Merrell Mud Run on Halloween

[zapmamak]

So I've been struggling with what to do about my footwear for the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run coming up on Sunday. I'm up to about 3.14 miles completely BF and have been running BF/minimalist runs over the last 2-3 weeks (I've ditched my regular running shoes completely).

I have mostly been running chip and seal asphalt trails BF, and have done very little real trail running in my VFFs yet. Apparently the race has a shoe requirement (which I'm fine with) however, I'm not sure I want to trash my brand new VFFs. I DO have a pair of flat kayaking shoes which could be an option. Don't really care if I completely trash those since they're a bit old. What do you guys think? Should I try the minimal kayak shoes or VFFs? Should I try to go minimalist at all since I haven't really run a lot of trails yet? Would the mud just suck my kayak shoes off? (They look like mary janes with a single elastic strap going over the top of the foot) I would hate to have to wear my old blocky running shoes. Arrrrgh. :~

 

[C-Dog]

I would probably go with the

I would probably go with the VFFs. I have been told that shoes have a tendency to fall off in the mud, so you want a good tight fit. I am doing the Warrior Dash in Hollister the day before, and they don't have a shoe requirement But I am going to run it in Sockwas anyway.

 

[stomper]

how muddy is it going to be?

how muddy is it going to be? a bit muddy or VERY muddy, as in pits?

Deep mud tends to suck shoes off in my experience. However, you can get some positive traction from bare toes (see post here). So if you are being forced to wear shoes I would wear something where you can actually clench your toes, which you can't do in regular shoes.

 

[jschwab]

Wear the VFF's. I didn't wear

Wear the VFF's. I didn't wear mine for the Warrior Dash and I was screwed. I got rocks underneath my toenail after my beach shoes got filled with mud and I had to go bare and I got a huge bad infection in my toe. Most painful thing I have ever experienced. But my VFF's are pink, so I was dumb. Tell us about these kayak shoes?

 

[zapmamak]

SO its going to be muddy as

SO its going to be muddy as in pits, but I'm just doing the 5k so I think there is just one major crazy mud area which is close to the end. However, its supposed to rain here that morning so the whole trail might be muddy. I can't imagine my KSOs getting sucked off - I can barely get them on. I cross-posted to my trail running meetup group and they seem to think it will be OK with the VFFs.

Oh Schwab, I read your post about your run. B-R-U-T-A-L!You are one tough chick! Your post is why I was thinking about going back to my old shoes, but I've completely ditched those and don't ever want to run in them again. I was worried because my form was not so good in the VFFs as opposed to BF, but I worked on it tonight on my long run and did 5.3 miles without any issues at all in them. I just have to work at it.

I have a pair of Nike water shoes. They have a rubber toe and look kind of like Mary Janes. I wear them when I kayak. They're kind of too short to run in as my toes scrape the top of the shoe and so they aren't optimally comfortable for running.

 

[jschwab]

If you have a link to those

If you have a link to those Nikes, I would love to check them out. They sound nice!

 

[PeggyC]

I have the cheap water shoes

I have the cheap water shoes from walmart and like running in them but not sure they would stay on in the mud pits. Good Luck whatever you decide!

 

[zapmamak]

Schwab - here's the link to

Schwab - here's the link to my kayak shoes. Yeah. Don't think they'll hold up with all the mud. They've been a GREAT pair of shoes for virtually everything. I wear them all the time. I love them. AND they're environmentally friendly. Check em' out:

ShoesPad.com - Nike Wavy Mary Janes

I think I'm going with the VFFs on race day.

 

[jschwab]

Those look great. I made the

Those look great. I made the mistake of beach shoes at Warrior Dash - bad, bad,bad.