Being an avid fell and trail runner, obviously I opted for their Pure Grit 2 shoe, which is their trail version. With a 5mm drop between heel and toe (21mm/16mm) it's a minimalist shoe, not 'barefoot' (zero drop) and 1mm higher than my usual shoe of choice, the NB MT110.
I've been looking for a replace for my 110's, as NB's apparent brain fart in design is hurting my shins. The outside of the shoe sits 3.5mm higher than the instep, creating a ridiculous tilt in the foot, ankle and leg! Great shoe...apart from that seemingly ridiculous feature! I have tried on some new Inov8 TrailRoc 245's, and I'm impressed with the feel from a quick try, but wanted to wait and try the Grits.
Brooks organised with a selection of vendors around the UK to host the demo's from, my local being Pete Bland Sports in Kendal, Cumbria (@peteblandsports) a main stay for any runner in Northern England.
The demo was for 7 days, and I was forced to turn up a day early due to staffing issues at work! Not an issue at the shop though as they kindly allowed me to come down on Friday 15th Feb to pick up the shoes.
I hadn't even seen the shoe previously so I was happy to see a pretty nice looking shoe, with asymmetrical lacing and what Brooks call the 'Nav Band' an elasticated band around the mid foot to provide a perfect fit for all feet.
The asymmetrical lacing and red/silver Nav Band
The second thing I noticed was the split toe on the sole, separating the big toe from the remaining toes. Inside the shoe however the split isn't there, it is entirely on the sole of the shoe, the interior is the same as a regular running shoe.
The 'Toe Flex'
So now I had the shoes, time to test them out!
Putting the shoe on first time was awesome! the insole is super comfortable and the uppers are entirely seam free inside the shoe, and boy does it feel good! I generally run without socks, so an instantly comfy inner is a big thumbs up! The tongue is part of the upper down the outside edge, and free on the inside edge, creating a wrap of the foot nicely. The Nav Band is non obstructive and barely perceptible once you are laced up, but the shoe feels great, nice and snug around the mid foot, and spacious in the toe box.
I had arranged to meet #AgentA at his house just outside Ennerdale and then we would make our way down to the lake and make one lap of the valley trail, which comes in at 15.7 miles with a little over 1000ft of ascent. It was a big ask of both of us, the furthest I had ever ran was a home made 13.2miles, and #AgentA had only ever ran 11 miles (BG leg two the week previous, see previous blog for report).
Needless to say we were both a little apprehensive, but off we went! having never ran as far we set out pretty canny, blasting out the first mile would surely haunt us later!
We ran counter clockwise around the lake in order to climb over Anglers Crag in the first 2 miles, rather than the last 2! After the crag the trail literally became a river, the recent snow melt had saturated the fell sides, and was using the trail as a quick way down to the lake! 4 very wet and pretty slow miles later we escaped the wet and got onto drier trails. The Grits had handled the wet rock and mud exceptionally well, and super comfortable on the run, my feet weren't feeling any of the rock strikes from the previous miles, so I was pretty happy!
On the run itself i couldn't get my head into it, I was worried about the distance, and worried about doing myself in! i quickly adopted the 'walk the hills' mentality and plodded on, enjoying the scenery of the Ennerdale Valley.
Pillar Rock
The turnaround at the head of the valley was a welcome sight, and its actually a little further than half way, so now there was about 7 miles to go, and although my legs were feeling it, i knew the bulk of the run back was downhill on decent trail! We finished in just under 3 hours 30 minutes, slow to some, but glad to have finished for us! Amazingly my feet felt awesome! I would never advise anyone to ever take a pair of new trainers and run 16 miles in them, but they were comfy the whole way and my feet felt fresh as a daisy, though they didn't smell it!
The next outing for the Grits was the 5.5 mile up Latrigg, over the back and home through Brundholme woods. Once again the shoes performed amazingly well. Grippy on the steep ascent, and holding their own through the mud fest of the switchbacks.
On the descent to the woods I fully expected to be sliding around, and was surprised to find a full descent without any slips. The trail through the wood was, as usual, ankle deep in the best of British mud, but besides the expected sideways squelch, there was no dodgy footing or slippages.
Tuesday brought a quick and short bimble up and down Rannerdale Knots from the Crummock end, a mere 810 feet in less than a mile...yep its that steep! Gladly the weather was absolutely stunning, the ground was soft and dry and quite possibly, for the first time ever, I ran in February in just shoes and shorts! Ridiculous but necessary as the shirt was removed after about 2 minutes! The grits were great, up and down, truly loving them by this point!
Reflections on Crummock looking toward Buttermere Fells
Red Pike, High Stile, High Crag, Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike
Looking over Crummock toward Lorton Vale
Inca Post Run with Melbreak overlooking Crummock
The final run before the Grits are returned was this evenings 9 miler around Derwentwater after work. It was baltic, no messing around it was utterly freezing! Being a man however I rocked up in the Grits, 3" split shorts, a base layer and a long sleeve running top :-D and yes, my legs were cold, but thats life!
The Derwentwater route is a mixture of hard packed trail, roads and rock strewn forest paths, and with a little over 300 ft of climb, its basically flat! Once again I found the shoes perfect, superb cushioning for a minimalist shoe, great feel around the foot and feedback from the ground is great. Running tonight with a friend from work we pottered along putting the world to rights the whole way round, coming in only 3 minutes behind my PB, and considering how easy it felt both on the legs and my breathing, I dare say that without the conversation I would be able to smash my PB.
All in all I ran 32 miles this week in the Pure Grits and I truly enjoyed every moment. Undoubtedly for heavy mud they won't stand up to the likes of Inov8 X-talon and Mudclaws, but as everyday trail shoes they are great, definitely as a replacement for the 110's I think they are perfect. 32 miles is coincidentally the biggest week i've ever had
Gutted to return them tomorrow, they're looking a bit sad drying off by the fire too ;-)
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