Vivobarefoot Primus Trail SG review

Summary
These are proper trail shoes - barefoot shoes for fell runners. They grip like Inov8s but they're zero drop, wide toebox. If you're a barefoot/minimal fell runner, or you have a wide forefoot, or you run in barefoot shoes and you need a proper UK ready shoe that can handle mud, then these have your name on them.

Full Review

Trail Freak left, PT SG right showing the changed stud density

I came close to giving up on Vivobarefoot over the trail freak. To their credit, they gave me returns and discounts on multiple pairs as they fell apart under the strain of mud and contouring, but they were awful trail shoes for UK conditions. I think the problem was that they took a road shoe and gave it studs and called it a trail shoe. That's understandable - most 'trail shoes' are nothing more than that. Merrell Trail Gloves are the same - designed for nice dry surfaced paths, what tread they have is no more functional than the pseudo crampon ledges on the heel of cheap lowland walking boots. With the Merrell if you try contouring you'll fall on your arse. With the VB trail freak, they have enough grip to hold the slope (mostly, until the studs clog), but your foot will slide around in the overly floppy shoe. Enough of that and the strain will rip the upper from the sole. I'm pretty sure that's what was happening with the 3 pairs I wrecked in a short time.

Enter the Primus Trail SG. I nearly didn't bother - at 110 GBP they aren't cheap (although I got mine in a 20% promo, 90 quid is still not to be sniffed at), but I thought "Oh well, one more chance, they might have got it right this time".

They have.

These are the running shoes I've been wanting for years. They seem to have been designed by someone who understands off road running. They have the grip of Inov8 roclites, in a zero drop, wide toebox barefoot shoe. The sole is hard enough to give the shoe some structure and protect your feet from stone bruises, but thin enough to still have a minimal feel.

First time out with them was a 20km run in the dark across Rombalds moor. Grip was strong and positive, the forefoot was easily wide enough for my giant duck feet to spread out, and the occasional stone didn't provide a stub hazard as the rands are substantial enough to protect your toes.

Just to check, I went out last night for another try. Full tilt, brakes off from Windgate Nick to Slade above Addingham I didn't slip once. Hill reps up and down the mud and rock of Nab End above Silsden were the same - better than Wave Harriers, about as good as Roclites.

I'm not a total devotee of the 'sport laces' found on most running shoes these days, but I can live with them. The important thing is that I can run confidently on fell terrain, and don't have to buy a new pair every 250km.

Time will tell whether they're more durable than the trail freaks. They certainly feel it, and I'm pretty sure the main problem with trail freaks was that the whole shoe was too flexible, leading to strain on the uppers when contouring. That's certainly not the case with the primus trail SGs, they're much more like fell shoes. I really hope there's enough market to make these popular, because they're exactly what I want out of running shoes.

Updates

Bit chafe-y though 

12 month durability update 

Why I run - variations

Me, I run because I’m a runner, and I’m a runner because I run. I run because I know what I am. I run because I’m a human – we evolved these springy legs and feet to run with. I run for the same reason cats snooze – it’s what we do. I run because I’m me, and running is a big part of what I do.

I run because I’ve never been happier than since I started running. With more encouragement to run as a teenager I’d have had a much healthier, happier time of it.

Now, 6 months into a bout of plantar fasciitis I don’t feel so much like a runner. In a good week I get to do 25-30km at a gentle pace. In a bad one I might get to walk 10km. I can feel the anxiety that dogged me through my teens and early adulthood returning. I can feel the confidence and independence and mental resilience lent me by the ability to run a marathon and more draining away.

I’m still a runner. Somewhere in my head, and my feet, and my heart and lungs, I’m still a runner.

A few more months…






(Cross posted from a comment I made here: https://pursuingthevoid.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/i-cant-run-today-day-2/)

Fell running is insane (but I still love it)

I have a new job. This is a very very exciting thing, and I'm bouncing about like a small child. I'll write about that elsewhere though. The important thing here is that it has an effect on my training.

