Shoe Review: Salomon Fellraiser

Two runners walk into a shop...

I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere.  I'll have to think about it.  Normally, though, what happens when I'm one of those runners is that I see something on clearance that I'd like to try out, and end up buying some new kit.  Just before Christmas, I encountered a pair of Salomon Fellraisers on one of these "let's see what they have in here" visits, and somehow found my wallet opening.

To be fair, I've been been looking for a pair ever since I heard about them.  But, my general rule is never pay full price for something unknown just to satisfy my curiosity.  With a reasonable discount available, I bought a pair and waited until it was really nasty out to go and give them a proper test.

My usual test route is fairly local, up, down, and along Bredon Hill.  On the big day, I needed a decent length run, but didn't fancy cycling in the cold and wet.  So, I donned my road shoes, stuffed the Fellraisers in my pack, and jogged off to Elmley Castle, where the mud would be ranging from slippery and sticky to downright sloppy.

Wet, rainy, and muddy - perfect for a shoe trial.

The Shoe

In a nutshell, I view the Fellraiser as a mid-cushion, fairly flat, neutral, all-round off-roader.  It has the standard Salomon elastic lacing system.  The upper is a bit more substantial than the canvas Speedcross 3, and seems to release water very easily.  The tread is close-knit chevrons - much more so than I expected of a fell shoe, with considerably more lugs than you would find on a Speedcross 3.  Weighing in at just under 300g for my UK size 10, with a 6mm drop and reasonable level of cushioning, I would say the nearest comparison to anything else in my collection is the new Inov-8 Roclite 295.

Picture of the Fellraiser from Salomon's website - mine aren't this pretty anymore.

What the tread looks like out of the box...

The Fit

I've tried on Salomons of various types before, and always found the sizing to be out of step with everyone else.  True to form, I ended up with a size 10, compared to 9.5 in all of my other shoes (across 5 brands). EU size is 44 2/3, which tells me they really don't give a rats tail about conventional sizing, and just do their own thing.  That's fair enough, but I'd say you definitely want to try before you buy!

Once I'd found the right size, the fit is excellent.  I'm not a fan of the lacing system, but once I got it sorted out, the tension across the toe box and top of the foot was excellent.  I prefer laces I can re-arrange to help get a little extra tightness in the heel box, and I did struggle to keep the heel in place as well as I'd have liked.  I didn't have any rubbing or friction issues, but on the uphills, I felt like there was more movement than I get with some other shoes.  I may end up relacing with normal laces at some point, but we'll see what the Spring brings before I start to carve things up.

 

Grip

Aside from holding my foot, the next most important job of my shoe is to hold the ground. My usual route up from Elmley Castle is the one I chose for the Evesham Ultra.  At the bottom, it's incredibly muddy at this time of year.  Ranging from shoe-deep to shin-deep, with very little solid ground to connect to, the hill is the perfect place to check grip.  As usual, I slipped and skidded my way up through the filth.  Compared to my 2012 Crosslite XC test, I was practically skating on ice.  If anything solid appeared, I could grip onto it, but I wasn't digging into the mud as well as in my Crosslite XC or even my Roclites.  I stopped to have a look, and found that my tread-depth was minimal, with mud and leaves welded to the shoe.  Once I had 100m or so of grass to cross, the mud did release and I was back to having good grip again.

Mud stayed put longer than I'd have liked.

The wet and rooty trail across the top of the hill was no problem at all.  I felt well connected to the ground throughout, with enough cushion to comfortably handle any lumps and bumps.  Running down the hill on a combination of grass, rocky trail, and mud didn't present any problems.  Perhaps the mud doesn't stick as much when I'm actually running, as opposed to slogging like I did on the way up.  I'd say that, in a line-up against the Roclite and Crosslite XC, the Fellraiser matches grip on rocks and grass, but ranks 3rd of the 3 in proper mud.

Comfort

I love it. Absolutely love it. If I can get the heel fit a bit tighter, then I would have nothing to complain about in terms of comfort.  The cushion is comfy, but not excessive. I had a few road sections on my route, and the Fellraiser coped nicely.  Compared to my attempts to wear the Speedcross 3, which I felt left me completely disconnected from the ground, the Fellraiser was nicely responsive.

Summary

As one expects of Salomon, the Fellraiser is an excellent shoe.  It is comfortable, versatile, fairly light, and has good grip.  It is also, compared to some of their other shoes, quite reasonably priced.  I don't always wear shoes to the end of their natural life - sometimes they just don't tick enough boxes.  These will get worn until they fall apart.

