Shoe Review: Brooks Pure Grit

I rarely do "shoe reviews" on here but felt compelled to do one for the Brooks Pure Grit - the trail version of the PureConnect line. I've been looking forward to getting these shoes for awhile and thanks to the Brooks ID program, was able to procure a pair yesterday. Of course, I went right out and tested them on a 10 mile run in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Pure Grit.

Right out of the box, my first impression was very favorable. The upper of the shoe was form-fitting but not uncomfortably so. It was almost as if they were custom made for my feet. The laces are rugged and built for off-roading, reminding me of the laces on my NB MT101s. Overall, it was a very solidly constructed shoe.

As I made my ascent,  I was a bit surprised by how heavy they felt. Now "heavy" is all relative but at 8.9 ounces, I felt every one of those ounces. When doing long, steady climbs the last thing I want is to notice the weight of my feet. Also, they felt a bit "foamy" on the sole - noticeably more so than my MT101s or Racer ST5's (my other two favorite trail shoes). On ascents especially, I like to be able to connect with the ground which ironically with their trail version of the "PureConnects" I wish I was able to do more of.

The Pure Grits really shined on the descent however. The padded soles really absorbed the pounding and rocks well and the "grip" of the soles were evident. I was able to rock the downhills (or about as much as I'm able to right now) without really thinking about feet protection and was instead able to focus on footing.

Overall, these are really solid trail shoes and I will definitely include them in my rotation. However, I think they will be better served for the longer stuff (20+ miles) than shorter jaunts in the dirt.

Catching Up

Not much running = Not much to write about.

 It's been a busy couple of months but very little of it involves running. Lately running's taken a backseat to some of life's priorities and without a target race to light a flame under my ass, a reason to push it up on the daily planner is just not there. After my last real race in South Africa, I was admittedly a little burnt out on all the running. Shortly after my return, I continued running in my backyard of the Santa Monica Mountains without any goals but to summit and return. I did jump into a 10K on the 4th of July just for shits-n-giggles at the last minute but haven't done any races since. I haven't even had time to run trails lately and instead resorted to short little jaunts out on the streets here and there. Sucks but ya take what you can get.

I have been following along some of your running stories and races and it's definitely giving me the itch to dive back into it. Just not quite yet.