Most of my training fits around work - I used to run at lunchtimes (not possible now unfortunately), but my main long intense run is (or was - I'm still on short commons because of the plantar fasciitis) on a midweek evening, homewards from work.

The new job is in Leeds, which is about 20 miles on the train. 20 miles is a nice doable distance once I get back to normal fitness, one or maybe two evenings a week or so, but there's very little ascent on the direct route. So I was thinking "OK, I can run on the towpath out to Shipley, do that at a brisk pace and I'll get a good workout in. THEN I can head up onto the moors for the rest of the journey".

This is obviously gruelling and stupid. I'm really looking forward to it.

Still Limping

Four months into the Plantar Fasciitis now, and I'm still limping. Better, but still limping.

I'm still managing 20km in a bad week, 40km in a good week, and the day after running my foot is stiff and sore, but not as bad as it has been. Stretching my sole using a golf ball, repeated calf stretches and step raises during the day. Progress is being made, but it's slow. Spending the bulk of every day sitting down doesn't help.

I'm getting really frustrated by this. The weather at the moment is fantastic. I'm getting some time outside, mainly through sitting in the sun reading rather than running.

I think it's time to start swimming again, to get some exercise.

Barefootedness / minimal shoes and grip

Ideally, I like to not wear anything on my feet at all, and running barefoot off road can be an absolute joy. Running off road barefoot in an area with nearly a metre of rain p.a. has drawbacks though. Mud is very slippery.

Obviously we didn't evolve with shoes on, but we didn't evolve in soggy Britain either.

Apart from the obvious difficulty of tracking (often foul smelling) mud into the house, mud is slippery stuff. Human feet don't grip particularly well when running barefoot on mud, as I've found several times.

Minimal shoes provide a bit more grip. The Vivobarefoot trail freaks do a pretty good job of this, and so do the Freet Leep I currently favour. The (very easy to obtain) Merrell Trail Gloves do a much less good job of it, but I think they're designed for much drier USA conditions.

What's in my mind is, is it even possible to have really good grip with minimal shoes? The extra thickness of decent gripping studs makes shoes at least 10mm high, which isn't really minimal, is it? Vivobarefoot off road soles have 4.5mm studs, and that's barely adequate for muddy conditions. Fell running shoes like Walshes & Inov8 are minimal, but nowhere near as minimal as barefoot shoes.

I'm contemplating getting Lancashire Sports Repairs to put their fell running sole on a pair of Trail Gloves, but I'm not sure how helpful it'd be. Maybe for the winter, when socks are a necessity for long runs and Freet/Vivobarefoot don't come in sizes big enough for me to get socks under them.

On the other hand, maybe I should just accept that good grip isn't possible barefoot or in minimal shoes, and slow down on the slippy bits.

Plantar Fasciitis - different treatments and where I am with it.

I've been struggling with plantar fasciitis since about the beginning of February. It's...frustrating. I'm used to running long distances regularly, and I've been trying to build up to longer distances for a long while.

But every obstacle is an opportunity and all that, so I'm taking the opportunity to a) do more music practice and b) correct other potential foot/leg problems now rather than have them bite me later.

The following is a list of the things I've been doing to treat the plantar fasciitis and my experiences with each:

• The frozen water bottle
  I've tended to only use this when it's been really painful. It's very effective at reducing swelling, so it provides very rapid alleviation of symptoms.
• The golf ball
  constantly, all day everyday sat at my desk. It certainly improves things. Whether it's improving things enough I doubt
• Stretching - the runners stretches
  The 'back foot flat on the floor, back leg straight, bend front knee' and the soleus stretches are the standard treatment for plantar fasciitis, and undoubtedly help. The stretching has definitely been useful for my general flexibility and my full squat, but has never had a dramatic effect on my PF symptoms (and when the PF is bad I really can't stretch that way)
• vertical toe stretch against a wall
  This, and stretching my toes back by hand, and the calf raises/step stretches have hugely improved the situation in a matter of days. I think all the other treatments were helping, but these were the missing piece in the jigsaw.
• keeping my feet stretched for long periods
  I've been standing with the balls of my feet raised about an inch (on books) while doing flute practice, and about 2" (on top of golf balls) whilst sat at my desk (with heels on the ground). I can feel the constant stretch in my calves. This also seems to be helping a lot.
• Calf raises/step stretches
  Stretching my soles off the edge of a step and strengthening them by doing calf raises has had a huge effect just in a few days.