Addendum, Feb 2015:  This pair worked well through the winter and was my shoe of choice for the Eco-Trail de Paris, where it performed well on both the trails and the final 10K-ish of road/paved path.  A second pair made it all the way through the 2015 Rocky Raccoon 100.  The heel box was a little loose when walking (a bigger deal in the longer race), which resulted in a tiny blister on each foot.  I'd love it if they were a bit lighter, but they are comfortable, and that's the key!

2014 in Review

It's that time of year to think about what happened last year and what I hope will happen in the coming 12 months.  This year is a bit different to the previous few, in that I haven't really got a clue what the long-term goal will be - the result of my "A" race and biggest challenge at the Rocky Raccoon 100 taking place in just a few weeks.  Only when that is finished will I have any idea of what my body is willing to do next.

So, how did I get into this situation?  Well, I blame Nic.  We enjoyed our Scottish racing so much in 2012 that it seemed foolish not to have another go in 2013.  For a variety of scheduling reasons, it seemed sensible not to go back and run the River Ayr Way Challenge again, so I had a look at some of the other SUMS ultras and decided the Highland Fling might be fun.  That went well enough that I decided a 24 hour race might be a laugh, and that in turn went so well I decided to look around for something warm in February to shoot for.  Simple, really, until I stupidly raced the Bourton 1mi Challenge in July and tweaked some already tender body parts.  I'd been running quite quickly until then, considering the Spring of ultra training, but had to wind everything back in and let the injuries drop back into niggles.  The racing dried up until cross country season started, where I've been enjoying some mildly competitive speed sessions as I try to get everything back in gear.  Now, with a dodgy 50Km Boxing Day run under my belt, I at least think I can complete the RR100.  But, with no real confidence that I'll be recovering quickly, I've only got a trip to the Eco-trail de Paris in March on the calendar - all other planning is on hold until February.

Racing Highlights of 2013:

Pictures, according to the slogan, are worth 1000 words.  So, here are a few highlights of the year in pictorial shorthand.

The Adventure Hub Exmoor Ultra -the hardest race I've run to date.

The Tewkesbury Half Marathon - friendship is as inspiring as any running achievement.

The Highland Fling - I'm still paying for this one!

Endure 24 - wow!

The Dahlonega Firecracker 10K - first old git!

And first xx-yy age group lady, too!

Running in the mountains in the sunshine.

My first trip to the Peak District

Vicarious racing - Nic & Chris being ultra-awesome

Gear reviews! So much fun to do.

Finding new trails in Andalucia

Sunny running in November

Finish run, open beer, stand in the sea!

Boxing Day wet-fest, at least from the ankle down...

Gear Review: Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab Hydro 5

As regular readers of this blog will have learned, I really enjoy trying out new gear.  In some ways, this stems from a constant search for perfection.  An alternative view is that I've got a short attention span.  Perhaps the charitable view is that it's a bit of a combination.  Anyway, I'd been discussing race pack options with Keith at www.ULTRAmarathonRunningStore.com for a while, when he informed me that the S-Lab Hydro 5 was coming in.  I knew that I probably had a few hours to make a decision before demand started to outstrip supply.  I checked the details, compared the price of the full pack to the price of a different pack and the two Salomon squeezy bottles (which I really wanted to try out anyway), and bit the bullet.  Yes, I bought the pack (if anyone wants to send me stuff to try for free, I'll happily oblige!), with the intention of wearing it for February's Rocky Raccoon 100.  Now that I've managed to clock up some miles in it, I can finally offer my thoughts on it.

So many great things about this vest!

Features

This race vest is packed with useful features.  As an overview, it has a compartment and thermal sleeve for a 1.5L bladder (bladder not included), a reasonably large mesh main pocket, a variety of small pockets accessible while on the move, and a second stretchy mesh pocket that's ideal for a waterproof.  There are some loops and straps to hold your hiking poles, a foil blanket, and a whistle. (I'll never figure out how to use the pole loops, given I use sticks for about 4 days a year for walking, but there are instructions for them on the pack tags).  The variety of straps on the shoulders offer some useful fixing points for accessories like gloves and hats.  There are also front pouches for the 500ml Soft Flasks.  The straps are fantastically adjustable, so you've got a pretty good chance of achieving a good fit.

Pockets, Pockets, Pockets!

And More Pockets

If you really want it to, the pack can hold a lot. Here, it's holding 2L of water, 2 hats, gloves, windproof, spare socks, first aid kit, foil blanket, whistle, phone, food, and a pair of Fellraisers.  The lower mesh pocket is, however, starting to release itself ever since the stitches popped with a much smaller load.

