Here is a trail shoe you can use year around, as the rugged Montrail Vitesse offers the softest ride you will ever try! The Vitesse has more cushion then any other trail shoe out there, this shoe gives you confidence to bomb the downhills. The Montrail Vitesse is constructed with a big toe box to minimize that toe bang you get on the steep downhills, the luggy tread with the extra lug outside keeps you from feeling the rocks and rolling your ankle. I have used over 60 pair of these trail shoes and I still have not found a better ride! Be aware, this shoe typically gets tough to find as the season rolls on, good time stock up!

You can purchase the Montrail Vitesse right now for(MSRP: $84.95)

Simple biking gloves are the key to running technical downhills with confidence ! If you have ever done a en do, you know what I mean. When trail running down hill, wipe outs are part of the deal. what do you do, you put your hands out to break the fall. A pair of biking gloves can save your day! Imagine your hands grinding through the rocks with out protection, a meat grinder.  This is a very simple way to save yourself a lot of pain, you can also put a gu pack in the top of each glove for quick retrieval.

Happy Trails,

Wasatch Speed Goat

This weekend is one of the biggest Ultra’s in the country, the JFK 50 . This race is a speed race with past winners like Ian Torrence  there to break the 7 hour mark on the 50 mile distance. This years race has about 5-7 guys who could all win the race, depends who has the better day!

Check this out, Dave Mackey did the double cross at the Grand Canyon and set a new record breaking 7 hours posting a 6:59 time for the monster double cross. This course has about 40,000 vertical climbing and is very technical, this record should hold for quit some time until Anton or Kyle Skaggs takes a shot at it!

The “ORIGINAL” Marmot DriClime Windshirt has been one of my favorite running layers for a long time! The windshirt is made with a DriClime material that wicks moisture away from your skin into the second layer. The Marmot Windshirt is perfect for three out of four seasons, I start using the windshirt in the fall and wear it into spring. This shell keeps the wind snow and rain from ruining your work out! Warning you will be wearing this Marmot to work!

You can purchase the Marmot DriClime right now
on sale for (MSRP: $84.95 sale price $67.95)

This video was a question trail runner John Maack had, the speedgoat I paced for the Wasatch 100 2007. John called me at mile 35 with a sour stomach, I told him to drink a lot of water and get his stomach rinsed of all the acid build up. Once John drank enough water I told him to limit his foods and keep the Gu and E-caps going throughout the day. Once John followed my instructions, his stomach was fine from mile 75 (where I meet him) to the finish. Check out the coaching advice from Planet Endurance!

This weekend was the New York Marathon which hosted 38,OOO runners !! Wow, imagine being the race director for that many runners! There was a very unfortunate situation the day before the race, during the Olympic trials Ryan Shay collapsed of a heart attack! This really put a cloud over the weekend, condolences to his family and friends. It’s always a real shake up when one of your fellow runners passes away during an event.

It is hard to accept that such a fit human who loves to be in shape goes down without any warnings, at least he passed doing what he loves. Our thoughts are with Ryan and his family!

Wasatch Speed Goats

Ryan Shay R.I.P.

There are two schools of thoughts when buying a trail running shoe, the first one applies to trail running and road running, the shoe must fir your foot. Remember shoe companies are trying to make a shoe that fits every one’s foot and every one’s feet is different. Sounds like a tough task, ha! So with that in mind go try on shoe’s that fit your foot and compliments your type of stride.

Once you find a trail shoe that fits your foot and stride, you must consider the type of trail surface you are running on, a majority of the time. For example I run steep rocky terrain over 75 percent of my training miles, so I used the Montrail Vitesse for over the last 8 years. This shoe has a large toe box and I have long toes, that works well on the steep downhills. The Vitesse also has a anti roll extension on the bottom left side of the sole, this is one of the best features I have ever seen on a trail shoe! Last but least the Vitesse expels water quickly after running through creeks and the cushion keeps you sprinting through the scree fields with confidence!

There ya go, go evaluate your terrine, stride and foot shape and match up with a shoe then go enjoy the trails! Happy feet for all!

Wasatch Speed Goat

Trail race shows up with a $10,000 dollar purse for the top male and female! Wow, North Face is stepping it up! This will bring together the strongest group of runners ever! So if you are around December 1st, head to San Francisco and give it a shot for some prize money!

This is long overdue and should help bring recognition to the sport, but now will the Kenyans show up? Not until there is a Mercedes Benz at the finish line!

Wasatch Speed Goat

Last weekend Davy Crockett ran 100 miles on the historic Pony Express Trail in western Utah. Seven other brave runners joined him in this test of endurance against the remote, desolate, lonely desert. They had a great time running all night with a full moon through amazing landscape that has been largely untouched since the 1860s. Read my run report at: Pony Express 100

This event is low keyed with no entry fee and no aid stations, and it is really cold at night!