Shoes

When I first heard about the HOKA Evo Jawz, my imagination ran wild. I first pictured a smooshy pair of platform shoes with an aggressive lug pattern and wild colors. Well, it looks like I got the wild colors part right, but they are far from platform shoes. HOKA, known for their lineup of running shoes, decided to step outside of their comfort zone and enter our world with a shoe that ticks all the boxes for obstacle course racing: light, aggressive, bold, and reasonably priced.

I will admit it, sometimes I am a bit forgetful. Unfortunately, for me, it always seems to happen when I have an Ultra (Ultra Beast for those not up on the new Spartan Lingo) on the horizon. Last year, in Jersey, I decided to run with my goto shoe, the Inov-8 230. The day went on fine, but I started to realize my feet don't like to be crammed up in a shoe for extended periods of time. For the Sunday Beast run, I decided I would tackle the mountain in my Altra Superiors and I quickly remembered how much I loved the Altra trail shoe. I figured it was high time for me to get my foot into another pair of Altras for some late season races in preparation for the demon that awaited, Killington Ultra. With that in mind, I put myself, confidently, into a pair of Altra King MT 1.5's and...

So apparently Inov-8 and I have a certain pact made. I get my hands on their shoes and then I break a cardinal athlete rule. I use them for their first trial on a race day. We then examine for carnage or shenanigans to see how they did.  Like its predecessor, the 212s, the X-Talon 230s are some pretty sweet looking Off-Trail/OCR Shoes. They have a little more conservative color scheme, but you feel like these are one tough shoe. Certainly ready to tackle any course you are about to face.

We are are all looking for the right shoe, the right pack, the right pants, the right... or anything for that matter. With every single shoe manufacturer jockeying for your hard earned cash, which of them should get it? There are brands like Reebok, Merrell, Salomon, Altra, inov-8, Ice Bug, and the list goes on and on. For years, I have been running in many of them, but the inov-8 200's have been my go-to shoe for just about any race. Well, Inov-8 has another shoe, the X-Talon 225's, and they look sexy.

When I first heard about Spartan Race's Winter Sprint, I knew it was something that I had to do. I have never been a fan of running when it is cold, but something about putting snow and obstacle course racing together entices me. Mostly, I spend my winters hunkered down in a weight room packing on some muscle, and fat, for the upcoming race season. Having an extra layer of fat means more fuel for the upcoming race season that usually kicks off for me with an Ultra Beast in NJ. This year, however, would be a bit different. This year, I would run no matter the weather, no matter the conditions; like the United States Postal Service, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Let's face it, there are few things that an OCRAddict will usually have more than they need. For some, it is pants, others, shorts. For me, I have more shoes than I know what to do with. I don't know what it is, but I just can't rest until I have tried them all. I do have a goto pair for certain races, but Altra thinks they have a shoe that can take the top spot and provide me with a shoe that can tackle it all. Enter the Altra Superior 2.0.

Somewhere around Independence Day, I saw these Patriotic, and absolutely Sexy, new shoes starting to raise their head like a gopher in your yard. The Shoe was the Acceleritas OCR in Red, White and Blue glory. Honestly, I knew I had to get my hands on a pair. They would look just fabulous with my THEE Lone Star Spartan Jersey.

When I first found OCR, the two major shoe brands were Reebok and Inov-8. Some people had Speedcross 3s, but for the most part, our top tier racers were wearing one of those two. Out of nowhere, at the beginning of the 2015 season, I started hearing about a new shoe, from a new manufacturer, Icebug. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find them in any stores, or find more info about them, but those that owned them wouldn’t stop talking about them.