The 100 mile shoe

What shoe is best suited for running 100 miles? This is a question I've been trying to figure out the past couple years. I've ran in the Brooks Launch and the Brooks Cascadia 7 in my two previous 100 mile races. On April 19th at the Zion 100  I will hopefully have picked a shoe that will keep my feet feeling happy and maybe even keep some toe nails this time around! 

For Zion I have 3 pairs of shoes that I will potentially run in come next Friday(I'm confident I found the one). The New Balance MT 110, Hoka One One Bondi B  and the Pearl Izumi N1 trail. I have narrowed my selection down to my top pick and will share with you why I believe this shoe is right for this course. 

Photos below taken by Myke Hermsmeyer

New Balance MT 110 

 I never thought I would run consistent miles in a light-weight, low profile trail shoe but this one just seemed to work for me. Most of the shoes that I have trained and raced in have been in the 10 ounce range. This shoe weighs in at 7.6 ounces in a men's 9 with a 4mm drop and 16mm stack height. The 110 provided plenty of room in the forefoot, great traction on snow and wet conditions and the rock plate and stiffer out-sole kept my feet from getting bruised on rocky terrain. The upper held up nicely and the soccer cleat replication on this end seemed to work well. I did most of my running in this shoe from mid January 13' up until Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50 mile (March 23, 13) and I was shocked at how well I ran in this shoe with bigger mileage weeks. I made the decision to use this shoe at the Buffalo Run after running a couple 4+hr long runs during training. This shoe was created by designers at New Balance with heavy input from both Anton Krupicka and Erik Skaggs.

Although the 110 worked really well at the Buffalo Run 50 mile, this course was fairly flat and hard packed compared to the sandy/hillier Zion 100 course. My experience with wearing the Brooks Launch at my first ultra which left my feet and quads feeling like hamburg has scared me away from taking this shoe past 50 miles. This minimal shoe has done so much for my form and strength that I will still use this in training and trails runs from 50 miles and below. Incorporating a minimal shoe into your training can be a very valuable tool if built into your mileage patiently.

From little to BIG.... on to my next shoe.

Hoka One One Bondi B 

Hoaka Bondi B

This is another shoe that I thought I would never try out because it looked like a clown shoe! I changed my view quickly about this shoe during the Bear 100 and the final 25 mile death march to the finish. My girlfriend Hannah picked me up at "The Yurt" at mile 78 and we took off into the night with good energy. This energy quickly faded for me and my body went into shut down mode. Along with my body my feet were throbbing and every rock I landed on shot pain from my foot up my body. This race I wore the Brooks Cascadia 7 which was a beefier shoe compared to the Brooks Launch that I wore the previous year. I was excited to try this shoe out because of the hype local Ultra Runner "Johnny Wasatch" gave to this shoe. Johnny wore this shoe at the Hardrock 100 this past summer and ran them into a 12 place finish. I though if that shoe can take the 33,000+ft of climbing and decending then its got to be the right 100 mile shoe. It worked for Johnny W. but not Johnny F. 

On the last LONG decent down to Bear Lake and the finish of the race I was still walking and couldn't muster up a run even on the downhill. At this point I was getting passed left and right which was difficult to see. I noticed what seemed like everyone was wearing the Hoka One One shoes. After limping into the finish and laying down for a little bit I decided to seek out some Hoka One One runners. They reported that their feet held up nice and they were really happy with the shoe. This made me really curious about this shoe and I 

needed to try it out. 

Bondi B meets NB 110 

I decided to try this shoe out on my return back to running and it was definitely a soft ride. The Bondi B weighs in at 11 ounces, has a 4.5mm heal to toe drop and a stack height of 35mm in the heal and 29 on the forefoot. The major complaint I had about this shoe was the lack of feedback and feel for the ground, especially while climbing. I will say it is a fun shoe to bomb down a steep grade!

After some playing around with this shoe I knew that I couldn't race in it because of the lack of feel and the way I felt while climbing. I think this is a great shoe to use for recovery runs and easing back into running after a hard race but not a racing shoe for me. 

Having fun in the Hoka One One Bondi B's 

Comfy shoe but no feel and pretty expensive ($160) 

Pearl Izumi N1 Trail 

Timothy Olsen wore this shoe to a 14:47 and new Western States 100 CR

This shoe caught my attention because of the simplicity and that it looked to have some protection but not too much bulk to it. The N1 Trail weighs in at 9.6 ounces and a drop of 3.5 mm with a unique "dynamic" offset in the mid-foot. Pearl Izumi wanted to create a smooth ride with added protection under the metatarsals. In doing this they moved the take off point which is typically under the 1st ball of the metatarsal  rearward. This makes for a smother transition to toe off and eliminates the "slap" that some runners create on landing. 

I stopped by the Runner Edge and after trying on way too many shoes I settled with the N1. I'll have to say it took some time to get used to the mid-sole cushion but this shoe is nice and stiff and offers plenty of protection on rocky trails and felt great climbing and descending. The more I wear this shoe the more confident I feel wearing it against the sandy rocky Southern Utah desert. 

This shoe dries out fast 

Overall I liked the NB 110 and sensory feedback I got from impact but I don't feel confident testing this shoe out over 50 miles just yet. The Hoka Bondi B was a comfy shoe that was fun as hell to descend with but the limited ground feel has pulled me away from wearing this shoe over the 100 mile distance. The Pearl Izumi N1 Trail is what I will be starting the Zion 100 with and I am excited to see how it fairs over the distance. I love the smooth ride that it creates and the weight of the shoe and protection seem to be just right. I'm excited to settle into a groove running in the N1 Trail next week!