would be alone on the night before the race and I did feel it. I missed my wife, son and daughter before I had even left Sydney, but felt a little better on reaching the KCC – the atmosphere was just fantastic. Again, as with previous years the organisation was perfect and although it felt a little strange to not be in the Fairmont, I thought the new venue was great. I shared a bunk room with 5 others at the KCC itself and everyone was so friendly and excited for the race I soon got in the right mood.

Race morning – I would say the atmosphere at the start line at Scenic World was better than ever before, and I just could not wait to get started!



I was in start group 1 this year (for the first time) and targeted a time of around 11 hours which would put me at the pointy end of the finishers. Last years time of 12hrs 44mins was a good reflection of the training effort back then, and I thought I had done more this time around to warrant such a time. As the race started I was running well and keeping up with the top 10 as we reached Furber steps in a pretty fast pace.

Getting onto the trail was welcome, and I settled into a comfortable gallop only to roll my ankle almost immediately, and then about 2 kms later slip over and come crashing down on my left knee. Luckily after another 3kms of forced running through pain, both ankle and knee settled down and normal operation resumed.

Just before hitting the Golden Stairs I caught a couple of runners, one of which i overtook, and the other was none other than Mr Andrew Lee who politely asked if I wanted to pass. With the staircase less than 1km away I declined as I knew he would be flying up it, leaving me trailing in his wake (which happened to be the case). The stair ascent was pretty comfortable this year and once up, I settled into a mix of run/power walk up the steep section of Glenraphael Drive and before long hit CP1. I did not stop here – I still had 1 litre of fluid, so just grabbed a handful of lollies and was on my way. I could still see Andrew a little ways ahead and it felt great to be in touching distance of a runner of his pedigree and yes, it gave me a little boost.

Along Narrowneck, I knew I could not keep the same pace for long and I needed to start saving some energy, so gradually Andrew disappeared like the machine he is. I love Narrowneck, it’s one of my favorite parts of the course so enjoyed the run along here, and munched on some Hammer Solids along the way.

It went very quickly and before I knew it I was at Tarros Ladders, all by my lonesome. This was a totally new experience for me, I was so used to queueing up here! I got down the ladders quickly, without incident and was soon on my way to Dunphys Camp. I felt a little tightness in the knees at this point, so knew I had probably gone off too fast at the start in trying to stay with the front runners – so, that was mistake number 1. About 5kms from the camp I was forced to slow down a bit and looked back to see someone gradually catching me. When he got closer I noticed it was Ben Duffus from the panel the night before – as we ran together for a brief period, he said something to me about a load of people taking off too fast at the start and I had to agree, I had been one of them. He then pulled ahead – looking pretty darn strong I have to say.

CP2 was welcome – Dunphys Camp always is, its such a beautiful spot. Didn’t hang around this year though – I refilled my 2 500ml soft flasks, munched down some fruit and again was on my way. I was pleased with my checkpoints so far, not much time spent at 1 or 2. My knees were becoming tighter though, and I was regretting flying along the first 10kms. Once or twice before hitting IronPot Ridge i needed to stop to walk and stretch out the knees a little. Ascending Ironpot Ridge was tough (as it always is) and one or two passed me here – ascents are definitely my weakest area, not too surprising being a city boy as there are bugger all hills to train on in Sydney. I eventually reached another favorite spot where the guys play the didgeridoo and clap sticks (who doesn’t like this bit?) but was thankful that the turnaround was shorter this year! The descent was extremely painful on the knees at this point and it was an ominous sign that i was in for a good amount of pain later on…

The climb up Megalong Road went as it always does, I tend to try a combination of 50 paces walking 50 paces running, it saves a lot of time and the counting helps keep the mind of the tiredness too. The knees loosened up a tad, and before I knew it I was heading into CP3 feeling pretty good, and the sound of the party happening there gave me another massive boost as well as seeing my super ace support crew of Christine, Jenny and Chok.

A little soup and some encouraging words made me feel damn good at this point, and here I decided to change shoes. My Inov8 x-Talon 190s are my very good friends, but I wanted to see how the Trailroc 235s would go and my feet were starting to get a little sore.

The sixfoot track was hard going. I felt I had not eaten enough so threw down some more Hammer Solids but my legs and feet were getting very tired and cramps were starting to appear – specifically in the adductors which are especially hard to stretch the cramps out of. A short distance before Nellies Glen climb, both knotted up and left me unable to walk – what had happened? I had managed my electrolytes pretty well I thought, and had certainly been drinking enough… Eventually a kind soul came past and gave me 2 salt tablets, and 5 mins later I was moving freely again. I lost a lot of time and places here though and the cramps would come back to haunt me later. Mistake number 2 – either not enough electrolyte or not enough salt. The staircase itself was hard (always is – i never expect it to be easy) but made it up in a reasonable time. Once up the stairs, its easier going and CP4 soon appeared. The easier run from the staircase to the aquatic centre had shook the cramps out so on arrival – again, I felt pretty good. A TV crew interviewed me and I forget what I said, but almost certain it was some cheesy lines about “just wanting to do well” etc… A few people dropped out here, and for what was to come, they should probably be glad they did.

