FYI: Shoes
Let’s move on to a lighter topic: Which shoes am I going to use for Western States? I’ve been getting this question a lot, especially when I tried to shamelessly get rid off some test shoes that did not work for me ("I don’t want to buy your used kicks, but what’s the shoe that you’re actually gonna wear?!").
For the last 3 years I did every marathon and ultra distance in mountainous terrain with either the Salomon Sense Ride or the Salomon S/Lab Ultra. Both have an amazing ground feel and almost unparalleled grip on basically every surface. However the biggest flaw (for me) is that they are too narrow. I need a roomy toe box, otherwise I get all sorts of terrible nerve pains (you don’t want the details) especially when running for long hours. To solve this I’ve been cutting my shoes open on the side (ca. 1 cm horizontal cut where the foot is the widest). A trick I’ve been using for road racing shoes for almost 5 years now. Downside of this is, that dirt (especially sand) and little stones enter through these self inflicted extra holes. Usually I don’t have to stop more often than 1 or 2 times during an ultra, but it’s still annoying.
Since I love Adidas road running shoes very much (Boston 7 is the best shoe ever created) I tried some of their Terrex models. First attempts were sobering. Very stiff, terrible ground feel, extremely inflexible and heavy as fuck. In the end it was a very detailed and well done YouTube Review by my fellow Willpower Athlete and Runners World editor Henning about the new Adidas Terrex Agravic Ultra that convinced me to give the Terrex series one last shot. And who would have believed it? It’s a perfect fit! Literally speaking. It has a surprisingly roomy toe box (no need to cut it open), but at the same time is very tight on the instep and heel, which feels great and delivers a feeling of security, especially when the legs start to get tired. That’s exactly when this shoe plays out its strength the most. It’s not the lightest and not the fastest trail running shoe, but it is one hell of a tank. Great stability, great protection, great grip and an adequate ground feel. Although the Agravic Ultra is made for rather technical mountain terrain (which Western States isn’t), I find it so unbelievably comfortable, that I would use it in any "runnable" race as well.
To get to the point: The Agravic Ultra has made the cut. But I will bring the Sense Ride as a backup shoe. More text than you wanted to read? You are welcome.
PS: The Agravic Ultra has a very fast little sister, the Terrerx Speed Ultra (2021). Adidas really need to fix their shoe model naming. It’s totally confusing. I use the Speed Ultra for distances up to 30k and it does a great job.