Scott T2 Kinabalu Review

 The chances a shoe company will provide me a shoe sponsorship are slim but when I find a pair of shoes that fit well and don't hurt my feet right out of the box I am going to give them there due.

Scott T2 Kinabalu

Out of the box
 These shoes are bright, felt light and did not hurt my feet when I put them on in the living room. After switching to a thinner sock they felt even better. My first few runs in the Kinabalu where 3, 5 and 7 miles, I experienced no weird rubbing, blisters or sore feet, they breath well and where lighter than other shoes I have worn, I was impressed.

Fit ~ I have a wide foot, narrow ankle
The toe box is roomy but does not feel loose. It was a little snug in the fore foot but the thinner sock had helped that. I altered the lacing a bit to keep my heal in place and have not had any trouble with the laces that other reviewers have mentioned, I tie a double knot. The Kinabalu keeps your foot secure and feels true to size. I wear an 11.

The Feel
Scotts " Aero Foam" provides great cushioning on a wide comfortable platform. The eride "Rocker" was designed to smooth transitions for heel and mid foot strikers into a more efficient fore foot strike. As a heel striker I  was not sure what to expect about the forced transition the rocker claimed but it was not alarming. I must admit however that I had some tender lower leg muscles after my first few runs but nothing that kept me out of the shoe.

The Tread
 The Kinabalu features a solid forefoot rock plate and well separated lugs heal to toe that provides good secure grip on the trail while climbing and descending. This is a trail shoe made for hammering through dirt, rocks, roots and mud not a trail/road hybrid. Scott describes the Kinabalu as the "ultimate light weight trail machine" and they are. I wore these on a rainy, muddy 22 mile slog and although obviously wet I did not feel like I was running on sponges do to the unique weep holes that channel water out of the shoe, pretty cool.


Notice weep holes back of left shoe and front of right just behind toe

 

Tread

Wrap Up
 I just completed The North Face Endurance Challenge, DC: marathon in The Kinabalu and they did not disappoint. They proved extremely breathable and comfortable in the 97 degree heat and where flawless in the terrain. This is my trail shoe for the summer and hopefully summers to come.

*I have been so Happy with this shoe that I have purchased the AF Trainer and love em'!

The Longest Day



 After testing my fitness at a local half marathon at the end of April, my disappointment with not hitting my 2 hour benchmark left me concerned with how ready I would be in six weeks for a trail marathon. I re-read my March 24th post where I laid out this craziness and was pleased to discover I had written that "my ultimate objective was to be fit and race ready allowing myself to enjoy the process."

 So I focused on just that, being as ready as I could be while enjoying the process. Six weeks flew by and as I prepared physically, I found my biggest concern to be the heat or at least the potential for it.  The course which began in Virginia's Algonkian Region Park was described as not very technical, runnable and fast. It was also said that "the first half was flat and fast, matter of fact, so is the second half." I felt that if a course was described as flat and fast I could at least run it, so I did not give much credence to the"3 star" rating given to the Overall Difficulty of the course. My biggest concern was the heat and I felt that would be my challenge. My sister had been providing regular DC temperature reports and they had been variable. It had not been to hot but I knew it could be.
 On race day, the temperature and humidity rose as quickly as the sun. My brother-n-law graciously shuttled me to Sterling, Va where I caught a school bus to Algonkian Park and the start/finish festival area. The North Face has nailed the festival atmosphere! The music isn't so overbearing that you want to run away, everything is easy to find and everyone so helpful. I arrived early enough to make sure I was not rushing to check in, checked my bag and had some time to meet and greet prior to the start. The common thread of concern with fellow racers that morning was the heat and its effect on performances. These concerns where reinforced by the events MC who periodically reminded us of the importance of hydration as the mercury rose and the start time approached.
 The terrain didn't vary much at the start, we headed out into an open grassy field, then meandered over some paved cart paths before turning onto a long, shaded, straight, flat gravel road as long as the eye could see. There was a hum of pleasant chatter everywhere and my pace felt good. Eventually, I found myself running and chatting with none other than the patriarch of The Endurance Challenge himself Dean Karnazas.
  

Sugarland

The courses narrow single track meandered along the Potomac's flood plane allowing random glimpses of the rivers beauty through dense foliage..

The Potomac

 There where a few stretches were the once swollen waters of the Potomac had obliterated the shore line trail forcing detours away from the river into steep, short climbs that flattened briefly at the top only to shoot straight back to the river and back up again in succession. As I came to the top of one of these climbs, I met Mike Wardian, (winner of the 50 mile event) seemingly unaffected by the heat, blazing towards the finish.

Charlie

 Unfortunately, it took me longer than I had intended to reach the turn around but I was so grateful to replenish my water and see my wife it really didn't matter. It was fun to have the aid station manned by Charlie Engle of "Running the Sahara", he was providing runners with much appreciated ice water dousing and electrolite drink. Admittedly, I had underestimated the difficulty of the course. The flat and fast start combined with the hills and the heat had slowed my pace considerably. I could not guess how long it would take me to finish.
 As the next aid station came into view at around mile16, it appeared to be as busy as a Metro entrance. Racers 3 deep grazed at the feed table, others waited to be dosed with ice water for a brief reprieve from the heat, others layed off to the side of the trail in the care of the EMS staff who were visibly concerned with the state of some of there charge. It was here I made the decision to finish under my own power, to finish smart, without suffering long term effects of the heat.
  I executed a methodical run, walk, hydrate drive to the finish.  Somehow, the hills seemed to have gotten steeper since I had past over them earlier in the day. I ran as often and as far as I could but continued to feel the effects of the heat. At one point, my mouth felt extremely uncomfortable and pasty so I removed my tooth plate and took a swig of my water bottle. Instantly, I experienced a cooling I hadn't expected. I took another drink with the same affect and slowly increased my pace to the finish grateful for what I had discovered and thrilled to cross under the red arch at the Finish.

The Finish

Cooling the feet