My calves are now pretty flexible I think. The key seems to be both stretching and  strengthening, so the calf raises are really important and make a massive difference. I've certainly noticed a dramatic difference in the state of my plantar fasciitis in about 3 days of regular calf raises.

High Cup Nick

Over the bank holiday weekend I was up in Dufton for an organised weekend with a load of friends. The plantar fasciitis is still plaguing me, but it's not every day I find myself in such a good spot for running, so I indulged myself a bit.

I didn't think the PF would stand for 30km around Cross Fell & Great Dun, so I planned out a route up High Cup Nick, across to Threlkeld Side, then back down to Dufton.

The weather was utter filth, spectacularly disgusting. I carried a thin packable softshell mid layer, a buff, a pair of gloves and maybe 300ml of water. I was wearing a long sleeve base layer, Paramo windproof and racing shorts, Freet shoes and a hat. I estimated the time needed to be around 3 hours, so nothing else was really necessary, except a map and compass.

Trotting up the Pennine Way out of Dufton I encountered a lot of walkers (including some friends who I totally failed to recognise as they were completely enclosed in waterproofs and I was fighting with the wind). Once I hit the shoulder of the path and entered High Cup Nick the wind got worse. Much worse. Much, much worse.

I missed the PW path somewhere (apparently there's an 'out and back' for a viewpoint, and I kept going instead of going back), and ended up much too low down the slope. Thankfully there was a bit of shelter from the wind here, so I just slogged straight up. Some friends following a similar route an hour or so earlier had done exactly the same thing, as I found out later.

Regaining the PW path, it was a gentle trundle round to the head of High Cup Nick, buffeted by the wind all the way. I'd promised Freet I'd send them some 'in use' pictures of the shoes, and this seemed like a good spot so I paused for a couple of minutes to take some photos.

I took a good look at the map at this point and decided on the next stage. The original plan had been to take a bearing straight for the trig west of the tarns, but I'd stupidly left my compass behind. Looking at the contours, as long as I stuck to the edge of the plateau and kept the slope nearby I was in no danger of getting lost, so I decided to rely on feature nav with the proviso that if I felt it was iffy I'd head straight downhill.



A quick clamber up onto the edge of the plateau and the wind got even worse. Coming up on the wind shelter I spotted some figures and, wondering if it was the walking party from our group, popped in to say hi. It wasn't, it was 3 lads with north east accents who were quite surprised to see a wet loony in shorts. I had a quick chat with them, then back out into the shite.

The nav was a bit tricky here, and I decided to drop a contour so I was in no danger of roaming up onto the moor. Progress was difficult against the wind and my distance sense was struggling. At one point I thought I'd reached the trig, but it turned out to be a cairn in the middle of a load of rocks. I was very cold and wet and visibility was dropping At that point I hit 7 on the 'fuck-this-ometer' (6 is 'regroup, more clothes, look at the situation calmly and make changes if needed',  8 means 'cut the run short' and 10 means 'head for low ground, even if it means a taxi back'). I halted in a sheltered spot to put an extra layer on, and headed slightly downhill to where the contours were clearer. After a couple of hundred metres I reached Little Rundale Beck and followed it up to the top. A short leg to my left and I hit the trig. Then keeping to the edge again I ran on to Threlkeld Side. I felt a lot better by this point, since shelter was nearby and I was nicely warm from the extra layer.

Threlkeld Side was niggly in barefoot shoes - lots of gravel and rocks underfoot meant short strides and careful foot placement. Once I got to the bottom I decided on a quick bonus trip up Dufton Pike. That was a real bonus, a fantastic bit of landscape. A very steep grassy slog to the top, then a narrow path with fantastic views on either side leading down to the north west. Then back around the bottom of the pike, and back to Dufton for a cup of tea and a hot shower.

