Trail Running

[EricsLearning]

I've been working up distance on trails here in Virginia in prep for a 50k in December. About half of the course is BF friendly and half of it is gravel covered service trails. In my KSOs I can handle about 12 to 15 miles of these trails but it's just way too painful to go any farther.

So now to my question. Has anyone tried the new VFF Spyridon model on gravel? I know they have more padding than KSOs anyway but I was more wondering how good the rock block worked on one inch crushed gravel.

I was also looking at the mt00 from new ballance but that seemed like a bit more shoelike than I wanted.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I saw this at the store the other day. The shoe is nearly see through in the upper. That's all I can comment.

 

[EricsLearning]

Yeah. I noticed that the upper on the mt00 were made out of a really odd, very thin fabric.

 

[dutchie53]

Works well for draining water I think. If you get a pair, get the LS model, lot easier on the top of the arch.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I agree. I like the LS on my new Bikila LS VFFs, still trying to get used to the arch and may have to go with another model, but the LS bungee cord lacing is nice.

 

[EricsLearning]

I'll probably give them a try. Does anyone have a good comparison on how well the rock block part works? I've tried gravel in both KSOs and Bikilas but get a bunch of "feedback".

 

[Zephyr]

Why not the leather KSO Treks? some stores have been selling them at $100 or even less. The only drawback is that you would probably want to wear socks in them (the footbeds get sticky against the skin due to sweat) so if you're intended to run part of the race barefoot you'd have to spend a little more time putting your socks on, but in a 50 km race the extra time would be almost negligible.

 

[EricsLearning]

Well I went ahead and got the spyridons. So far I've only been able to go on a couple runs.

The first was a three mile on straight gravel and they handled it great. I felt the rocks but nothing hurt.

The second was a 13.5 mile trail run and they performed great. My longest trail run at this state park was 18 miles and my feet felt trashed after 10 or 11 miles. I'd had hit too many rocks and gum balls because I wasn't paying enough attention. In the spyridons my feet felt fine at the end of 13. It was hot and I was fairly tired but the rock block functioned properly. You can feel the rocks and roots but they aren't sharp sensations. If the rock hits between your toes the sensations are sharper but no where else.

I do have to say that I will never wear the without socks. The stitching is really rough inside and the seems have left too much material left loose. Mainly on the outside of the arch.

Overall I like the shoes.