Fit

The vest comes in three sizes, XS-S, M-L, and XL.  This was my first concern point - with a 37" chest, I typically fall into the S-M category, and fall between sizes.  After a quick check with Keith, I opted for the XS-S size.  With some trepidation, I put on the pack and was overjoyed that it fit perfectly.  After a bit of tweeking on the Twin Link straps, I was able to quickly get the pack to stay in place on the run.  In fact, when wearing the pack, I have found I don't need to tape my nips because there's no fabric movement across my chest.

I have noticed that, when wearing the vest, I heat up quickly and it takes a while to regulate as I would with a looser-fitting pack.  I think the mesh isn't as breathable as it looks like it should be.  Any pack will alter your temperature, so the key is to know you'll sweat a bit extra with this on and react accordingly.  Once the mesh is properly damp, the moisture does evaporate.  I've already noticed I like the extra layer in the wind, but we'll have to see how it gets on in the heat next year.

(Update from Rocky Raccoon 100)
In hot, humid conditions (relative to my normal training), I practically melted in the pack. I just wasn't able to cool down while wearing it.  I suppose throwing some ice packs in might have helped, but really the best solution was to not be wearing it.  I have to say that I saw quite a few other Salomon race vest wearers sweating buckets as well, so bear the lack of airflow on the skin in mind if you're planning to wear a race vest in the heat.

On longer runs, though, I was finding the end of the Twin Link plastic rods is pressing against my rib cage and leaving a bit of light bruising.  I'm getting better at making minor adjustments in the Twin Link setup to redirect that pressure, and by using the higher clip positions on the lower strap, I think that's now fixed.  As with anything hyper-adjustable, it takes a bit of trial-and-error to make improvements, but we're getting there.

Things I Like

Broadly, the fit is pretty good.  I'm happy that there's no movement whether I'm wearing one or two layers.  The body of the vest sits nicely on my back and there's sufficient clearance under my arms to clear the side pockets, although the zipper tangs can stick out and irritate if not correctly pushed down after use.

The Soft Flasks are great.  If there's a bit of sloshing, you just have to remove the air and they will go quiet.  It's easy enough to drink from the flask without removing it from its pouch, though the flask can slip down to the bottom of the pouch as it gets empty.

Things I'd Like to See Improved

The first thing I noticed as I was deciding which pockets to use for which bits of kit was the lack of any waterproofing.  This makes for a light pack, but it also means I have to carry things I want to keep dry in a plastic bag.  Given that I live in the UK, I can be pretty certain I'll be training and racing in the wet for a significant portion of the year.  I suppose I could spend another £20 to buy a spare waterproof pouch for my phone - but that seems a bit unnecessary.  I normally use sandwich bags to compress spare Buffs, gloves, socks etc., so I guess I just need another one for the phone.

I'd prefer a closure I can manipulate on the move, and that fully closes the pocket.

The closure for the main pouch is effective, but I'm not entirely convinced by it.  If I've got anything heavy enough to bounce a bit in the pocket, there is a risk it will come out.  If the bag is mostly empty, I do notice my first aid kit moving more than is ideal.  Once the pack's a bit more full, the mesh fabrics hold things together much better.  A bit of a compression strap on the outside, like you find on so many other packs would be a big improvement in load management.  I may have to add one on myself...  I also struggle to open it while I'm on the move.  It's not impossible, but improvements are there to be made.

The Soft Flask doesn't seem as robust as I'd like.  One bite valve is already a bit drippy, which can be a irritating if it's chilly.  Given that the valve is one of the only solid parts of the flask, it should really be a more capable.

The workmanship on the outer stretch pocket could do with some help.  I asked Nic to stuff my jacket into it (easier than me doing it, since she was behind me).  Seconds later, the sound of a couple of stitches popping on the elastic of my rather pricey new toy made me wince.  The damage wasn't too bad, but it's probably best to have stretchy stitches at the aperture of a stretchy pocket, don't you think?

Things I Love

The outer "SensiFit" stretch pocket at the bottom of the pack.  My waterproof lives there for most runs.  I can get the jacket in and out easily enough (even easier, now there are a few popped stitches), and the stretch means it doesn't interfere too much with the loading of the main pocket.

The weighting of the Soft Flasks.  Splitting my water load on a longer run is great.  I love being able to take a load of drink with me without it all being on my back.

