Yesterday, I went back to the future.  Well, I guess technically, I ran a virtual race that celebrated the arrival of a fictional character to the future from a real film from thirty years ago.  Or something like that.  🙂

I’d signed up for this race from Virtual Nerd Runs quite a while ago, and pocketed the medal, with plans to run it on the day Marty McFly was to visit 2015.  Well, he didn’t show up on October 21st, and neither did I.  Nursing a re-aggravated minor foot injury suffered at the Go! Halloween race two weeks ago, I’d taken it easy for these last two weeks, only breaking my rest to run in the Rock ‘n’ Roll 5K last weekend.  After two weeks, it was time to hit the road again.

And I had a carrot in front of me to get me out… new shoes.

In one of the Facebook running groups I belong to, someone mentioned getting new shoes from Hoka One One.  I asked what made them so special, and got some answers I liked.  I hit their website, and started looking at men’s road shoes.  They had selection criteria on the website, to help narrow the field.  I selected my weight (and yep, they had a category for big guys — good for them!), a plush ride and a wide fit.  The listing was narrowed to two shoes, and from that I dug into the Bondi 4 Wide.  I started looking at reviews in print and on YouTube, and folks just raved about this shoe, especially if you “carry some weight on your frame.”  This suited me perfectly, and I ordered a pair.

They arrived on Wednesday, but I couldn’t carve out time until yesterday at lunch to try them.  I went up to the Greenway, and jogged a little bit in them followed by some walking.  I really like the comfort of them, but man, they are tall!  Part of that really comfortable fit is a tremendously thick sole, well over an inch high from heel to toe.  I was a little nervous that extra height might feel unstable, but surprisingly, I never noticed it.  Despite being wide, these shoes were snug, but in a good way, kinda like a really good glove.  I felt sure-footed throughout both walking and running, and found that my knees, calves and shins were really comfortable after five kilometers.  I think part of that is the way the sole is shaped.  It has a upturn at both the front and the back, so you land on a flat surface under the heel, rather than the edge of the sole, and then roll through the step until you come off the toes.  I think other shoes probably do this to some degree, but this is a pronounced shape, and I believe it really helped.

So, another virtual race is in the books, on a rather cool day (finally!), and with what appears to be a wonderful new pair of kicks to keep me on the trail!

This race benefitted the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Race Course