WOW what more great times of the Mountains over the weekend.. took a nice big group out again we went to the summit of Camaderry and more. started off as a great sunny day but the time we started to hit the the summit it went bit mad!! winds that took few of us of our feet !! sleet that would make your skin bleed!! as you can see in my pics i had to cover up my face to run in it!! but i really loved running in it all!!!
soon as the group went home I went for more miles in the hills and took home nice 28km after Camaderry run with had climb of 702meters in tough conditions... peace "HOKA Mafate 3" bomb proof bouncy and very comfy ultra trail shoe! The first time I ever saw a pair of Hoka's I asked myself who would ever wear them and why!! not known anything about them at all and never seen them before! but after a good few M.S.R interviews I've done with most of the ultra runners they said many good things about Hoka, so I started to look into them more and the more I started to see many people wearing them at many races and films online etc but still not seen in Ireland, after long chats with many people having wearing them to hear all their stories and all the things I've being hearing about I knew the Hoka are for me and in the end I went shopping and found the pair I wanted, now I didn't buy them for weeks as I really wanted to be sure this was a shoe I really needed… I set looking at them online for weeks to make sure I really needed them. as I've had many great trail shoes and still love my Salomon Speed Cross its an great all round shoe the Speedcroos is one of the best trail shoes I've ever had and love them lots I've ran many 30 - 40 and even 50k over the mountains in them and feet were feeling ok but toes were bit sore and had Black toe nails after that run! am still wearing them on training runs but just feel I want something with more comfort and bigger toe box… Also Wear the Vivo Barefoot trail shoes in the past years non stop trail running I did in them all summer day and night runs but no more then 30k as the pain in my calfs and the ball of my feet was killing me!! I've learned much good things about barefoot running and its more about your technique then just putting on them shoes and go running less you have a super good running stride and even at that you may still need some training with them, A friend of mine Rene Borg has helped me many of times with my barefoot running and I've done some training with him and his group which I found super good and Am getting better with my stride etc, but am not giving them up for the Hoka's but I feel it will take me to long with training my feet and body for them and its taking to long for me. I still needed to try a better shoes that would give me more toe space for long runs and still have the comfy feeling with out sore feet.. HOKA'S!!! You have to a little bonkers to wear the Hoka's but who am I to worry about looks!!!! 6 foot 2 tall dread locks and covered head to toe in tattoos am not one to worry about my looks as a runner!!! All the reports I've read were 100% great on the Hoka shoes! ya there is a few people that give out but there always is!! and not just about hokas.!! My feet feel great in the shoes and are so comfy with lots of room for the wee toes to play!! there also lighter than you may think and am starting to get used to the idea of them, there is lots of talk of this and that but till you have tried them its best not to give out so much about Hokas I did before and now I love them…!! I remember when I 1st got the Barefoot shoes sure most of you all gave out and now most of you wear them!!! I have decided I quite like the look of them as well spend few days looking down to see how my running stride was getting on but again its even better then before!! they have a great quick lace system so you never have to worry about your laces opening when racing!! They feel sturdy when running over anything as I've took on so far and I feel there well made and certainly are quite bouncy, people say you have to be a heel striker to wear them but am not and can run comfy on mid foot to toes going up hills even better then other shoes!… the extra cushioning soaks up all the impact going downhills which makes you go faster if thats what your into!! and dealing with Stones, Rocks, Roots wet Roots too and muck!! its all great fun and I've put them to the test, People I can talk for hours about the Hoka shoes but am telling you all Hoha's have made a shoe that will work on any trail am 1000000000000% happy for now… I've not gave them the ultra test but ill be doing that on the WWU 51km very soon and the Hoka Highland Fling thats 85km over the Scottish Mountains this year and cant wait.. no more rocks digging into my feet and sore toes after long runs…. After my 13k run today with john Kelly I gave them more testing for speed on down hills with muck and stones in the rain and they past and I didn't fall or even have to look down so much as I always do look down!!! I just ran at it with nice speed taking turns in the muck that never done before by me!!( am known to be slow ) as fear of falling or hurting my feet!! the shoes are bomb proof with rocks etc the shoe has so much comfort in bad conditions and lets you run fast and take on any rocks you have to look out for well no more looking down for me!! so hoka's and JuJu are in Love… they sure did make a super shoe made to take on any technical trails and open mountains again they good for me and makes me happy and run better, I just put them on and ran they handled me well on narrow trails with rocky paths heading down from Derrybarn Ridge with carefree and bouncy over the rocks and in the mud and wet grass as well, Hoka oneone shoes are ace!!!! a great shoe with great big lugs works great with mud and wet grassy downhills... And to end my big story they have a good feeling of flesh feet after any wet and mucky runs…. happy!!! P.S only one thing I can say BAD about them is when you take them off and walk about barefoot it feels very odd!!!! haha Peace WOW Super great price deals on trail shoes from Great Outdoors Dublin....
I've been wearing Salomon's for years and still love the there shoes !! if your looking for a great trail shoes at a super good price best ever I've seen... http://www.greatoutdoors.ie/index.php?cPath=237_251_349&filter_id=13&showall=1 Well bit behind with updates but must say what a great weekend with lots of MTB'ing, Hiking and Running and to see so many nice summits covered in snow while out and about over the weekend,
few pics to show you all... Hi.. if anyone would like to get my group logo printed onto their running gear it can be now done for a little price from shop called "t shirt print" its small shop in St. Stephen's green Shopping Centre, Dublin 2, Tel: 01 4782502 email: [email protected] and website http://www.tshirtprint.ie/ the code to use is: 239982 you must use that code for them to know the logo Mud Sweat & Runners if anyone gets it done can you send me a photo for my folders... Peace Well what a super run. up at 7am to walk my dog ( Patch ) in the morning darkness then got home just before the sun came up, got my running gear on and hit the hills before breakfast to start my adventure for the mountains!! and what a great run it was... had a super good time in the mist, Ice and rain.!! dam I love Ireland for the rain!!! didn't meet anyone for hours had the mountains to myself, lots of Ice on the trails mad it fun to run on! done a great big loop and took home 31:05km wanted to keep running but my dog was at home and needed some loving!!! there was lots of climbs in this run which I love too, details of run -Laragh - Derrybawn - White Hill - Shay Elliot - Ballyboy - Drumgoff Glenmalure - Tunnel of Love - Wicklow Way - Lugduff Gap - Wicklow Way back to Glendalough - Minners Rd - Wet Step - St Kevins Way - WW - and little more loops to cool down then into the cold river for my cool down..!! Peace WOW..!! what a great day for 2014 Art O'Neill ultra 53km Race, A big well done to you all that took part of the race and cant ask for better night / day for it, i didn't run it this year as for my toe injuries but taking part in the helping is just as fun!... hope you all recover good and see you on the trails soon. Peace Big thanks to John Guy from www.greatoutdoors.ie for my DVD... Defining Moment By Irish Ultra Runner John O 'Regan who's also done an interview with me in the past and for those not seen it here is the link... http://mudsweatandrunners.weebly.com/interviews.html |
AuthorAs most of you know I am very passionate about Mountain running and other outdoor sports like mountain biking, hiking, power kitting cycling etc. my love for running and sharing great trails with people lend me to starting group runs up and over time setting up M.S.R facebook page and website. my runs can be from 5 to 61km. am hoping to do longer distances in future. Our group runs are not just only great adventures but also happy times as you can see from the gallery photos. Archives
October 2015
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