ASICS Gel-Fuji Racer...

By Frank

I never had any luck with trail shoes. All my previous trail running events are ran with either trail shoes that I didn't like, ill fitting or one that offered little traction. And when I signed up and learnt about the terrain of the Old Fisherman Trail Challenge at Cape Town, South Africa that I ran last June 2012, I began searching around for one that will fit and suit me nicely, and one that will last me for quite a while.

The ASICS Gel-Fuji Racer...

Enter the ASICS Gel-Fuji Racer, a brand new and lightest model yet trail shoe from the Japanese company. ASICS has never given me the impression of a good trail shoes.  But when I read about the Fuji Racer and that most reviews are on the positive side, I quickly hunt them down.

Lateral side of the shoe...

Medial side of the shoe...

The Fuji Racer is built upon the popular ASICS DS series and I must say its one handsome looking shoe. Weighing in at about 240 grams for a size men US8.5, its a low enough profile trail shoes measuring at a 6mm differential and it offers a rock plate protection, thus offers excellent protection from the rough surfaces but yet satisfying my needs for a minimalist shoe. Don't be mistaken when I mentioned minimalist shoe though as you still can't feel the ground wearing it. I'm rather more emphasizing on the 6mm differential.

The fit was excellent and I did not had any problem with the size. It was true to my US8.5 size and it fits wonderful. Snug but not overly tight, a curled in arch area with the trusstic system in providing a "hugging" feature there and a hardened heel counter for the stability and protection on the Achilles region. And although coming in a "D" width, the toe box has very minimal stitching over it. Instead, most of the cosmetic except for the tiger stripes are welded on it hence minimising seams and also offering excellent flexibility. All these features is already enough to provide me a glove like fit! And yes, no hotspots too, at least from my experience.

Very good flexibility for a trail shoe...

The upper is made upon what ASICS claim to be breathable upper. Built on top a dual layer mesh, I won't say it's very breathable but rather acceptable. I guess not many of us will want a highly breathable trail shoe too, as it will mean debris and moisture entering the shoe. The tongue is also a one piece construction which also offers a lace pocket for inserting the shoe lace in it to prevent it fro being tangle up by branches while running.

The lace pocket...

The midsole is made again of ASICS lightweight Solyte EVA rubber (why can't SpEVA be use more often?), with no pivot nor stability feature built into it. And with ASICS High Abrasion Rubber used on the outsole to offer durability  at high wear and tear area, I enjoyed very much every step I made at my ascend and descend at Table Mountain with the shoe as if offers excellent traction and control. Traction is made possible with the tiny "X" shaped lugs founds mainly at the forefoot area. And when I stepped on mud and I must say it was ankle deep, the outsole did not become an instant mud cake. To my surprise, I managed to carry on running with a rather "clean" and "mud-less" shoe. I was impressed.

Closeup on the Solyte midsole and also the upper mesh...

Besides the cushioning offered by Solyte at all around the midsole of the shoes, a rear gel cushioning is built into the rear as like most other ASICS shoes. And honestly speaking, although I know that ASICS are known for their gel cushioning and is a proprietary feature in their shoes, I will rather have the gel removed.

Drainage ports and the outsole pattern...

The Fuji Racer has no water repellent or proofing coating like Gore-Tex or Ion-Mask on it, hence water will surely sip into the meshes. However, the outsole also have these drainage ports which allows water to actually escape the shoes. However, it also allows water to enter the shoe, hence one needs to be careful not to run over puddles of water.  But I still think this is a very neat feature that I have enjoyed in my previously owned K-Swiss shoes. Drainage ports, yes or not, water will still enter the shoe when it pours or even when the entire shoes goes into say a river. The main thing is, to allow the water to escape from the shoe! And this was proven when I went knee deep over at a waterfall somewhere on top Table Mountain, and ankle deep at a small stream near Hout Bay. Shoes were soaked to the max, but the extra wetness were quickly got rid off as I ran.

With the ASICS Gel-Fuji Racer, my search for my "first" trail shoe is over as this shoe will certainly be my choice for 2 upcoming trail runs. My many thanks to Ms. Kris Lee of ASICS Malaysia for arranging and sponsoring this pair of ASICS Gel-Fuji Racer for my Old Fisherman Trail Challenge and also for review purposes.

The ASICS Gel-Fuji Racer retails at a very reasonable price of RM349.00 and is available at most ASICS authorised dealer.

ASICS Skysensor Neo...

By Frank

The ASICS Skysensor Neo...

The ASICS Skysensor Neo isn't really a new model by ASICS, in fact it was releasd to the market mid year 2011. However I recently got it "deployed" out of the box and used it for my KL Marathon 2012. A Japanese spec racing flat that is highly popular in the land of the rising sun, this is one particular model that is pretty tough to find in our local retailers.

Lateral view of the Skysensor Neo...

Medial view of the Skysensor Neo...

