Road review - Skechers GOMeb Razor

I can't say enough good things about these shoes!

The Skechers GOMeb Speed Razor is a new model to the Skechers Performance lineup and for some they occupy a weird in-between space ... they have properties that belong to a racing shoe while also blurring the lines as an everyday workout trainer.

At just around 7.9oz for my men's size 10, they're definitely on the lightweight side.  Even though I tend to like my racing shoes to be closer to the 7 oz. mark these feel much lighter than what the scales would indicate - and in the end, just that sense of being light on your feet might actually make a difference in terms of how you might carry yourself.

The heel-to-toe offset (or drop) is 4mm, and that's pretty much perfect for me when it comes to wanting to lay down some speed.  The stack height (23mm-to-19mm) means that it does sit up a bit, but the new 5GEN midsole material is light and poppy so I didn't feel at all like I lost any responsiveness while busting out intervals or 5km tempo runs.

The seamless knit upper is airy and breathable, and fits over a nice moderately sized footframe - all that to say that for a guy who likes some wiggle room for his toes that I don't feel squeezed in this shoe, nor do I feel sloppy in them either.  Like Goldilocks finally sitting in baby bear's chair, it feels just right.

All told this shoe has a permanent spot in my weekly rotation, and I'm always excited for those days that I get to don them out the door.  If there was any reason that I'd even for a moment hesitate when asked about this shoe it's the pricepoint - at $165 CDN (MSRP) it's on the more expensive side, especially if you're used to thinking of Skechers Performance as being the 'super-affordable' brand of serious running footwear.  Still, that's far from top-end when you peruse the shelves at running retailers and I think that you can probably find some good deals on them now as we head into the winter/2018 supplier season.

Here's my video lowdown on the GOMeb Razor:

Seriously, I give these shoes an easy five-out-of-five footprints:

More great things still to come from Skechers Performance Division!  #haveafastday #getyourmilesin

*** Disclosure:  I was provided with the GOMeb Speed Elite by Skechers Performance Division (Canada) but was not obligated to provide a positive review.  All opinions are my own.

Road review - Skechers GOMeb Razor

First look - Skechers GOMeb Speed Elite

I couldn't resist ... they're just #sopretty ...

Full road review to come!

*** Disclosure:  I was provided with the GOMeb Speed Elite by Skechers Performance Division (Canada) but was not obligated to provide a positive review.  All opinions are my own.

First look - Skechers GOMeb Speed Elite

road review - Skechers GOrun strada

maybe i'm a sucker for advertising.

when i saw meb's name first associated with this shoe (back at the start of this year in runblogger's teaser article) i thought that it must have some merit, and that it was worth trying.

[ photo from Runblogger.com ]

i can now say for myself that i'm glad i did.

the production version of the GOrun strada (as released to the purchasing public) is a neutral training shoe - overall a more substantial shoe than just about anything else that i have in my running rotation.  i feel a much more structured upper especially with the layered synthetic material wrapping about the midfoot and structured heel - while it provides a nice and snug fit it does also add some weight (with my size 10s coming in a shade under 10.5 oz).  inasmuch as they are heftier than what i would normally prefer in a road running shoe that's also what i was looking for - something to wear on easy/recovery days that would remind me that we're not trying to ramp up the speed.  i also wanted to have a pair of shoes that might offer just that wee bit more protection from the elements during my dead-of-winter runs.

the outsole features what appears to be a dual-density resalyte configuration - the darker segments are a little tougher and seem (to my untrained eye) to follow the impact zones from heel (if you're a heel striker) through the M-strike area through to the big toe.  this higher durometer but still cushiony material lends a bit more durability to the rubber-less bottom of the GOrun strada and again is a slight contributor to the overall weight of the shoe.  at an 8mm heel (25mm) to toe (17mm) drop, it's on the higher side of what i normally like to have - but interestingly enough i have not found there to be any issues when it comes to an unimpeded forefoot landing, and i don't even have to deliberately think about it.

no swapping around of insoles this time - they're glued down nice and tacky!

the ride is comparable to the upper - on the stiff side.  that being said, i've been quite surprised that it doesn't strike me as being overly clumsy ... and in fact i've managed to pull off some paces that would otherwise seem to be uncharacteristic of such a relatively built-up shoe (and that without any undue expenditure of energy).  so while i have mentally positioned the GOrun strada as a recovery day shoe it's actually performed quite admirably delivering as a well-rounded trainer.

after all's said and done i'd have to say that i grossly underestimated this shoe - i actually do look forward very much to the days that i get to don the Strada for a workout, whatever the pace and effort level might turn out to be.  whether or not they'll hold up the way that i want them to through the mighty canadian winter is yet to be determined, but for the time being i'll enjoy them as much as i can.  four feetprints out of five and recommended for anyone looking for a blue-collar beat-up-the-road-not-your-feet training shoe.