CP4 to CP5 is where my race went down the pan. The run to Echo Point and the descent of the Giant Stairs is painful, but familiar. The relief after the stairs was evident, and on the following section it was great to increase the pace a little again.



This was short lived, however, and once on the new section for 2014, the continuous climbs/descents quite literally killed me. I was running with some one else at this point (I think his name was Benjamin – have to thank him for the company on this bit, it kept me going), and basically there was constant cursing and cries of “oh man I am f***ed”! My cramps came back with a vengeance at several points here forcing me to stop for minutes at a time, I would then run and catch up wth Benjamin only to be stopped in my tracks yet again. I also noticed Gill Fowler pass me on this section, a name I have heard in the trail running circles and she looked pretty strong too. It was here I was also passed by another one of the female runners, Clare Walton who I would see at the finish in terrible shape – more on that later.

By the time I reached CP5 I was in pretty bad shape. Legs were frequently cramping in quads and again in the adductors and wow it was very painful. My knee tightness had returned and it was massive effort now to run at any speed, and my feet were burning (i suspected some blisters were forming). I thought about dropping out at CP5 – my goal of 11 hours was not going to be obtainable, I knew I could not run much in the last section, and then I started getting all emotional missing my family etc… I’ve been at this point before though, and it passes after a while if you just push through. I REALLY did not want to DNF and I was sure I could finish and perhaps even faster than last year which elevated my mood a bit. I spent a lot of time here getting my feet looked at and cramps massaged out (thank you SO MUCH Jenny/Christine)! Also have to say, the volunteers here were just the BEST, they were so attentive and fetched water/food everything for me and were so friendly I just didn’t want to leave.

I threw on my fleece and made my way out of CP5 with the promise of some great whisky at the finish line (Laphroiag and Kilchoman). I do love my scotch so this was actually a GREAT incentive! The descent down Kedumba was fast – i found downhill to be a LOT easier so managed to run at a good lick all the way down to Jamison Creek and even passed on or two people for the first time in aaaaaaaages. The climb out was very hard though, my knees were begging me to stop and my feet felt like they were being burnt with matches, and it felt like everything in the lower half of my body was giving up. By the time I reached Leura Forest, it was pitch black and I was limited to purely walking (and even that was far from comfortable). Reaching the Furber Steps seemed to take forever and when I arrived at the bottom, one of the photographers was just on his way up to the finish. He stuck behind me the whole way giving status updates (“half way up now”!) but my god, what a beast of a climb to put at the end. Only the thought of the finish being so close spurred me on and uttering more expletives then I care to mention, I continued to climb, with the photographer eventually pointing out that the building above us was the finish!!! The last 50 steps flew by, and by the time I was at the top, the noise of the crowd had me ignoring the pain and running again (damn if only they could be there the whole way around). My support crew urged me on at the finish to cross the line in 12hrs 42mins, a shade quicker than 2013! I was so glad I had not pulled out – just to finish this race no matter the time is an achievement and as any finisher will tell you, you feel like badass of the galaxy and that you are invincible after you have successfully covered 100km on foot over such terrain. I chugged my victory Laphroaig from a hip flask (thanks Choc!), picked up my silver buckle, vowed never again to run this race (tradition) and made my way to the finishers lounge a very happy chap! On the way I thanked the RD, Tom, for making the course tougher – was i being sarcastic I really don’t know! Once sat down, having 2 ladies massage me while someone poured me whisky reminded me why I just have to finish this race. 🙂

Extra Note – as mentioned earlier, one of the female runners (Clare Walton) seemed to be in pretty bad shape at the finish – it turns out not only did she fall badly after 5kms, but broke her kneecap in the process. To run this race in 12 hrs is a colossal effort – to do that plus run 95kms of it with a broken kneecap just beggars belief. I hope she recovers well and is back next year, she will certainly be in contention for a top female spot.

Gear:

Pack: Salomon Advanced Skin 12
Shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 190 & Inov8 Trailroc 235
Top: Adidas techfit tee
Bottoms: 2XU running tights

All gear was perfect, no issues at all with any of it. I also had no blistering of the feet as I had thought, just some extreme soreness, but that goes with the territory – not the fault of the shoes.

Pros:
Gear/equipment ver comfortable for the whole race
Support crew were tremendous
Organisers/volunteers were awesome
Weather was (as always) perfect
I finished!

