Another race day shoe review - Rossignol Vercors

Count this as another 'do as I say, not as I do' post. :)

 

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to serve as one of the race ambassadors for the Horseshoe Valley Hustle, a 1k/5k/10k trail race charity event hosted at/by Horseshoe Valley Resort.  One of the presenting partners for this race was Rossignol, which I was well familiar with as being a ski company (and actually once-upon-a-time tennis racquet company) but I was not aware that they had developed any running footwear.  I was told by one of the reps present in their tent (Dustin) that this was their second year in the trail running market - and after providing me with some much-coveted technical specs on one of their shoe models, he offered to put me in a pair for the race itself.  I didn't realize that they were basically hosting a demo day, and since my Skechers GOUltra Trail shoes have been around long past their expiry date (but I was still prepared to run the 10k in them) I was happy to give it a go.

 

Here's a quick video that I shot while on the run with the Rossignol Vercors:

As a quick recap, here are some of my key observations after my initial 10k in the Vercors:

 

1. FIT - these shoes feel true to size, and I was pleasantly surprised at how roomy the toebox felt.  I was initially concerned because a quick look at the bottom of the shoe led me to believe that the shoe was built on a curved last (which typically does not agree with me).  But at no point throughout the run did I ever feel anything but a comfortable ride!
2. GRIP - between the lug placement on the outsole, the DuraGrip Ultra outsole material, and the intentional 'decoupling' design in place to help promote some additional stability underfoot, I felt like I had premium contact with all variety of surfaces during the run.
3. BREATHABILITY - the conditions varied a bit in terms of temperatures while out on the course, and I never felt like the shoe overheated my feet. +1 for the comfort score!
4. RIDE - I feel that in general my legs felt fairly fresh throughout the run.  Granted it was only 10k, and these shoes are promoted for ultra distances, but based on this test I have no reason to believe that the cushioning of the Vercors midsole wouldn't hold up for longer outings.
5. DANDY LACES - if there's anything that bothers runner in a nit-picky sort of way, it's when laces won't stay tied up.  I was told that these laces were designed to be mud-resistant, which might have also led me to conclude that they would lean toward having less friction and a greater likelihood of self-untying.  Not so!  A standard double-knot didn't loosen in the slightest over the course of the morning, and the shoe provided a really nice locked-in fit all throughout the race.

By the end of it, I was very happy with the decision to take Rossignol up on their offer to demo the shoes - and quite honestly I am very much inclined to go shopping with Rossignol in mind when I finally do decide to invest in some new trail footwear.  I'd encourage you to check out their website yourself, and by all means if they are having a demo day in your area do slip you feet into a pair!

Another race day shoe review - Rossignol Vercors