GPS track to follow, but around 20km/700m

shoes - Freet Leap 4+1

Shoes are always a problem for me. I have large, very wide feet, I prefer shoes as minimal as possible and my choice of running terrain is fells & moorland. My choice criteria are:

• fit & comfort
• grip
• durability

That makes for a rather specific set of requirements, which is difficult to fulfil.

Fell running is hard on shoes. They're constantly wet, rubbed against rocks & coarse dry heather stems, soaked in acidic peat. Contouring and steep climbs/descents put a strain on the uppers. Fell running often crosses over into ultra-running which means shoes get used for long distances, very frequently.

Recently I stumbled across 'Freet'. I think I saw them on a summary of different types of barefoot shoes. At the time they were selling off last years stock at a very substantial discount, so I thought it was worth a go.

I ordered online on Friday, and they turned up on the following Thursday. Friday morning I wore them around the house to make sure they fit ok.

First impressions: I have never worn shoes this comfortable before. By early afternoon I'd ordered a second pair for everyday wear in the summer as an alternative to my Xero shoes.

I took them for a run to/from work Tuesday. So far they seem better suited to my needs than anything else I've tried.

Grip: Good mud/fell grip in barefoot shoes is tricky. Studs can be uncomfortable under foot, but grooved 'tread' clogs up very quickly. The Freets have something in between, mostly tread, but with blocky sections under the ball and toes. Trying it out on mud/grass, the combination seems to be good. It's the closest thing I've felt to the marketing cliche of the foot with tyre tread on it. The tread doesn't seem to clog easily and the flex of the soles/split big toe shoves the grippy bit into the ground on foot strike.

 

Yes, I do wash my running shoes in the shower; and yes, I do live alone.

The compound seems to be softer under the ball and harder towards the outer toes, which led to me skittering on rocks once or twice, but the grip is certainly at least as good as any other barefoot off road shoe I've tried, possibly better. Infinitely better than the Merrell trail glove, which is comfortable but very slippy on mud.

Comfort: I got a little chafing on my (hammer) little toes over the course of 20km. That will ease I think. They fit closely and well, my foot doesn't move around in them, and they slide on and off easily. They were comfortably warm on a dry morning with a temperature of 5C.

Durability: I rinse my shoes in the shower after every run, then leave them to dry. The Freets dry very quickly and came clean easily. According to the leaflet that came with them, you can throw them in the washing machine at 30C, which I may do occasionally.
Obviously 20km is too soon to say on the longer term durability. I'll update with any information once I've done some distance.

 

Sizing: I'm a 47 (UK 12.5) in most shoes (except Merrell, where I need a 48) with wide feet. Size 47 Leap fit me perfectly.

Addition: On a later run on much gnarlier ground (see High Cup Nick) the grip was excellent on tussock and open moor, and my feet were toasty warm in foul wet conditions with a wind chill of -8. I had a couple of slidy moments on wet mud & grass on Dufton Pike, but no worse than I have with Vivo Neo Trails.

beekeeping - having a break, death of a colony

I've been keeping now for about 5 years, and it's been a....variable experience. There is nothing like opening up a hive in the spring time and getting a face full of the smell of honey, propolis, pollen and wax.

Then again, being stung, developing cellulitis and having to drop everything and go to the out of hours GP service for high strength antibiotics that give me stomach cramps is less fun.

Less fun also is going away for the weekend and coming back to find an unexpected swarm in a neighbours garden. That's happened a few times. Last year I controlled two extremely swarmy colonies by inspecting twice a week and being more willing to destroy queen cells than have unplanned swarms. I ended up with a queenless colony that way, but they were easily combined with another colony.

Nevertheless, it's been stressful at times, enough that I almost always feel a little anxious before any kind of intervention. So I've decided to take a break for a season or two. Maybe hang around the association apiary a bit, do some studying, build my confidence back up.

With that in mind, I'd arranged to rehome my one remaining colony. It was still upsetting to find the colony had failed over the winter though. Plenty of food, but few bees and no brood - looks like the queen had failed. Maybe I damaged her applying oxalic in mid winter, or maybe she hadn't mated well. She emerged during patchy weather - well, last summer was pretty much all patchy to be honest.