 

and here's a look at the video review - enjoy! 

road review - Skechers GOrun strada

race report - 2015 County Marathon (full pacer edition)

it was time to don the ears again.

last year provided my first opportunity to serve as an official marathon pacer thanks to an inquiry from my friend erin mcdougall.  erin was and is the organizer for the pacers at The County Marathon in and around beautiful picton, ontario, and it was through the magic of social media that we were able to connect.  when he prodded me again early this spring about possibly serving as a pacer once more i nodded agreement - and was also able to conscript my friend lewis into volunteering as a pacer for the half-marathon distance.

if you haven't already read lewis' account of the race, i encourage you to do so now - it recaps much of our experience together and my report will only elaborate on the elements of it which were particular to my pacing of the entire 42.2km vs. lewis' work with the half-marathon group.

race day
with the plan to arrive early (about 60 min. before gun time) at the start line i hopped on a shuttle bus from downtown picton and had a great conversation on the way with a racewalker named kim from ottawa.  kim was a seasoned gentleman (i'm guessing in his late 50s) who was really personable and we got into a great conversation about the ins and outs of racewalking.  having agreed that it's a very unnatural looking sport i was surprised to hear that it has a history that hearkens back to the 1800s which was rooted in military competitions.  i had no idea that it was that storied, but certainly can accept that it is a legitimate athletic endeavour - especially after hearing that the 50km world record of 3:32:33 was set just last summer at the european athletics championships.  that's a smokin' time - and when you consider (as kim pointed out) that while runners can lose form as they fatigue but still finish quickly race-walkers must maintain form or else be disqualified ... well that makes it that much more impressive.

at the essroc arena (the warm-up centre at the start line of the full marathon, complete with elevated indoor track) i met and chatted with my one fellow full marathon pacer, dave, as well as erin - who took the time to introduce me to the lone kenyan in the race, gilbert kiptoo. i don't often get starstruck - over the past 15 years or so i've had the privilege of being pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best tennis players in the world, including my idol andre agassi - but there was a bit of tingly feeling shaking the hand of a 2:08 PB marathoner.

l-to-r:  me, erin, gilbert

the race

the group that formed around me was initially about six-strong, including two guys who have the scotiabank toronto waterfront marathon and the hamilton road2hope marathon on their calendars over the next month.  aside from the one relay racer (who we ended up pacing to her 11k PB) i'm pretty sure everyone else had tackled the 26.2 mile test of endurance before.

the conditions were almost ideal temperature-wise (about 10°C at 8:00am start time) but the winds were out of the east at about 18 kph - and we were pretty much headed due east for the entire length of the point-to-point course.  the saving grace here was that it wasn't gusty but rather a steady breeze with moments of respite.

my crew hung with me through to about 30k where we began to see a couple of our new friends drop off of the back.  at 35k the pace group was reduced from three to two, and at 38k (the one notable 'hill') i lost my last two runners - nav, who had been nursing a strained glute muscle, and eldon, who felt that his ITB was flaring just a bit.  this put me in the familiar place of running alone for the final 3.5k, with crowds cheering the pace bunny on saying "you're right on target" and "where's your group?!?".

in the end i crossed the timing mats at 3:29:40 - the exact same time that i logged in last year's event.  consistency matters!

 

post-race 
unlike last year (when the rains started falling not 10 minutes after i crossed the finish line) the weather was glorious for hanging around to cheer people in.  nav wasn't too far behind at 3:31:23, and eldon a minute back of that at 3:32:33.  janet was next at 3:37:25, and richard (whom we tried our best to cheer along by keeping the invisible 'elastic' intact) wrestled out a strong 3:43:54.

 just a beauty of an autumn day!

the champ is here!

my thanks go out to erin for again inviting me to be part of this fantastic event, and kailey ellis-chapman and her team for organizing a small-town-feel-big-deal-quality race!  i look forward to the 2016 edition and perhaps three-peating at 3:29:40! 

race gear for the 2015 County Marathon:

• Special edition MEC RUN technical shirt
• Running Room basic run short
• Falke RU Energizing compression socks
• Skechers GORun 4
• Garmin 305 GPS watch

race report - 2015 County Marathon (full pacer edition)

road review - Skechers GOMeb Speed 3

have you ever been in the situation where you've really wanted to fall in love but something got in the way?

since the day that meb won the 2014 boston marathon wearing the prototype GOMeb Speed 3 i was keen on getting my grubby little hands feet on them.  i'd had a racing love-affair with the GOMeb Speed 2 and had anticipated only bigger and better things from the next iteration of the Skechers Performance Division racing flat.  i had even reserved (in advance) space for them in my waterloo marathon gear bag as my plans were to race to a new BQ time in them.

but some things are just not to be.

for the purposes of this review let's first look at what didn't have me raving about the GOMeb Speed 3:

• sizing - i'm not sure what's happened with this 2015 season of Skechers Performance footwear but i found (as did some others) that this generation's models fit smaller than before.  upon first donning of my 'normal' size 10s i thought that things would be okay, especially with swapping around insoles (although this was a tougher task than expected - like it's predecessor the insoles in the GOMeb Speed 3 were glued down to the footbed) ... but this proved to be wishful thinking.  crammed, crammed, crammed ...
• fit - wanting to make the best of the situation i next resorted to trying out some creative lacing techniques to allow for a roomier fit ... but again to no avail.  try as i might i found that my feet were feeling constricted not just laterally but also vertically - as if the volume in height was too low.
• weight - the Speed 3 only gained about 0.7 oz over the Speed 2, but combined with the bulkier look it provided less of a speedy feel to me.

