Remembering (or perhaps being reminded) that I said I would post a review of the Merrell Road Glove soon, I put them on for a spin around town. I hadn’t worn them much since their test, the Ridge to Bridge Marathon last October. My impression of them hadn’t changed.
Let’s back up a bit. This was the most barefoot summer of my life. All of my runs were shoeless, except for the occasional trail run. I really should get over it and run the trails barefoot too, but I digress. At work, my time was spent running around in a gravel yard with a bunch of dogs. For that I wore sandals. I bring this up because my feet have never been as strong or as functional as they are now, and as they were on October 22. I was about to run a marathon in shoes, with feet trained to be bare and a running form rooted in the utility of bareness.
Grawr! Strong feet in shoe, on rock, in... pantyhose?
I got the shoe at the end of September, and there was no real opportunity to test them out on a long run before the marathon. Well, there were a couple of opportunities, but the weather was nice. I ran a total of about ten miles in them, but that was more to test the Yankz laces I thought I’d try out.
The race itself was dirt and gravel road, with rolling hills and a nine mile switchback suicidal descent. I ran tangents through leafy ruts and on the edge of rocky dropoffs. I bombed down the hills, catching runners and leaving them behind. They were taking the longer line to avoid all the debris. Nobody passed me for 26.2 miles.
Geronifreakinmo!
Truth is, I don’t really know enough about shoes or your footwear preferences to give you anything that might help you make a purchasing decision. There are quite a few bareshoes out there now, with varying degrees of bareness. There is also quite a variety of feet out there. My observations are pretty simple:
1. The snugness around the arch feels like arch support when I first put the shoe on, then I don’t notice it after a mile or two.
2. The soles are hard, which isn’t a big deal but I prefer a more moccasin-like shoe if I’m going to be wearing footwear on a road.
3. The toe box is very roomy and allows me to flex my toes the way I like.
4. I need socks if I want to keep the skin on my achilles. That’s true of just about all rigid shoes.
5. If I could only have one pair of shoes, these would probably be them. Mocs are more my thing, but they get really soggy in the rain. I LOVE my sandals, but the strings cause irritation on the tops of my delicate feet on runs. So the pair that works in the cold, the rain, on rough terrain, trails, and blending in with barefoot-hostile society, would be the Merrell Road Glove.
All of that pertains to me and my feet, but really that tells you nothing about how they would work for you. So to be a truly useful review, I need to give you something concrete, something indisputable.
And let’s not forget the disclaimer: I was given these shoes for free by Merrell, on a trip to NYC that was paid for by Merrell, right before eating meal after meal that was also paid for by Merrell. So savvy shopper that you are, you know you can’t trust a word I write. So again, I need to present something concrete. The only indisputable truth is
Ridge to Bridge Marathon:
2:58:48
Overall: 10th
AG: 3rd
Feet: intact, unbruised, sweaty.
Experience: focused on effort and the beauty of the wooded mountains around me, with no distraction from the shoe.
I would not have been able to do that in a shoe that inhibited the way I run.
So thank you Merrell, both for the mighty fine shoe and the opportunity to brag about my fastest marathon again.
At first I gave a “WTH!” to that elevation profile, but a PR is a PR, and I would brag about it too :p
I am glad the arch snugness went away for you. That was a huge turn off for myself.
The hardness of the soles was another characteristic of the shoe I did not like. If you like a moccasin fit, check out SkoraRunning.com
Brilliant – a review that is not a review, per se. Congrats on the PR!
If you’ll permit me to ask a tangential question unrelated to the shoe “review” (and, I don’t think you’ll mind at all): Do you feel that your training for this marathon made you faster or inhibited your potential for being faster?
I ask because there’s the common belief that marathon/ultra training zaps a runner of speed. And, given that your race times seemed to be progressively stellar throughout the course of 2011, even after the marathon in October, I wonder if you thought you might have been an even faster runner if it weren’t for that marathon training.
Or, did you consider the potential loss of speed during your marathon training and adjust your runs accordingly so as not to lose speed?
Or, did you just not really think much about the whole speed/endurance issue at all?
BTW, Merrell called: They’re waiting for that dinner you promised. And, they’d like their shoes back now. ;-P
Sell out! Sell out! Oh, wait, we’re over that. I’m still waiting for more free shoes. Congrats again on your sub-3 marathon. Cheers!
Thanks for the review! I’m on the hunt for a minimalist shoe that will help me survive my new northern home of Minnesota… This winter has been mild and my trusty KSO’s have done the trick so far with injinjis, but now that there is more snow, or maybe more of an issue: more SLUSH! I can see it being a problem… I’m hesitant to go with the Merrell’s simply because trying them on in the store they were tighter than I would have liked compared to my old flimsy VFF’s that are falling apart and while I know they will break in, I’m not overly excited about them yet.
I’m very curious about the Soft Star DASH RunAmoc Smooth… any insights or experience with these? I notice in your comment that you say moc’s tend to get really soggy… is it the same for the Smooth’s with no “mesh”?
If I missed a review please point me in the right direction! I really want a solid shoe that will last and help me become more of a all season runner. Conventional shoes are no longer an option for me due to a knee issue and I’ve been basically pain free for two years running in VFF’s
- Not As Barefoot Josh
Can’t help you with the other Soft Stars, I only have the moc3s. I wouldn’t turn down a pair of Dash’s myself, even though I’m totally fine with my current cold/wet weather rotation.
Re Merrells, don’t forget the Trail Glove has very adjustable lace eyelets. Having said that, you wouldn’t be the first person to find them too tight. Mine are pretty trashed (more from the dog yard than from running) and quite comfy.
Another option is thick wool socks in aqua socks. Wool is awesome. Thank a sheep if you ever get a chance.
Thanks! Yes, I was looking for wool toe socks too as another option with my KSO’s. Smartwool makes some, but only mini crew ones that I could find.
A mono-toed shoe would certainly help broaden my options when it comes to socks!
I’ll be sure to thank the next sheep I meet!