Not the way I'd hoped to end this phase of my beekeeping life, feeling sad and incompetent.

The appeal of the minimal

While I'm sat here chewing my leg like an animal in a trap, waiting for the plantar fasciitis to feck off and let me run again, I've been pondering the appeal of the minimal.

Runners always try to carry as little as possible - it's more comfortable that way. There's a constant process of working out what stuff to carry to keep the bulk down. Water, warmth, food, in that order.

Minimalism isn't completely embraced by runners though, there are many who favour the gadget led approach, and constantly try to improve their performance by the latest in lycra socks, padded running shoes etc.

The bushcraft community have a minimalist strand: limited kit challenges. The challenge is to choose the right gear and have the right skills to keep warm, fed and comfortable, often overnight or for a few nights. Generally warm clothes, some kind of firelighter, a water (boiling) vessel and an axe will do the trick.

Lightweight backpackers sound like they should be minimal, but actually many are chronic kit fiends, constantly buying new gear in search of the perfect low weight set up. For some though, the aim is to have a single, ideal set up that is simple & lightweight. It's just that the quest to attain that simplicity introduces complexity.

Programmers love minimalism too. The very best code does the job as simply as possible. That doesn't mean the fewest characters: code golf is interesting but not necessarily elegant. To be a good solution a piece of code must be simple and concise. Unfortunately marketing tends to mean that software accumulates lots of 'features' as a selling point, when a simpler feature set would often make the application simpler, more reliable and stable.

Poetry is an expression of simplicity, condensing the themes and message of prose into as compact and elegant a form as possible.

I don't know whether there's an innate desire for simplicity and minimalism in people - loads of folk seem to favour accumulating possessions and complex gadgetry. For me though, simplicity has a strong appeal, that comes out in:

software
minimal shoes
minimal carry for running
lightweight backpacking (without things being disposable)
primitive projectile weapons (simple bow, atlatl, sling)
universal tools (a light hand axe was probably the key tool of man throughout our tool using existence)

Running - plantar fasciitis

A trip to my local physio the other day confirmed what I had suspected - plantar fasciitis. One way or another it's not been a good few years for moving towards ultra distances - the last time I did anything over marathon distance was last June :-(

Once you convert to barefoot/minimal, you can develop an interest in biomechanics. That leads you to try and fix all sorts of things that had been hanging around for years not causing a problem. Maybe they'd have caused problems later, maybe not.

In my case, getting blisters with new shoes led to the discovery that my shoes were the wrong size, and for years I'd been striking with the outside of my left foot - little toe curled under. Fixing that led to tendon trouble in my left foot as it got used to the new gait. Once that was working, favouring my left foot led to plantar fasciitis in my right foot.

On the plus side I identified it early and have been treating it appropriately. Plus, the stretching of my soleus to fix the plantar fasciitis is having huge benefits for my ability to sit comfortably in full squat, something I've aspired to do for many years (it's a caveman thing :-))

So, a few weeks yet of 40km a week, lots of stretching and foot massage, then hopefully I can start to building the distances back up.

Chillblains

Bother.

I've just discovered that the maddening itching of two of my toes (both fourth toes, counting out from the big toe) is probably chillblains.

This makes the problem of how to keep my feet warm trickier. In winter, as previously noted, I tend to do a 10k in the morning (to work) then a 25+km in the evening. With 700+m of ascent, that evening run can end up being a fairly slow pace, and my feet get cold and wet.

Easy: waterproof socks, Sealskinz do good ones.

Which don't fit inside my running shoes.

Get bigger running shoes.

Vivobarefoot don't make bigger running shoes than the ones I currently have. Neither do Inov8, in the ones I want.

Get waterproof running shoes.

Makes no odds when the water/bog is above the ankle.

Get other, bigger running shoes.

Possible, but the wait for size 48 shoes can be prolonged. I may have to go the Inov8 & Sealskinz route though, which is annoying as I much prefer running in fully barefoot shoes.