The size.  The pack fits everything I need for a full day out in almost any weather.  I've got other packs for days when I need to transport gear (e.g. route-marking days) or spare clothes (e.g. running back from somewhere that wouldn't appreciate my snappy trail outfits), but for racing I just can't see me needing anything else.

The pocket setup.  Having the side space divided into several pockets is great.  I find I run with lots of small stuff, so it's good to have it split up so it's all easily accessible (assuming I remember which pocket it's in!).

The snap-fit Twin Link straps.  I especially love the red hooks that call out "open this one, you dolt!".

Would I recommend it?

I've seen plenty of other race vests recently - they're all the rage, after all.  Every one has different qualities to it.  I struggle to see how one might find a better fit, given the adjustability.  The lack of any waterproof compartments means I've got to find a workaround for my primary running environment, so would always be a caveat in any recommendation.  If you don't care about that, then I'd say go for it - this is a great pack, and the longer I use it the better it gets.

Bideford Bay 50K - Putting Demons to Bed

Nic's report on the BB50K

Not finishing the Hardmoors marathon in Saltburn this August was a huge blow for me.  I spent lots of time trying to figure out why things went so wrong, and concluded that lack of preparation was the biggest issue.  I didn’t spend enough time thinking about the race profile and my nutrition strategy.  I was, in short, a bit too relaxed!  My friend Roy said I should enter another race as soon as possible, that I should ‘get back on the horse’.  So when I heard about the Bideford Bay 50K in North Devon, I didn’t think too hard about entering it.  I love coastal trail running and North Devon is one of my favourite places.  It was an ideal opportunity to heal some wounds.

I hadn’t left myself much time to train properly in terms of running great distances, but fortunately I had some annual leave after our Cotswold Way Century, so I focussed on back to back runs, a strategy that has worked for me before both my other ultras.  I clocked up over 60 trail miles, mostly running with a little hiking, over 8 days on my holiday, in the Cotswolds, Peak District and Northumberland, then had a good week of rest.  I thought long and hard about my pacing strategy.  I’d had a chat with Adrian Colwill, the BB50K RD at our race and he’d briefed me about the course – 20 miles of hills then 10ish miles of flat as the course followed the river estuary.  I decided to abandon any kind of pacing strategy and just treat it as a nice day out, running where I could and hiking the hills.  I even decided not to wear my Garmin, so I could run on feel and not worry about keeping any kind of average pace.  At the Hardmoors, I ate too much sugar too soon and probably crashed.  This time I buried the sweet stuff at the bottom of my pack where I couldn’t reach it!  I planned to eat nuts, a cheese sandwich, fruit malt loaf (buttered), and some salty potato wedges, only reaching for the gels and shot bloks after 20 miles.  About a week before the race, my friend Chris suggested that we run together for moral support.  I wasn’t sure – I normally like to run alone.  And she is quicker than me on the flat – I didn’t want to be over-doing it trying to keep up, but I thought we could start together and see how it went.

Race week was a busy one, after a 9-hour drive home from our holiday in Scotland, and jumping straight into a manic week at work.  Friday evening came and we headed down to Devon.  We had booked a cheap hotel near Barnstaple so we had only a short drive to the start in the morning.  We were sad to find there was no nearby pub for a relaxing beer.  However, Kurt went on a beer run to the convenience store and found some Doom Bar – one of my favourite ales.  Unfortunately, we hadn’t thought to bring a bottle opener…. Some creative use of a teaspoon and a bath towel and we managed to prise open the tops and enjoy a nice beer.   Perfect race prep!

After an ok sleep, we made our way to the start at Hartland, via Bideford to pick up Mitch, who was also running.  Kurt was planning to spend the day helping out at the finish.  The facilities at the start were great, and there were even lovely ladies selling tea and coffee for those who wanted it at 7am!  I felt very relaxed and happy and enjoyed the pre-race buzz, thinking how lovely it was to be just a runner rather than having the pressure of being a race-organiser.  Chris arrived, somewhat harassed, having thought it was an 8.30 start, not 8.00 – oops!  She just had time to get her number on and we were lining up for the start – no chance to get nervous anyway!