Cons:
Went out too fast for first 20km
Nutrition was not adequate (NOT my support crews fault, I just don’t think the Hammer Solids were quite enough to get me through the whole race)
Severe Cramps (must remember salt capsules for next year)
Family not there this year 🙁
Didn’t hit 11hr goal
Injury interfered with training

So, here goes – a first shoe review from Motivative…!

 

If you have read my previous post regarding my transition to barefoot running and a more minimalist style of shoe, you may have picked up on the fact that I spend an awful lot of my hard earned cash at Shoeologist and with Barefoot Inc – two fantastic retailers in Sydney (in fact Barefoot Inc are the distributors for Vibram FF and Inov8 here) that supply me with pretty much all of my running gear. That said, I received an intriguing post from Barefoot Inc via Facebook describing a new model of Vibram FiveFingers – called Vybrid Sneak. A quick peek at the images of these had me sold already on looks alone, but I was already planning a trip to Shoeologist to give these a try to see how they felt. The very next day they were purchased.

 

Just a quick comment on the aesthetics – personally I love what Vibram have done with the colour and design of these, but form your own opinion, I can imagine they would almost certainly divide people.

 

So, what are these? Well, apparently they are Vibram’s experiment at producing a hybrid of a barefoot running style shoe with a smidgeon of support. Straight away I can hear all the barefoot/minimalist runners out there baulk at the idea of this. After all, Vibram’s mantra is no support – our feet/legs have all the support and cushioning we need, right? However, I think this is a good thing – many people aren’t ready to jump straight into barefoot running and why shouldn’t Vibram encourage a gentler transition?

 

So, let me get this out of the way first. Do these feel like a Vibram FF shoe? YES. Don’t be fooled by the little stack on the bottom of this shoe, it most definitely retains the flexibility, freedom and dare I say “harshness” of a typical FiveFinger model.

 

Slipping them on, there is the familiar feeling that Vibrams have, like putting on an extra pair of socks. There is a little more weight obviously, compared to the likes of the SeeYa but it’s negligible. One of the bigger differences is the way the shoe really hugs the arches of your feet, and its noticeable even by looking at the fit:

This, I guess is the “support angle that Vibram were going for, however it’s not invasive. Before going down the minimalist route, the only other shoe I had bought more than once was Brooks Beast – now, while these have to be the most supportive shoe I have ever come across and comparing them is perhaps a little irrelevant, the difference I want to highlight is that the supportive shoe was designed to be and definitely feels “corrective”, these do not. They seem to caress the arches rather than hold them up with scaffolding.

 

Another big difference is the stack on the bottom of the shoe, and actually this is what interested me most of all. As a long distance runner (and we are talking marathon plus), although I do find FFs extremely comfortable, there is no denying that they can be incredibly punishing on the feet over longer distances. The other thing is sharp pointy rocks. I know FF wearers say they have no problems with feeling the rocks and stones that normal paths/trails have, but (unless I am wearing my FF Trecks), on more than one occasion I have landed on a pointy stone in exactly the wrong place and bruised the underside of my foot. Maybe its just me and I am a wuss, but with these there is absolutely no worry that anything is going to destroy my foot. I will also say that while these look like they are cushioned – they most certainly are not. The stack is uncompromising, Vibram hard wearing rubber – and definitely not the equivalent of running on a foam pad. Note, I tested these on a reasonably technical trail, and there were no problems with comfort:

When running in these it is a little different to a standard pair of FFs (I currently have the Bikila, Speed and Trek). First off, as I mentioned before a little of the true “ground feel” is lost. This is an important factor for a lot of FF runners I think and may be the turn off. But, notice I say it loses “a little” – trust me, it’s still there. Also the design of the toes in the shoe come into play. They are placed a little above the forefoot, so that when standing still and upright, your toes don’t actually touch the ground. Because of this, when running, there is a lot more emphasis on levering off the forefoot rather than pushing with the toes and it’s an interesting change. Actually for me its a welcome one since I do suffer from some toe soreness, and I am quite sure it’s from me “digging in” with the toes when pushing off – these seem to alleviate that to quite a degree.

 

At the time of writing this, the longest run I have completed in these is 12kms – not a marathon by any stretch of the imagination but I have noticed a slight hotspot around the ball of the foot area, and on closer inspection inside the shoe, the pattern of the lugs around the this area seems to raise up through (the vibram equivalent) of the “insole”. I do have some issues with this part of my foot too (basically callouses), so not sure if the shoe is at fault here although I tend not to feel any discomfort in Bikilas or the Speeds.

 

The only other gripe I have so far is the lacing – I wish Vibram had opted for speed lacing instead such as on the Bikila LS and Komodo LS. This is just personal preference though.