• flex/pop - again this is probably a subjective observation but the substitution of new Dupont® Delrin® stability plate in place of the Dupont Hytrel™ plate made for a less 'snappy' response.  still racing flat responsive, just not as peppy as before.

... and yet ...

even though i opted at the last minute to wear the GOMeb Speed 2 at the waterloo marathon, i wasn't prepared to ditch these shoes completely.  what i wound up doing is removing even the paper-thin insole that i'd borrowed from my GOBionic Trail shoes and continuing to do speed workouts just on the unfinished footbed.  what this move afforded me was (a) a bit of extra volume in height and breadth and (b) a sliver less weight.  while they still don't feel like a go-to racing flat for me, they've managed to claim a place in my training rotation while i look forward to what meb may be sporting at this year's NYC marathon.

yep, looks a little bit like Frankenstein's neck ...

so for me the GOMeb Speed 3 scores a bit on the 'meh' side:

here's how it looks up close and personal:

has my confidence in Skechers Performance Division been shaken at all?  not in the least!  i know that there are all sorts of people who love the GOMeb Speed 3, and the fact that i'm not one of them just indicates that SPD is willing to continue to tinker and innovate - and i'm all for the path of creativity and change!

*** disclaimer:  i was provided with the GOMeb Speed 3 by Skechers Performance Division (Canada) but was not obligated to provide a positive review.  all opinions - however poorly expressed - are my own.

road review - Skechers GOMeb Speed 3

road review - Skechers GORun 3

ever feel like you're bringing last year's christmas fruitcake as a present to the party this year?

with so many great reviews of the Skechers GORun 4 already being posted out there, it seems almost redundant (if not unnecessary) to provide a write-up about the GORun 3s ... 

except that i really, really like this shoe.

the fact is that the GR2 has been a great performer for me - super-versatile for all kinds of training runs, and even getting me across the finish line in a marathon (although one of my worst, but due in no way to my footwear).  when i first checked out the GR3s in a Skechers retail store some 18 months ago, i didn't give them much thought ... mostly because i was so taken by the GORun Ultra.  but when provided with an opportunity by Skechers Performance Division Canada to put them through their paces, they have quickly risen to the top of my go-to arsenal.

what works about this shoe?

• light - what makes the GR3 a shoe that is really adaptable to speed and long-run workouts is that it doesn't weigh a ton.  the kitchen scale tells me that my size 10s come in at just around 7.3 oz (or thereabouts).
  
  
  
  
  
• bright - i deliberately wanted to test out Skechers Performance's Nite Owl technology, which is a photo-luminescent colour-saturated material that absorbs light and then emanates it as a glow for visibility.  in the daytime, these shoes are an unmissable bright alien green - and at night (after sufficient light exposure, of which natural daylight does the best charging job) it looks like each stride is being taken by neon glowsticks.
  
  
  
  the picture doesn't do any justice to the aura on these shoes!

• airy - the change in the upper material (especially over the forefoot) to the triangular sub-layer and open-mesh covering certainly factors into its overall lightness as well as it being a well-ventilated shoe.  i don't plan on trudging through a lot of mud and puddles with them, but i suppose that while its construction would mean that it provides less protection against moisture penetration it also would lend itself to decent drainage and evaporation.
• width - as with most Skechers Performance Division footwear to date, loads of forefoot room for adequate toe splay, plus a nice stretchy quality to that upper Power-Prene material.
• low-drop - by now pretty standard, the GR3 sports a 4mm offset from heel to toe, with the option to jack that up a bit to 8mm with the extra insoles included for a customizable ride.
• M-Strike - the distinctive feature first introduced in the original GORun, the mid-foot 'bump' provides subtle feedback about footstrike tendencies and encourages a more natural, under-the-center-of-mass landing.  there is a definite roll/convexity to the outsole, in part accentuated by a scoop profile towards the heel portion.  it may prove noticeable while walking but in the running stride it does exactly what it's supposed to - letting the runner know that the most efficient landing pattern is accomplished by not overstriding.
• tread - i like the pod-pattern on the outsole, with several key contact points being reinforced with rubber for durability and traction.  otherwise it's the proprietary Resalyte that for me provides decent durability without adding mass to the shoe.
• pricepoint - c'mon, $75 USD?  how can you go wrong - really.

get the up-close and personal look at the GR3 in my video review below:

as you might have already gathered, i do love this shoe.  no question that it garners 5 out of 5 footprints from me.

can you blame me now for being so excited to check out the GORun 4?!?