The Skysensor Neo is a unisex model. As it's of Japanese specification, sizing will be a little tricky as I found out from many years back that it can be pretty inconsistent compared to the regular ASICS models. It will be good to personally try them out at the store itself before committing. Besides, since this is of a racing series, they tend to fit like a glove which I kind of like it since I have a narrow feet. As for those with wider feet say like 2E width, tough luck then. Weighing in at about 183 grams for size US8.5, the Skysensor Neo falls under the neutral racing flat category.

Front view of the SkySensor. Note the ventilation on the toebox area and also the narrow width....

The Skysensor Neo is a very low profile shoe, something which I've learn to like after years of running. Although looking minimal, this isn't a minimalist shoe as I measured around a 8mm differential in heel to toe drop. The midsole is built on top of ASICS 2 very popular material call Solyte, which offers lightweight and cushioning, and SpEVA which offers durability. I am not really a big fan of Solyte as I find that it offers too much cushioning. Most of you will have know that I prefer firmer compound shoes and therefore rather to have the midsole to be made fully of SpEVA as it offers pretty good durability (if comparing EVA rubbers) and also good bounce.

Upclose on the Solyte midsole...

However, as both Solyte and SpEVA are made of EVA rubber, durability is enhanced on the rear foot and forefoot areas using ASICS High Abrasion Rubber or more widely known as AHAR+. I can swear by this rubber compound as it is one of the key material that gives ASICS shoe excellent durability. And this is also the material that give the shoe a firmer outsole.

I did take note of a separate material on the the midsole over at the medial forefoot area. It kind of look and feel like a stability posting as the rubber compound is certainly firmer when pressed. However, I did not feelt any discomfort during my run with the shoe hence I can't comment much on it. Whether functional or part of cosmetic design, I leave it as of a mystery.

The greyish silver area of another rubber compound suspected to be a stability posting...

The shoe has nothing fancy to be shout about. Not much of technologies are used in building it as only a rear gel cushioning is used over at rear outsole. Coupled with ASICS Magic Ventilation which I don't think it's magical enough to offer better airflow through the shoe, and also WetGrip technology on the outsole's fore foot area to allow better traction, this is all that makes up the shoe. Speaking about the WetGrip, it actually worked pretty good as tested on the wet morning of the recent KL Marathon. Excellent traction on wet tarmac and decent enough on the smooth surfaces like those red inter-lockable brick surface. Otherwise, everything else that builds the shoe are just plain overlays meshes, synthetics and normal flat shoe laces.

A couple of drainage pots on the outsole. 

WetGrip is made possible with the tread design on the blue area of the forefoot...

Overall, I find the ASICS Skysensor Neo to be a pleasant pair. I'm not sure how will it compared to the pretty similar ASICS Hyperspeed series, but overall I just like the simplicity of it.

Many thanks to ASICS Malaysia and Ms. Kris Lee for giving me the opportunity to test out the ASICS SkySensor Neo.

The ASICS Skysensor Neo retails at RM469.00 and can be found at major ASICS stores and dealers nationwide.

A Message Of HOPE...

“To present the most precious as a message of HOPE to light the future road ahead” – Frank Chong, Comrades Marathon 2012 runner #57056

Earlier this noon, I “bid farewell” to my Comrades Marathon 2012 Vic Clapham copper medal. Don’t worry, I did not lose it. In fact, it has found a new "home", somewhere where it will serve as a message to the many out there. I donated it to CARIF for a simple yet powerful message of HOPE. 

A simple presentation ceremony was held at CARIF’s main lab at Sime Darby Medical Centre, with the medal encased in a beautiful frame with my finishing photo in it being presented to Professor Dr. Teo Soo Hwang, the Chief Executive Officer of CARIF. Staffs of CARIF and the media was there to witness it. The medal will currently be displayed at CARIF’s main research lab which will then move to Sime Darby Medical Centre's Cancer Centre in the near future.

Yes, the Comrades medal is small, around the size of a Malaysian 50 cents coin. But behind each of it tells a story, whether the medal or the person who attempted to run it. My story is:- I ran and completed it successfully as a survivor of the Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer.

The Comrades Marathon is certainly the toughest run I ever did and of course the medal is a token of achievement and something to be treasured of. However, as I ran the Comrades Marathon 2012 as part of a cause to raise awareness and funds for cancer research in aid of CARIF, and if this small little medal can deliver a powerful message to the many people out there whether those affected with cancer or not, I will be glad to “share” with them. And by “sharing”, I bear the message saying that what a normal person can do, a cancer survivor can do too, if not sometimes even better.

"HOPE LIVES HERE" in CARIF, a tagline that came about for their recent 10^th anniversary celebration. However, much support is still needed to bring the fight against cancer to another level. I’m uniting my passion of running and a role as a cancer survivor in doing a part for this, and I hope it will be a small step towards many brighter things to come. Support  CARIF, support cancer research.