The first mile or so was on the road, heading to Hartland Point.  It felt like it was going to be a beautiful day, milder and less windy than forecast.  The crowd around us all felt very amiable and Chris and I enjoyed a nice catch up.  It wasn’t long before we reached a sign for the coast path – and here was the first sticking point.  The route was not marked, and some people thought we had to run all the way down to the quay before coming back up the hill and then joining the coast path.  I was pretty sure I hadn’t read this instruction, and I’d been in the loo for the first part of the race briefing.  There was lots of confusion – some people hopped onto the coast past, some headed down the hill, some people were coming back up the hill in the opposite direction!  A little arrow here would have been very nice indeed.  We followed some people down the hill, wondering if there was another way onto the coast path.  It turned out there wasn’t and we came back up the hill and joined the path.  It all seemed a bit pointless and confusing.  There were a few p***ed off runners, but it didn’t really matter – I felt pretty happy just to be off the road and on the trails.  We were having a good chat with each other and those around us.  The views across to Lundy in the pink early morning light were stunning and my mood was very light-hearted indeed.

Sun and clouds over Lundy in the distance.

The next 20 miles were more or less the same.  We hiked up steep hills and then picked our way down them.  Again, and again and again.  We would climb up steeply for 500ft, then plunge right back to sea level, then straight back up again.  There were also some woods and some fields, but mostly there were lovely sea views and tricky paths.

New hill, new view!

Fruit cake! Score! (Picture by Roy)

Chris and I stuck together.  I’m sure she had to wait for me a bit on the flat, but we were pretty evenly matched on the hills.

Sea level?  Yeah, it's back there where the last downhill finished. (Picture by Roy)

Kurt asked me later what my favourite part of the race was.  My answer was the point about around 16 miles where we reached a checkpoint and found Chris’ partner Roy and his son Alex (and Idris the dog) there.  Roy said how good we were both looking, we tucked into some lovely fruitcake and agreed that yes, we were feeling good and having a lovely time.  It was my favourite part because it was at that point I knew that barring injury, I was going to finish this race.  I felt strong, had only another 5ish miles of hills to go and was full of positivity.

Always nice to be met by Idris the ultra-dog. (Picture by Roy)

Well, that good feeling didn’t last long.  We climbed out of the village checkpoint up a very, very steep ascent, with lots of steps.  It really took the wind out of our sails and every hill after that was hard.  We got slower and slower, and the downhills became harder and harder too, with too many steps to be able to run them.  In this race, the downhills were just as hard as the uphills, affording us no recovery whatsoever, we were concentrating so hard on not going head over heels.  After about 20 miles, we knew we should be almost done with the hills, but still they kept on appearing in front of us!

Looks like an estuary. Does that mean the hills are finally over?

The view to the south of the coastline we’d conquered was stunning, but we were so desperate to see the river estuary to the north!  Seeing Roy, Alex and Idris again just before Westward Ho! was a lovely blessing as they were able to reassure us that all the hills were done.  In actual fact though, for me this was where the hard part of the race began.  I thought some flat would be welcome, but it really wasn’t.  I struggled far more than Chris to keep grinding out the miles.  But somehow, we kept ticking along.

My biggest down point in the race (quite literally) came about about 31 miles in, when we had to make a decision whether to follow the coastal trail along the low tide or high tide route.  As we had a few miles earlier taken the low tide route along the lovely, firm sandy beach at Appledore, and the tide was clearly out, we opted for the low tide route.  What a mistake!  The mud was ankle deep and properly squelchy.  I slipped on an uneven camber and fell onto my side, bruising my hand, shoulder and hip, and getting very muddy.  I wanted to cry, and I’m sure if I hadn’t been with Chris, I would have wallowed in my misery!  After trudging through the mud, we had to do an about turn as we reached an impassable channel – grrrrrrrr!  We really didn’t need that so close to the end when we were so tired.  But never mind, we were almost at the end and I was bound to fall down at some point – at least I didn’t do it on a steep, rocky downhill!  After another 10 minutes or so, we finally had the end in sight.  Dodging the locals during their Saturday afternoon stroll, we crossed the line hand in hand, all smiles.  It took 8 hours and 40 minutes, was around 5,000ft of ascent, and we were almost last, but it didn’t matter.  For me, I had well and truly put my demons to bed, with a pretty hard race.  Running with Chris worked well, as we helped each other – I dragged her up the last few hills and she dragged me the last few miles on the flat.  I discovered that it is also much harder to have a proper low patch when running with someone else – I don’t like to lose face by showing too much negative emotion so I had to keep my positive face on all the time.  The old adage of ‘fake it till you make it’ worked for me in this race!

So I had a few issues with this race, in terms of its sometimes vague markings and instructions, but I would do it again, and I have total confidence in Adrian to fix these issues for next year.  It was properly hard, but I think with some solid hill-training, and a couple more ultras under my belt, I would be able to do a bit quicker.  And the main thing is, I feel positive and confident about my running again.