*** disclaimer:  i was provided with the GORun 3 by Skechers Performance Division (Canada) but was not obligated to provide a positive review.  all opinions - however poorly expressed - are my own.

road review - Skechers GORun 3

race report - 2015 Snowshoe Raid

this is a tale of false starts.

after i’d completed the Raid The Hammer adventure race with my friends sean and norm, sean asked me if i would consider joining him for a snowshoe adventure race in january 2015.  looking to engage some new experiences (as i’d never been on snowshoes before) I agreed, believing that i would have ample opportunity to get some practice in in advance of the event. 

the Snowshoe Raid is an annual competition organized by Don’tGet Lost Adventure Racing and this year it was hosted in the town of the blue mountains (actually the pretty river valley provincial park near collingwood, ontario).  of course this meant that the terrain would be hilly and powdery … but to just what degree i was still to discover.

pre-race

sean and i had decided to meet up at the race briefing area, so the day started with me attempting to make the hour-or-so drive from my house to the main village at Blue Mountain.  the ‘attempt’ part had everything to do with finding out at 7am that my car battery was dead.  knowing that my wife would need our other vehicle for errands during the day, i wired up the two batteries and was able to jump start my car.  I was back in action until I decided to quickly pull the keys so that I could lock up the house again … after which the battery was – you guessed it – dead again.  a second rearranging of vehicles in order to re-do the jump start process was in order and this time my brain was able to kick into gear enough to not remove the key from the ignition but instead just remove the housekey from the key ring to lock up the house.  false start #1 in the books.

parking at the blue mountain resort was at one of multiple lots full of skiers and snowboarders – and about a kilometer away from the registration/kit pick-up room.  this provided a bit of a warm-up run, with warm-up being the operative word:  it was still about -20°C with the windchill.

the pick-up for adventure races is more than just a grab-and-run affair.  aside from being given your bib, SPORTident chip, orienteering map and a free pair of Fox River socks, the time allotted before the bus ride to the start line is crucial for plotting out a race strategy.  in the Snowshoe Raid the race is structured as a three hour ‘hit all the checkpoints (CPs) that you can’ competition, with varying point values assigned to different checkpoints based on distance from start/finish, elevation and accessibility.  thanks to sean’s experience as an adventure racer we settled on a route that would follow a loop where the front half would include some of the most difficult but highest point value CPs – the idea being that taking these on while still reasonably energized and fatigue-free would net us the best possible result.

teams working out their pre-race strategies

the race

a 15-minute bus shuttle took us to the start line – basically at a snowmobile trail on/off-loading site.  initially sean and I had discussed the possibility of foregoing snowshoes and trying to tackle the course shod only in running footwear, but gave ourselves the opportunity to survey conditions at the trail entry point before making a final decision.  it did take more than a minute after disembarking from the bus to know that snowshoes would be mandatory – and in fact the race director reported in the nine years of the race’s existence this day provided the deepest fresh snow/powder ever.

the airhorn blew at about 9 minutes after the intended start time, but regardless we had 180 minutes to score as many points as possible on the mapped grid – with a 10 point deduction for every minute our time was late to the finish line.  it was interesting that one of the higher point-valued CPs was only about 300m from the start area, so naturally the mass made a beeline for that easy grab.  we did as well as it was part of our planned route … but there was such a log jam at the actual electronic CP receiver that sean and i actually got separated.  i wound up trying to figure out whether or not the best ploy was to stay put and wait for sean to retrace his steps back to me, or take a chance and try to find him (of course he was our designated navigator and map-carrier) by following the majority of other racers headed off in a particular direction.  after about five wasted minutes of indecision i trotted off down the path ‘more travelled’ and did find sean about 200m away.  a quick regroup and we were off again.  false start #2.

our path took us up and down the blue mountain region, traversing parts of the Bruce Trail (at one CP reaching the sign for the highest point on all of the Bruce Trail), bushwhacking through unspoilt snowy forests and fields, and dodging snowmobile riders along OFSC (Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs) marked trails.  

i’d agreed to partnering up with sean figuring that as an endurance runner (and not knowledgeable in the ways of orienteering or snowshoeing) i’d at least be able to help set a good pace along the way.  what i discovered was that sean has a significantly long walking/snowshoeing stride.  even when i would be snow-jogging up hills i would barely be keeping up with sean’s walking pace – and when I would see sean reduce his cadence to a walk and choose to follow suit, he would outstride me by about 2:3, or even 1:3.  i would put my head down to power hike right on his heels,  only to look up a few strides later and find that sean was a good 15-20 feet ahead of me.  my only saving grace (and the reason that i didn’t become a liability on our team) was that when we hit the flats or downhills i easily switched gears into my auto-pilot long-distance mode and find that i would overtake sean simply through continuous running.  as he would say, the long and straight stretches would just ‘drive him crazy in the head’ and he would have to take intermittent breaks.  sean’s wife Kathleen chooses to describe him as a ‘burst runner’, covering shorter distances in faster times but struggling to maintain a long and even effort.

