Merrell Trail Gloves Review-The Real Deal

The bottom line is that these shoes work. I have been running in Merrell Trail Gloves for 18 months. I finally wore through the tread. I wear them every day. Some days I do the Beach Body Insanity Workout. This is hard on shoes because of all the jumping and side to side motion. I love the trail gloves!

Why Run Merrell Trail Running Shoes?
Merrell Trail Glove Review
Give The Merrell Trail Gloves A Test Dri...
Merrells Are Tough On The Trails
Would Barefoot Ted Run In Merrell Trail...
Disadvantages Of Merrell Trail Glove 

Merrell Men's Barefoot Trail Glove

How To Get Free Running Shoes...

A few years ago I ran into my old track and cross country friend Tom Stambaugh.  He was the kind of runner that you loved to hate!  We were running a the 15k Minnesota Masters and my friend Tom had a bad day.  He average just under 5 minutes per mile and took a dismal second place.  His entire outfit was paid for.

He has been running in free shoes since high school.

So, what my point?  If you can run a 15 k under 5 minutes per mile, than you can get sponsored by Nike, Adidas,  or just about any decent shoe company.

Guess how many free shoes that I have received from sponsors?  Zero.  Zip.  Nada.  My mom bought me running shoes when I was broke and in college.  That was after I quit the track team.  She must have felt sorry for me.

My free shoe supply has been reduced to my 2 bare feet.  I got a free pair of 5 Fingers at REI when I returned my ripped out Vibram 5 Fingers.  I wonder if that counts?  Maybe I can stretch the truth and impress my friends that I am sponsored by REI.

Mellow Morning Run

This morning was a relaxing, mellow, morning run.  Our feet hit the pavement at 0540 hours and landed on the dirt at 0610 hours.  This dirt was rock hard!  We have not had rain for almost a month.  The Morrison Canyon ridge trail is just a cattle trail with no gravel and is completely undeveloped.  The open range cattle turned what little trail there was into a mini moonscape with hoof size craters all over the trail.  I love obstacles.

The trail posted a sign that it was closed until made safe.  It looked safe for me, so just like the health care reform bill was deemed "passed" we deemed this trail as "safe".

It was a beautiful sunrise over the entire Bay Area.  We could see as far away as San Francisco.  Everything was lush and green.

My feet are still adjusting to my Vibrato 5 fingers on the trail.  My left heel landed hard on a rock or a hoof crater and was sore all afternoon.  VFF are great in the mud and dirt.  When you traverse on rocky trails you run the risk of some very painful landings. 

Dan and I were noisy and scared most of the wild life away.  We get carried away and talk too much.  Honestly, the run up Morrison Canyon should be done every so often solo to drink in the wild life.  This place is loaded with deer, fox,coyote, hawks, and an occasional mountain lion.  At least we scared away the later!

We were plodders this morning.  In the afternoon, I can usually hammer out this run in 75 minutes.  With all of our talking and enjoying the scenery, we extended this run to the 2 hour mark.