Lets Feel The Trails...

By Frank

I was in need of a trail shoe for next month's TNF100. I short-listed a few models and each of them are of the minimalist kind. But fate was kind with me that I settled for one that I felt most comfy with, my second pair of Vibram FiveFingers, the TrekSport. My first pair, the Bikila which I did not review wasn't really a pair that I like very much due to the very "shoe like" feeling.

After falling sick last week and missing my runs due to the very bad hazy conditions here, I resume my run this morning testing my TrekSport. It felt tight with socks but I quickly forgot about it when I ran longer. While the foot bed is still painful upon stepping on stones, the overall feeling of the shoe is certainly much better than the Bikila. Measured at 4mm thick for the outsole, it's the thickest in Vibram FiveFingers running range.

While Jamie, Keat Cheong and Calvin zoomed off, I ran most of the 15KM run with Vince, both of us VFF wearers. The other 3 were in compression apparels and probably that's why they ran faster than the both of us. Took me near to 2 hours to complete my run as I ran very carefully due to my maiden run in the TrekSport. Besides, I wasn't comfortable with the air quality too so I didn't want to end up gasping for air which was dirty.

The VFF TrekSport after a wholesome 15KM debut...

Overall, I'm really happy with my purchase and this will certainly be my footwear of choice for next month's race. I know I will really feel the trails of MacRitchie and Bukit Timah, but I guess this is the only approach I can go since I'm trying to turn minimalist. Don't be mistaken though, I still like my shoes. Haha...