SALMING ELEMENTS

Running is not something that we save for a special day, in fact it’s quite the opposite, every day we run is a special day!

Now what makes it even more special?

Maybe a race that one loves (some people love every race)

Maybe a friend is joining you, (or you are getting to run alone)

Maybe you have a great route planned

Maybe you have new shoes…

I have NEW SHOES,

I have #nononsense trail running shoes,

I have a new pair of SALMING ELEMENTS

Ready for the trail

I got them from a little shop in Cavendish Street MOOVE CLAREMONT.

The day I got them I had already run 25km that morning, so the first run would have to wait! OK I walked out of the shop in them, and then ended up walking around Cavendish in them. (Yes my lovely wife was with me!)

Now this is a serious trail shoe, just look at those studs… The walk around was good for me (no not the shopping) it’s a good first test for a pair of new shoes.

     They were great and my feet felt great, no sinking feeling from a too soft sole, no stud pressure, and with that wide toe box no squeezing of the toes.

Roll on Sunday… It wasn’t on the program, but sometimes you let the shoe guide you. From my house it’s about 1km to the Green belts, and as I walked out the door I found myself drawn to the grassy/sandy pavements. The grip on the road wasn’t like an F1 car burning rubber, but like a 4x4 trying to rip up the tar… In the Green Belt I was chewing up the trail. To overtake people I would take a wide berth looking for rougher trail.

Ripping up the trail

I took them into Newlands Forest for a little run with the club, but while it was getting dark the guys turned back, but I needed more, so I headed to Rhodes Mem! Up the steep gravel road on along the contour to Plum-pudding hill. It was dark, yes I had my headlamp with me but it was not needed as I headed down, every step was true, it didn’t really matter where I put my foot!

Time to tackle the dark

 This is a NO NONSENSE trail shoe:

I’ve taken them up Skeleton Gorge and down Nursery Ravine

No slipping back down

 I’ve run round Constantiaberg climbing over Vlakenberg and running The Manganese Mines. (known for shredding up unworthy shoes)

Then, I’ve raced in those new shoes… and I want more!

The one thing that stands out from the race is that at the end of the race, the 2 distances joined for the last 500m on a very steep, very bad gravel road. I was still chasing hard so I was passing a lot of the guys (and girls) from the shorter race. I was taking the shortest route around the turns while they, were looking for the easiest route down, not wanting to slip! I took the inside line, the tight line, while a young lady was taking a wider line, she was slipping (not falling, or I would have stopped to help, but waving her arms around and letting out sounds I don’t really have a clue how to spell!)

VWS race, last couple of meters

Bring on the trails I want to see how these hold up to many more mile…

Bring on the winter storms (not only because we here in Cape Town need the water) but I hear these are made for water!

Now for you guys (and girl) who want to know a little more about what SALMING stands for I had a little look on their web page, and they talk about things I understand, Their Rule of 5™

And this is taken from their sight:

The Rule of 5™ is basically what steers us in the shoe design process. It’s firmly based on our running gospel, the Salming Running Wheel™, which has the Pelvis as the hub and center and then five spokes: posture, lean, arms, cadence, and foot landing. From that, the Rule of 5™ derives the five cornerstones – light, flexible, flat, proprioception (thin) and anatomical fit (comfortable):

Light as in light-weight and improving running efficiency; enabling you to have time to complete the run cycle and land with your foot underneath the center of gravity.
Flexible as in imitating the foot flexibility in order to mimic the barefoot running technique – Salming Torsional Guidance System 62%/75°.
Flat as in low heel to toe drop facilitates correct foot landing, becoming more naturally balanced with gravity.
Proprioception as in improved sensory feedback from feet to the brain. If the midsole is too thick the sensory feedback gets distorted.
Anatomical fit as in roomy toe box and basically the foot is able to function exactly as nature intended it to.