we’d determined to review our progress after reaching what would be the most taxing CP destination as that would offer us a sense of our economy of time and effort – and sure enough we felt like we were well on track to tackle the remainder of our planned route.  criss-crossing paths with other teams headed to and originating from every direction (and helping at least one team whose sense of direction was turned around enough that they were headed somewhere toward Saskatchewan) we nailed CP after CP with almost pinpoint accuracy.

all the way up until our last intended point grab. 

with a sense of the impending 2:09pm deadline looming, we felt like we had just enough margin to ascend a small hill and find our final CP at the edge of a pond.  maybe it was the self-imposed pressure.  it could have been that we were due for a flub in our navigation.  perhaps we were just paying for our greediness.  whatever it was, we ended up following a length of the Bruce Trail that actually took us farther away from the finish line (and nowhere near CP 64) and we had to abandon the hunt in order to scramble back to the road that would finally culminate at the finishing tent.  we booked it along the road (along with many other teams) to the end, and again this was where i had a bit of an edge being able to scramble down the home-stretch non-stop in my snowshoes, whereas sean had opted to detach the snowshoes and carry them but had to take intermittent walk breaks.

we clocked in with 10 seconds left to spare.

post-race
while we noticed that various other racers had nabbed some snacks and hot chocolate from the official tent at the finish area, these refreshments quickly ran out.  sean managed to grab a couple of timbits and a cookie, but i missed out completely as even the giant hot choco container had run dry.  i was thankful for having snagged a cookie at the one aid station on the course, and proceeded to mow down on some of the energy snacks i'd ported along with me.

while on the course sean had mentioned to me what a significant calorie burn snowshoeing provided, especially given that we were trekking up and down inclines through sometimes three-foot powder sections.  by the time that we were starting to cool down i was feeling the hunger pangs, so we decided not to dilly-dally and headed straight for one of the buses.  in fact, it was the third bus situated in the middle of five school buses headed back to the resort parking lot (take note).

probably burned about twice the calories compared to if i'd run the course!

on board the bus sean quickly changed out of his wet tops (he is a self-described 'heavy sweater') in order to prevent a nasty post-exercise chill.  we were both looking very much forward to getting back to the villa and cashing in on the meal included as part of the race entry fee - among the options were cheeseburger and fries, poutine, grilled chicken sandwiches, pizza, and chili w/ buns.  mmm mmm good.

but the wheels on the bus didn't want to go round and round.

we watched as the buses parked in front of us departed, and the buses behind pull out around us.

it was like the game where you try to pick the fastest check-out line at the grocery store and inevitably choose the wrong one.

our bus had somehow been designated to be the one to wait for the very last teams.  clearly there was no particular rhyme nor reason as to why this bus was so chosen - except that maybe sean and i were on it - and the other athletes who were similarly looking forward to a quick ride back to a meal and awards were quick to voice their chagrin.  i felt for the bus driver, who was really not at fault in any way for our delay - even after the last racers climbed aboard (to loud shouts of hurrah) the driver had to wait for the official 'green light' to be issued via radio dispatch.  after a good 25 min. or so wait after all the other buses had left we finally began our return trip.  false start #3.

back at the ranch we didn't fare much better - the cafeteria serving the complimentary meals was swamped with not just adventure racers but also skiiers and snowboarders.  this made for long line-ups for the hot food station, and short ones for the cold food (e.g. deli sandwiches) and pre-heated food (e.g. pizza slices, chili) stations ... which would have been okay except that (a) all the chili was gone, (b) the sandwiches were down to two out of the original 8 or 9 varieties (yes, egg salad was one of the types still on the shelf), and (c) the food voucher was only good for one slice of pizza (which was a rip-off compared to what was being served quantity-wise from the hot food station).  sean and i decided that time was of the essence so we grabbed our flimsy ham sandwiches, chocolate milk and single piece of fresh fruit and were out of there.

the organizers had elected to wait for as many of the racers as possible to collect their meals before proceeding to any award presentations and door prizes, so this meant an even more drawn out post-race affair.  given that it was getting late already (just about 90 min. since the conclusion of the race) we cut our losses and headed for home - evidently at just around the same time as three-quarters of the skiiers coming off of the hills.

 we took enough time to find out that we finished 10th overall (out of 109), 5th for male teams

all told, the race itself was a lot of fun and a fabulous workout.  kudos have to be given to those who set out all of the checkpoints and markers out in the winter barrens - they were clearly and securely affixed to their designated locations, and it must have been a ton of work to get out there to do all of that.  as for the event in a larger context, registration was straight forward but between the distant parking situation, the bus delay and the cafeteria logistics, both sean and i felt that Don't Get Lost should look seriously at a different venue (or at least configuration) for their subsequent Snowshoe Raid events.

gear rundown
here's what got me through the day ...

waist-up:

• DRI-fit long sleeve base layer
• THERMA-fit long sleeve fleece
• Skechers Performance Division Midnight Run windbreaker
• one-size-fits-all stretch gloves
• nylon shell run mitt
• fleece skull cap toque
• original running Buff

waist-down:

• Lunatik Athletiks compression socks
• plastic newspaper delivery bags (one on each foot)
• Fox River "Velocity" quarter socks
• Skechers GORun Ultra
• Skechers Performance Division Midnight Running Tight
• nylon front-panel shell pant

have you ever competed in a snowshoe race, or an adventure race?  what has been your experience competing in them, or why wouldn't you enter into one?

race report - 2015 Snowshoe Raid

race report - Raid The Hammer 2014 (Half-Raid)

my friend sean has been asking/nagging/goading me for a while to try an adventure race with him.  this time around he succeeded.

as a way to round out my running year i decided to join him and another friend of ours (norm) in tackling a running-specific adventure race put on as part of the Don't Get Lost Adventure Running Series called "Raid The Hammer" (the "Hammer" being the hamilton, ontario area).  since norm and i were adventure racing virgins (sean has seen many an adventure race, including mulitiple disciplines such as canoeing, snowshoeing and mountain biking - and varying durations, from 8 hour to 24 hour events), we registered for the 'half-raid', advertised as being an 11-13km trail running and trekking distance.

of all of the races which i'd signed up for this year, i found myself to be the most 'excited' for this one.  there were other races - 10ks, marathons, ultras - about which i was more eager to compete, but this one genuinely had me smiling about what would take place.  this was most likely the case because i wasn't sure at all what i was in for, so everything would be new - and because i had no expectations whatsoever.  it was shaping up to just be a nice outing with some good friends.

race day
sean, norm and i travelled down to the start line in ancaster with three other mutual friends who comprised a rival team (we competed in groups of three).  drew, joanne and brenda were each veteran adventure racers, so norm and i sat quietly in the back of the truck knowing that we were greenhorns in this mix - but maybe that would play out to our advantage. 

the pre-race pick-up all happens the day of the event as the course routes and maps have to be kept hush-hush to preserve the integrity of the challenge.  upon receipt of our kit, we joined all of the other teams in reviewing the checkpoints that we would have to visit and identifying the best possible routes to form our attack plan.

norm (top) and sean (right) charting the course

after a briefing by one of the race organizers we had about 15 minutes to get suited up for the day's outing.  this included ensuring that we each had the required gear (a permanent pen, whistle, emergency blanket, compass, first aid kit, toques) as well the fuel, hydration, and protection (sean recommended donning some shin pads in anticipation of the bramble that we would encounter ... and was i ever glad that i listened) that would carry us over hill and dale.

two of us sporting Skechers Performance! (and notice the body armour ...)

our team - "The Three Asiagos" (yep, what a cheesy name ...)

the mass start, and the coldest part of the race

it was a mass start, but from there it really was choose-your-own-adventure in terms of how to get from A to B.  while we were clumped up in traffic for the first 15 minutes or so, it didn't take long for the teams to thin out as various groups had climbing strengths, others were more daring in terms of the routes selected.  we were out to have fun, but sean, norm and i each have a competitive edge so we certainly didn't want to be batting clean-up for the entire race.

the checkpoints varied from being distinct hole-punch shapes that had to be recorded on your team sheet, to digital chip synchs, to fill-in-the-blank place names.  on the half-raid there were no 'scatter' options, so each team had to travel together to every checkpoint, so although there were moments when one of us might be out running ahead of the other two it really served to no significant advantage (except to perhaps urge on the entire team's pace).  we traversed all sorts of terrain - mostly groomed trail (wide or single track), but also plenty of trail-blazing up and down steep embankments, over mossy rocks, through mud marshes and streams.  the final leg of the race took us through the neighbourhoods of the community of dundas, so there was even pavement with which to contend for the so-called "11-13km".  across all of this i was pleased that i'd elected to don the Skechers GOBionic Trail as my footwear of choice, as they provided me more than ample traction and stability.

sean (who was our orienteering lead, and an outstanding one at that) had noted for us that you really couldn't gauge your progress by the position of any other teams - partly because you didn't know who might be lost, have missed checkpoints, or even part of the 'full raid' distance which came from the opposite direction that the half-raiders were moving forward into.  all in all we found most of the other racers a friendly and obliging bunch - although we did come across an incident on a stretch of trail that was busy with sunday afternoon hikers.  apparently one of the teams had been in such a rush that on a narrow track they brushed by two ladies walking their dogs, inadvertently knocking the one woman over which resulted in her having a deep gash to her knee.  it was a hit-and-run, but our team and one other (not having seen the incident itself) came upon the injured woman, at which point sean quickly jumped into action - pulling out his first aid kit, applying some antibiotic cream and applying a gauze-and-tape wrap to the wound.  the lady and her friend were very appreciative of the help, while one of the women from the other team who'd stopped was beside herself apologizing on behalf of all the half-raiders:  "we're not usually like that!", adding "did you get their bib number?" and "what did they look like?"  there was no real additional information that our victim could offer, but before we carried on to the next checkpoint (which was very close to that site) one of the course marshals actually happened upon the scene so he was able to at least bring some official representation on behalf of the event, and probably secure the appropriate information for liability purposes.

all told, we finished our race in just over three hours, covering a total of 17.24 km by my garmin GPS.  this was to norm's chagrin, as he was repeatedly reassured that this would be 'just about a 10k race'.

