Ultra Beast and Beyond: Running Swedish in 2019 First Impressions of the Greyhound

After a few weeks of contemplation I showed up late to the party in re-signing a contract with Salming Running. My main reasons for being unsure as to whether I wanted to take on ambassadorship were my lack of real performance driven events in 2018. While Ethan Allen 24HR was surely my pinnacle talking point of 2018, the truth is I'm not extraordinarily competitive, except on Strava and maybe Words With Friends. With a slight nudge from fellow cold weather runner and all around stud athlete Jeremy Drowne (Co-Owner of Kinetic Running in Plattsburgh, NY) I agreed to fly the Salming flag this year, hoping that my contributions last year were worthwhile for a company I really believe in.

Infinitus 88K

The Endurance Society's Instagram page messaged me last week about their epic Frigus race, with varying distances up to 50k on snowshoes. Since I was reluctant to pull the trigger on Nor'East Trail Runs Snowshoe 50k, which was today (3-3-19) I figured I certainly wasn't fit enough for Frigus a week prior. I was fortunate to race two snowshoe series races with N.E. Trail Runs this winter and led the series standings in points for a short time with one win and one 3rd overall finish.

Trying to stay goal oriented and keep myself honest with forward progress in training I signed for the Infinitus 88k, on June 1st of this year. The buildup period will be a steep ramp but I believe hat I am fit enough to show up ready on race day. Playing "Strava detective", I found that this course if 54 miles with around 9,000' of climbing. Training updates will likely follow this post in the near future.

The NEW Salming Greyhound

"The Master McGrath of Road Shoes"

Style Built for the Long Haul!

With minimal miles (5 to be exact) on these shoes I will be giving my first impressions, and will follow up further down the road with more details concerning durability, and how they perform on varying distances and speeds. As a trail runner I generally dont get too excited about the pavement pounders in my quiver, however these things are very sexy looking! The last is fully structured unlike the "sock like" fit that is more common in road shoes of late. The Recoil foam cushioning, coupled with the Vibram rubber outsole look to be ready for a large amount of miles. I am a very big fan of having a full rubber bottom, which seems to be one of the first things to go when a shoe company wants to shed weight. At 9.8oz. this shoe isn't necessarily a lightweight, but it seems to make up for it in the plush ride it offers. A 6mm drop and very thick stack height of 28mm keep you connected to the ground, but also make each step light and energetic. Additionally the toebox feels wider than some of the other Salming shoes I have worn (OT Comp, Trail5, Distance5, Enroute), which is helpful to not need to size up a half size or so, since Salming isn't widely carried in retail stores at the moment. As my Greyhounds and I get acquainted I will continue to update those who may be interested.