 

Overall I would say the Vybrids are great and bridge a little gap between the usual models and  a lightweight minimal support shoe. Vibram apparently have only made 100 pairs for Australia, so quite glad I secured a pair and got to try them for myself. Thanks to Shoeologist for supplying them and to Barefoot Inc for alerting me to their presence! 🙂

I get a huge amount of questions these days about what makes barefoot running so special (and yes it helps when wearing FiveFingers to work). So just thought I would share my experience of transitioning from the most highly supportive, to arguably the most minimal shoe.

We are a Vibram FF family… 🙂

 

Over the last 5 years, I would say I have tried pretty much every type of shoe you can think of. When I first started running I was plagued with that condition that almost every runner I talk to seems to get – shin splints (ugh I even hate typing or saying it). Any more than 15kms a week and my interior shins would become inflamed to the point of making me hobble, and enforce a 4 day rest (at least). To say this was frustrating would be a massive understatement as I constantly felt like I could improve greatly if only my lower legs would cooperate!!! So, with that in mind, some of my shoe choices over the years were (in chronological order):

 

Nike Air Max
Nike Zoom (including Orthotics)
Asics Gel Kayano
Brooks Beast
Nike Free 5.0
Vibram FiveFingers Speed
Vibram FiveFingers Bikila
Inov8 f-Lite195 (x4)

 

Now there is an obvious point here where I decided nothing was working and it was time to try something drastic. Up until that point though, it had been a couple of years of sheer annoyance. The theme was support, more support and even more support until i was quite literally running on the outsides of my feet, and not only did my shins still hurt but now I had some whopping foot blisters in my arches for company.

 

So, it was around this time I began to hear talk of “barefoot” running. How it supposedly improves biomechanics, promotes the way we are supposed to run, discourages smashing down on your heels when your run, doesn’t cover up running technique inadequacies with cushions on our feet etc… Hmmm interesting – could this help me?

 

Ok – now a little closer to present day, and “minimalist shoes”, “barefoot running” and “zero drop” are fairly common terms – and many people now ask the question, is barefoot running just a fad – a term to sell minimalist shoes or encourage some sort of running snobbery? Does it make any difference? When answering that I simply give the stats: I now run an average of 100kms a week, often more. I have zero shin pain and am rarely injured. For me – its not a fad – it simply works.

 

The differences between using minimal/barefoot style shoes and a more conventional shoe are really driven home the first time you try a pair of Vibram’s FiveFingers. Understand at this point I was already running marathons and would have considered my self a reasonably fit runner with a marathon PB of around 3hrs 30mins – not earth shatteringly quick, but when you frequently get injured while training, not too bad. A 10km training run was fairly routine at this point and did not really require any recovery time.

 

So, after trying and purchasing some FFs from my favourite store – I laced up the Vibrams for the first time (yes, the Speeds have laces) and planned to do a nice easy 5kms. On beginning the run, things felt weird – the shoes were so light and unrestrictive and felt fantastic, but I just couldn’t plant my foot as I normally did – and landing on my heel sent shock waves up my spine straight into my brain. Eventually I settled into a comfortable mid foot strike (not forefoot, I found it just too alien) and finished my 5kms. No problem right? WRONG.

 

For the next day or two, my calves were in searing pain, almost as if they had never been used before, and the realisation of just how much assistance is given to your lower legs by modern running shoes was quite honestly, just astounding for me. It took a good couple of weeks to build up to running 10kms in the Vibrams but after that my legs adapted somewhat, my gait had certainly changed (in a relatively short space of time I might add) and I was on my way to that place where people really enjoy their running.

 

So fast forward to today… This year I have run the North face 100, Gold Coast Marathon, Hunter Valley Marathon and Sydney Marathon – I still have The North Face 100 Hong Kong coming up in December, and am deciding on Melbourne Marathon this month (yep need to decide quickly). Training for these events is intense, puts a lot of strain on the legs, but still my shins hold up. I would also say that even though I run upwards of 100kms most weeks I currently have no issues with knee/ankle joints – can this also be attributed to improved biomechanics? It’s possible and likely, but I can’t say for certain.

 

I would strongly recommend anyone who has issues with recurring running injuries to give this approach a try. It takes time to adapt, and in all honesty, may not terribly comfortable at first. I cannot say it will be so miraculous for everyone – we are all different and in the fitness industry this is why opinions are divided on EVERYTHING. However, ultimately it worked like a charm for me, and if it works for you too – fantastic, you’ll be running without pain!

 

Just with regard to shoes…

 

I still like to run shorter distances in my Vibrams – they are superb shoes, amazingly comfortable and as lightweight as you can get. However i’ve found some new faves in the form of Inov8 shoes. I will review these along with other shoes in future posts, but suffice to say they are, like Vibrams, super light, comfortable, breathable and feel incredible on your feet when you are running. Here are the Inov8 f-Lite 195s in all their glory, I am always searching, but to date, have not found a finer running shoe yet: