The airplane tail wing
Of the Great Tailed Grackle
Is a foreboding sight.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
If, after Christmas, Santa Clause were to say, “All right, now that that’s out of the way. It’s time I lace up some trail shoes and start to work off this paunch.” What shoes would he where?
Wouldn’t you know it, I’m positive he’d wear the same ones he gave me for Christmas. Sneaky bastard. That’s my gig; giving people presents that if they don’t like them they can give them back to me and I’ll happily put them to use.
The shoes he gave me are the Saucony Xodus. And just looking at them in their red, green and black trim, you can’t help but picture the jolly man heading outdoors in these shoes.
Their motto is on the tongue - Run Anywhere. What’s suppose to make that possible is the huge Vibram lugs they’re equipped with; a grey harder compound that rings the perimeter of the outsole and an ever so slightly more giving black compound under the rest of the foot.
I have never run in shoes that are so threateningly lugged, or are as heavy. The well lugged shoes I ran in last year; the Asics Runagades and the Inov 8 235s come close in depth and lug strength of the Xodus, and though far lighter are also far less cushioned. They’re also much more pliable in the hand but I haven’t noticed much of a difference running.
The difference in weight reflects a difference in philosophy. The Asics and Inov 8’s rely on the soft ground to aid in cushioning, while the Saucony’s are leaving nothing to chance. And for a training shoe that’s why I’m liking the Saucony’s. Even when I run over trails that are plenty mushy, there’s still always long hard patches and some road in the way. And at the end of multi-hour runs I appreciate the extra cush. But they are quite a bit heavier and I definitely wouldn’t choose to race in them.
And the lugs are firm and meant to dig in, not grip hard, slick surfaces. Which anyone who expects that will quickly discover as they skate over large slick rocks. They’re trail shoes after all, not rock climbing slippers.
After two long runs in them I’m not giving these back to Santa. They’re comfortable and do what they were designed to do. The aesthetics are bright and cheerful and the price is right. My only concern is if the long sections of roads I run getting to and from the gunk will shave the cleats down quickly.
But it’s nice to be wearing a pair of shoes where the trails are more afraid of them than vice-versa.
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