It turns out that the Thetan aliens who created and put us on earth might have been onto something when they designed our feet. An article in New York Magazine makes some interesting points regarding the relationship between shoes and physiological problems. The basic argument is that you walk and run in a way that puts less stress on your heels and joints when you aren’t using heavily padded shoes, so a better alternative to triple-fat Nike Shox might be a pair of these Vibram FiveFingers. The FiveFingers provide protection from hypodermic needles on the sidewalk and offer a little protection if you have to kick in a basement window, but they don’t provide any of the support of normal shoes.

Imagine running a 100 miler in these things? Your toes would swell and the shoe would not come off!

CamelBak will end up looking like the smartest guys in the room with their non-BPA bottles if the Canadian government tags the Nalgenes as a toxic chemical. Some undercover scientist leaked to the press that the Canadian government is prepared to let the world know that camping and baby bottles are slowly poisoning them. How many years of poisoning have you expreienced?

The public and industry will have 60 days to comment on the designation once it is released, setting into motion a two-year process that could lead to a partial or complete ban on food-related uses of plastics made using B.P.A.

When they say “public” they mean Canada, but I stopped using my Nalgene years ago—to dangerous. Now I just use it as an ashtray.

Choose your hydration products with caution!

via NY Times

Thr first ever blog sponorered trail running team is up and running. Scott from Wasatchspeedgoat.com put together 17 runners from all over the country! This gang is a group of seasoned trail runners who dedicate their whole life to the sport, running anywhere from 6 - 100 ultramarathons a year! The team is supported by several sponsors:

Natahn Packs, First endurance, Nuun, Petzl, Nordic Track, Backcountry.com and Wasatchspeedgoat.com.

We are not a shoe company or a retailer, we are the runners who drive the sport!

Stay tuned for updates on the team and their race reports!

• Fit: Excellent. The shoe fit me very well (slightly bigger than “normal”) and feels very smooth. It has good breathability. The shoe features an ergonomically-designed footbed that looks a bit weird at first but really does not bother your feet.
• Toughness: Very Good. The bottom of the shoe is very well protected with new “snake-plate” technology.
• Flexibility: Excellent. The Rucky Chuckies are very flexible, unlike some of the other TNF running shoes.
• Side-to-side Stability: Very Good. The shoes felt extremely comfortable and allowed me to move over tough terrain effortlessly.
• Grip: Very good. Not super aggressive, but plenty to get the job done, especially on rocky terrain.
• Switchback Handling: Very Good. I had to stop and tighten the shoes very tight to handle some of the extreme downhills (so my toes would not hit the front of the shoes) and without an integrated lacing system this restricted my feet a little bit.
• Weight: Excellent. This is the shoes’ best feature! They are really very light for a trail running shoe. I almost did not feel any difference with my road shoes. I found some of the othe on the heavy side.
• Price: OK. At $109.95!
• Overall: This is a great and surprisingly light shoe for almost all trail conditions and can even be used on the road if needed.

You can purchase the Rucky Chuckies Trail Shoe right now for (MSRP109.95) !

Living in the mountains makes it really tough to drive to work! I used to commute 37 miles one way which would take up to two hours drive time, that’s because Park City, Utah is an over developed mining town. The whole area is being built up with second homes and golf courses, and we have so much water here? I have decided to remove my carbon spewing car off the grid and work from my tough shed! Thanks to the online retailer Backcountry.com they offered me a remote job from my house, sweet!

Now my commute is from the house to the shed ! The shed idea I got from Toko Wax and Skate Ski Olympian Ian Harvey. He and I coach our daughters soccer team and Ian runs the entire North American Division for Toko out of his tough shed, that is some green thinking!

wasatchspeedgoat.com;

committed to promoting human powered, sustainable recreation.

Trail running is about to get a first hand view of the suffering and joy the Hardrock 100 hands out! This year I will be running in a Go Pro Head Cam during sections like Virginia’s Pass, Start, Finish and a couple others. This will give you a great perspective of the views we see and the snarly terrain in the San Juan Mountains!

It will be fun to see me unravel as the days moves on until the joy hits with a couple miles to go!

Wasatch Speed Goat

There is a new Ultra/Trail Running team in town! Masters Ultra runner Scott Mason is assembling a team of trail runners from all over the country! This team is a new concept, we are not a shoe company, not a on-line retailer we are just a group of hard core trail runners who dedicate our lives to the sport. We all share the same passion, “running through the mountains”. Most of us are married with families and working full time jobs, even though we may not set a course record we do drive the sport!

The new team is based from the web site Wasatchspeedgoat.com who partnered with sponsors like Nathan Packs, First Endurance, Backcountry.com and Moeben Sleeves.

Stay tuned for further details!

Well it’s that time of year were you need a piece of light weight gear you can use and pack away during your trail run. The Marmot Motion Jacket is new for Spring of 2008 and is perfect for mother nature’s surprises, one minute the weather is raining and cloudy but later it clears up. That’s when all 16 oz. of this coat can be stuffed away in your running pack with ease. The Marmot’s Motion Jacket is new for spring and really caters to the trail runner!

Remember this is a single layer shell that will not wicker moisture away as well as the Marmont Windshirt, but this jacket is perfect for those chilly mornings at your trail race!

Happy Trails!

The North Face is putting down the cash to attract the fastest runners in the sport! Last year was a huge show down between Steidl and Carpenter as Steidl held on for the win. The 2008 Endurance Challenge has a four race series:

1. Bear Mountain, New York April 12

2. Seattle, Washington May 10

3. Madison, Wisconsin October 18

4. San Francisco, California December 6

Its great to see The North Face step it up and create a more competitive atmosphere with some prize money for the runners! The sport needs more recognition and competition with in specific races, this is one way to do so.

Wasatch Speed Goat

Time to get ready for the Silver State 50/50 in Reno, Nevada. I ran this race a couple years ago and what a great event. The course takes you through two states California and Nevada.The first half of the course is real run able until you cross over the highway and you hit some monster climbs and then traverse through some beautiful pine trees which will be full of snow!! In fact with the snow fall this winter the course is going to be slow gong the second half!

C-ya on the trails

Wasatch Speed Goat