"10k my a**"

final checkpoint - 20th place (out of 51 total teams, 16th out of 42 adult open category teams)

post-race

this adventure race has been noted for the food and swag afterwards, and the organizers certainly didn't disappoint this year.  from the two food trucks providing complimentary lunch meals to a pair of free socks from Fox River, everybody got plenty spoilt.  even following the announcement and presentation of top finisher awards, the remaining teams were randomly invited to come and pick something from the prize table - so i got to walk away with a technical running hat as well. 

sean has already hit norm and i up about a winter adventure race - and while i am still in the midst of crafting my 2015 competition schedule, i admit that having now been indoctrinated into the ways of AR i would seriously consider it!  and definite high-fives go to Don't Get Lost for this fantastic Raid The Hammer event - if you are at all looking for something different from the grind of road races, or even trail racing for that matter, i unreservedly recommend giving this event a lookover!



race report - Raid The Hammer 2014 (Half-Raid)

race report - 2014 Hamilton Marathon Road2Hope

just when you thought it was all going according to plan.

that was the refrain of the day for this year's edition of the hamilton marathon road2hope.

of all of the races which i had on the schedule this year, this was really the only one that i thought of as a 'run this for me' kind of race.  the other marathons that i'd been a part of in 2014 were either (a) training for another race or (b) to assist others.  as such, i viewed the hamilton marathon as a target race at which i hoped to post a solid PB given its layout and self-promotion as 'canada's fastest boston qualifier'.

pre-race
considering that i was coming off of pacing the county marathon just four weeks prior, i tried to do everything right.  i took off extra days when i needed to in order to recover (and trust me, after two separate nights of excruciating and mysterious medial knee pain i listened to my body) as well as tapering appropriately while maintaining adequate speed work.  i even monitored my plan for achieving race weight (target was 137 lbs.) carefully so that it was a slide down and not a rapid drop.  and once again i also performed a three-day carboload to ensure that i had enough in the tank to put in a solid effort run.

this year i was thinking of avoiding the extra trip down to the expo pre-race but as it turned out everyone else who i knew was going to be running the same day were going to wait until the morning of to get kitted out - except for my buddy steve who was going to stay overnight in hamilton.  as i prefer to lay everything out the night before a race, i decided that i would go down early saturday morning and get a run in on the burlington waterfront before snagging my race package, as well as a couple of others as i received a couple of requests when it became known that i would do the day before pickup.

the saturday morning shake-out run proved to be a very windy and chilly affair - which was somewhat helpful in gauging how i would need to dress for the forecasted -6°C starting conditions on sunday at 8:00 am.  honestly, i felt badly for the 5k and 10k runners who would be competing on saturday morning because if they were hoping for a fast run these were not the conditions ... and if they were hoping for a recreational, enjoyable run, these were not the conditions.

the expo itself was again held in one of the large event tents at the confederation park finish line area.  the pickup was no-nonsense and very straightforward, with several sponsors and vendors including running free, the runner's den (a title sponsor), clif bar, honey maxx, and the filmmaker from Transcend who had been making the rounds to various expos and running events since debuting at the chicago marathon earlier this month.

race day
with plans to travel down to hamilton with my friends kathleen and rolf, i woke up from a decent night's sleep at 3:30 am.  after a decent peanut butter & banana bagel washed down by a beet juice/electrolyte drink mix, i felt like i was ready to roll when kathleen picked me up at 5:00 am.  i'd checked and double-checked my backpack to make sure i had everything i'd need - which i did.

(*cue ominous foreshadowing music*)

kathleen asked if i could drive her vehicle as she was still in the process of a long recovery from a concussive injury - and explained how she debated coming at all to run today, but that with plans to take it very easy (for the half-marathon distance) she felt that all would be fine.  so we went and picked up rolf and began our trek southwards.

about 40 minutes later down the highway, in and amidst our banter about race preparation and aspirations for the day the penny dropped.

i slugged kathleen in the shoulder from my driver side position and said "i forgot your race kit".

i'd picked up hers and rolf's kits along with mine, but rolf had swung by the house on saturday afternoon to nab his.  in all my morning prep to make sure that i was good to go, i stepped out the door leaving kathleen's kit hanging on a coathook.

i was in absolutely disbelief.

kathleen broke out into laughter.

almost as if a wave of relief had washed over her, she declared how glad that she was that she had a legitimate reason to not run today and risk feeling unwell for the next week or more.  it didn't do much to allay my own incredible feelings of guilt at this epic blunder, but rolf also agreed that these things happen for a reason.  with that we continued on our merry way, although (as you might have anticipated) this became the source of many comments in jest throughout the day.

