#43 - Standard Chartered Fun Run 2013 + Saucony Virrata

Yes - yes, the feverishly-awaited Saucony Virrata is finally in my hands.

The Race

It's a fun run, it's only 8km long, and it's held at Putrajaya in conjunction with World Youth Day. Oh, and Putrajaya is flat-lying, mostly. So there you go.

The Shoe

So, a word of thank you to Royal Sporting House for bringing in this shoe to this side of the world as it is now (I believe) widely available at all RSH-operated stores. Bought mine at Running Lab in Tropicana City Mall, but I saw the shoe at Stadium in Pavillion as well, so that's that.

It costs RM299. Cheap.

Before I proceed any further on the shoe, I should inform once again the root to my excitement towards the Virrata: before the Saucony blog announced the development of their new zero-drop shoe, the Kinvara was the only shoe that I reserve the highest praise to. It's like discovering a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow lodged somewhere within the fjords of Norway. It's the epicenter of perfectly-designed, flawless perfection. Much like Jennifer Lawrence.

Perfection!

The way everyone should see the Virrata is that it is the lighter, stripped-down, lower-profiled version of the Kinvara. And why not, because the two shoes are basically engineered and built using the same blueprint, and carrying the same DNA. But the biggest difference between the two goes down to the outsole.

Constructed mostly of deeply-carved moderately-soft foam (EVA+), it's very flexible, unlike the Kinvara which is a bit more rigid. Though it has high-durable rubber on the heel (XT-900) and the forefoot, where most wear usually occurs, it will be of little importance to me because I'm quite the heavy underpronator. So I'm expecting the much-softer exposed foam to wear out quicker than I would like it to.

Although Saucony markets this shoe as a zero-drop shoe, the amount of padding (or cushioning) that you get from the sole unit, all 18mm of foam, it somehow doesn't feel like it is completely level. But that's just me though as countless other professional reviews has confirmed the zero-drop claim as true.

Otherwise, to recap, this shoe is light, is pretty responsive, generously cushioned but not too much that it kills my pace, and is very flexible so as to somehow closely mimic the 'barefoot' feel. Of course, when I say mimic, it doesn't at all feel anywhere near barefoot-like. Ground feel is pretty much muted. But what you're lacking in that department is completely made up with responsive cushioning. As much as I love the Merrell Bare Access, I don't think I'd be able to do 21km in that shoe. My leg will tire sooner than I'd like it to. The Virrata though feels like a perfect candidate to take me on a much longer run.

Apart from that, my only complain regarding the shoe is the lacing system, which harks back to the lacing system of Kinvara 2 - it's kind of complicated. I don't feel like I could get a secure fit with the lacing system, although 8km of considerably high-paced running on a Sunday morning in Putarjaya has proved otherwise.

Final verdict? Barring the lacing system, the Virrata is a brilliant shoe.

#42 - Milo Malaysia Breakfast Day Run 2013 + Merrell Bare Access

Oh wow - it has been quite some time, isn't it? Ah well, since my inner muse is still vacationing in Timbuktu or somewhere, I have to make this a short entry, so I'm doing a two-for-one entry this time around. As the title suggests, this post will be about the Milo Breakfast Day Run at UPM Serdang, and my review of the Merrell Bare Access (the old model).

The Race

UPM, being UPM, and speaking from my experience with the 2011 edition of the Mizuno Wave Run, the route was unforgiving all the way. First there was a slight inclination, then a big drop, then a slight inclination, then a very big climb, then a gradual decline, then a climb... you get the idea.

Oh and how I have come to totally not enjoying routes with loops (thanks to Brooks Half Marathon). The psychological stress of seeing people running ahead of you running just beside you heading on the opposite direction can be very overwhelming at times.

Apart from the race, which was neatly organized (it's in UPM anyway so it should be pretty controllable), the breakfast though was far from satisfying. Or healthy. Or properly prepared. Or priced proportionately. Or palatable. I bought a packet of nasi dagang, which has the consistency of pulut, and it came with a packet of kari ayam, which was super oily.

It's shit.

The free Milo though was excellent.

The Shoe

It's awesome.

Lightweight, lots of ground feel but with a hint of protection (so if you stepped on a small rock you'll feel it prickling your feet, but you won't get a cut), and despite built as a quasi-barefoot shoe with not much else between your feet and the ground, the foam on the outsole does provide a decent amount of cushioning as well.

But largely because it is lightweight. Oh mama do my feet fly in those!

My only complain with this shoe is the outsole - since it's straight-up foam and not entirely covered (or protected) with high resistant rubber, I have a feeling that this shoe will wear out pretty quickly. I have seen the latest incarnation of the Bare Access, and this time Vibram rubber covers the entire outsole, which should help with wear. But because Vibram's are quite weighty on its own, I have a feeling that it will add a bit to the weight of the shoe...

And it is! The old Bare Access tips the scale at 5.6 oz, while the Bare Access 2 weighs in at 6.2 oz. Small difference, but when you're running in the shoe, that small number makes a world of difference.

Apart from that small issue, this is a very good shoe. Proper barefoot runners may disagree with me, but I am just a newbie runner who only just recently started to convert to natural running form, so this shoe works the best for me as an introduction to natural running.

(Runner's World did an article about natural running, but it is known as Qi running. Too 'new age' for me.)