after being graciously dropped off by kathleen near the start line, rolf and i met up with a few other runners from barrie - erin, wendy and kevin - and i also spotted my friends peter and steve.  we wished each other the best, and then steve and i lined up close to the front of the 'chute' to try to reduce as much weaving and surging as possible.

rolf and i ready to rock hamilton!

 wendy, rolf, erin, kevin and me representing the Barrie RoadRunners

my plan was to go out at a 3:10 pace (4:30/km), as i felt like i was honestly in good shape to post at least a 3:10 marathon.  but my real hope was to pick up speed after about 24km and finish with a negative split.  in the early kilometres i got swallowed up by the 3:15 pacer group and had thoughts of sticking with them for the first half, especially after hearing the pacer speak of how you can lose a good 20s per kilometre if running unshielded from the wind down the parkway.  however, feeling like i really need to stay ahead of the group, i edged ahead at one of the first aid stations and stayed out in front of them, feeling comfortable and clicking off 4:30-ish kilometres with ease.

through to km 21:  1:34:41 

then it came time to scoot down the red hill parkway, and the wind played into the picture.  it didn't feel too daunting, and i played it smart by picking up the cadence so that i wasn't pounding my quads, and i ran all of the tangents as tightly as possible.  still, i was out there for the entire parkway stretch (and more) alone, exposed to the brunt of the wind.  and all of that must have taken more of a toll than i realized.

km 22 through km 34:  59:04

the last leg of this race runs back and forth along the lake, and as i passed the 35km sign i had flashbacks to last year, when at this point the 3:15 group passed me by with ease.  this time around i was determined that this would not happen - and while my turnover seemed fine to me, i began to notice the occasional person here and there passing me, and my kilometre splits creeping up around 5:00/km.  

i didn't want to admit it, but my legs were beginning to rebel.  

my fueling had gone well.  for the first time in any marathon i didn't feel even the slightest twinge of a muscle spasm.  i was running tall, and pumping with my arms to keep up the rhythm for my legs.  i had on my Skechers GOMeb Speed 2s to remind me that older can still be better.  how could everything be rolling in my favour and yet my pace slowing so much?

on the same stretch of the hamilton beach trail that i'd run the day before i was willing myself through to the end - but it didn't prevent the 3:15 group (of about eight runners) from passing me with 4km to go.  i just couldn't muster the reserves to keep up with them.  in fact, the only last gasp that i had was a sprint finish down the last 150m straightaway as i dueled a fellow marathoner to cross the line first.

battling #260 to the very end [photo by mike cheliak of My Sports Shooter]

km 35 through km 42.195:  48:46

official chip time:  3:16:54  [garmin time:  3:17:16 for 42.69km]

post-race
it was just after i crossed that i noticed my friend and fellow running ninja lewis who had come down unannounced to cheer me on.  after a quick connect, i grabbed some snacks, pizza and soup from the racer's tent and then roamed with lewis to try to find some of our mutual friends.  we found steve who looked fresh after having crossed the line in 2:54:16 at his first marathon ever - a clean BQ time and well under his 3:00 goal.  i was in total awe, and extremely proud of his 9th place finish.

erin wound up clearing 3:32:00 for another consecutive year of qualifying for Boston.  rolf and kevin crossed the line at just over the 4:00 mark, both of them trying to outdo the other down the closing 150m.  an excellent result for both of them as well.

as i reflected on the race, a few observations emerged:

1. how did i ever get to thinking that a 3:17 marathon was disappointing? even though i missed my 'A' and 'B' goal, i posted my best time yet on this course by over a minute.
2. since i am now in the window to qualify for the 2016 Boston Marathon, i've moved up an age category and cleared the BQ time by eight minutes.
3. i don't think that i've yet felt like i had a strong race on the road2hope course - it may not agree with me.
4. i may have been overambitious in trying to run two solid marathons four weeks apart - either that or i've taxed myself just a bit too hard this training year.  i do still feel like i was in 3:10 marathon shape - but maybe i played my cards in the wrong order.
5. i can hit race weight - my scale read 141.8 lbs on sunday morning.
6. for 2015 i'm going to look at running a bunch of different races from ones that i've now grown accustomed to ... i'm already passing on the mississauga marathon next spring in favour of the waterloo marathon.  i've added the sulphur springs 50k trail race in may, and will plan on going to collingwood to tackle The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler in july.  i'm also seriously considering entering the lottery for the chicago marathon, or perhaps registering for the detroit international marathon (both taking place in october).  i will also see if i can pick some more races where i can dovetail with the presence of Skechers Performance Division and Team Running Free.
7. my off-season focus will shift to developing a better engine for running - i'm motivated to read pete magill's build your running body and try to develop the components that i will use to push for more successful races next year.

as eager as i am to plan my calendar for next year, i am pretty much on the cusp of off-season.  i just have an adventure race with my friends sean (kathleen's husband) and norm this coming weekend - my first foray into any kind of orienteering-based race.  after that, it's a welcome break into ice cream and doritos again.

#GOlikeneverbefore!

race report - 2014 Hamilton Marathon Road2Hope