I’m going to get this out of the way early in the piece:  The La Sportiva Helios could be the last pair of running shoes you’ll ever need.

My relationship with the Helios began 9 months ago. In my preparation for the Coast to Coast, I searched for every conceivable advantage- I needed a light shoe, with the right grip to tame the slick Granite boulders which the race is famous for. I tried several other shoes, which from the outside looked to have a lot of grip, but discovered they were almost useless when it came to real world conditions, where a runner might encounter any number of surfaces during a run. Over Goat Pass, some “trail running” shoes are almost useless. By my definition, a trail running shoe relies on its aggressive tread pattern to have traction on soft surfaces like grass, mud and trail. However the rubber which makes them great for that purpose makes them almost useless when it comes to traction on slick wet surfaces.  Goat Pass demands a Mountain Running Shoe, and in the Helios you have it.

La Sportiva is an Italian company that was founded in 1928, with its roots in mountain sports. In the mountains, having the right grip can be a matter of life and death and these guys have a reputation for making the stickiest climbing shoes out. Their mastery of rubber has trickled into their running shoes, and when you wear them, you’ll feel like Spiderman.

Sam during the 2015 C2C.

On to why these may be the last pair of running shoes you’ll ever need:  I am a multisporter, which by definition means I take part in a multitude of sports and often under the toughest of conditions. So here is a rundown of what I have put my Helios through:

Several Multisport races, including podium finishes in the New Zealand, European and World Championships. Several Adventure races, ranging from 6 hours to 5 days. Two Ironman triathlons and two 70.3 races,  an ultramarathon, the world’s largest swim-run race, dozens of trail runs, Northern Europe’s largest kayak marathon and hundreds of hours of training in between.

They also combine well with a pair of blue jeans.

As always, there is no “right shoe “ for everyone, but if you’re searching for a great all round shoe that performs  on the road and on the highest peak, then the La Sportiva Helios might be the shoe you’re looking for.

Sam finished 2^nd at the 2015 Coast to Coast Longest Day, using his La Sportiva Helios over the Goat Pass mountain run. To find out more on Sam, check out his athlete page.

All packed and ready togo.

Dennis de Monchy offers his take on the new Ultimate Direction Fastpack 30.

I was recently given the chance to test out the new UD Fastpack 30 when I headed south to run in the hills for a couple of days with Mal Law and his High-50 Challenge of 50 peaks in 50 days.  Unfortunately Mal was injured for our overnight trip, but our merry group of 6 support runners headed up the Matukituki Valley for the overnight trip anyways.  I had sorted my gear for this summer alpine trip, then tried it out in a friends Fastpack 20.  It all fitted in, but there was no space for Mals gear that I was expecting to carry.  Luckily Grant Guise came to the rescue and offered me his Fastpack 30.

First impression was that it was a pack without much structure, and lightweight fabrics, so I was concerned that it would sit uncomfortably with a cooker, pot, whisky and other items on board.  Luckily I was wrong, it has a firm enough back rest/sit mat that I didn’t have any issues with pointy stuff protruding into my back.  With the main compartment loaded with overnight stuff, my waterproofs and microspikes went into the big webbing pocket on the outside, leaving plenty of room for more.  This pouch on the outside is second best feature on the fastpack’s, easy to load, easy to access, and roomy!

Dennis descending the Rees Valley.

But the best feature of the Fastpack 30 is the front pockets on the shoulder straps.  4 pockets to choose from, 2 zip pockets and 2 elasticated ones. The big elasticated pocket is there for your UD bottle, while under this is a small zip pocket that I used for my compass and chapstick.  On the other side is the big zip pocket which I used as my pantry for each day, loading it with Pocket Fuels, muesli bars and a backup gel or 2.  Under this is another elastic pocket that I loaded with my Iphone in a WP case, and map.  All the pockets still had space for other stuff after I’d loaded them.  There are also 2 pockets on the side of the pack that are easily accessed without removing the pack for you hat, gloves, thermal etc.

Fully loaded for the overnight trip and with a 2L bladder on board, it was weighing in at around 7kg so the real test was going to be on the first 9km of flat running.  It has the same 2 chest straps as the UD PB vest that I have and really like so I was interested to see if this would be enough for a decent load.  My PB is a small, and the Fastpack 30 was a M/L so even with all the straps cinched tight there was a bit of slack in the shoulder straps, and a bit of bounce when I was running.  I’m pretty sure that if I had the correct size this would be minimal, as I tried the pack two days later to run over the Routeburn with only my day gear in it and it hardly bounced and was incredibly comfortable.  You can also squeeze it down with the side straps so that it doesn’t need to be fully loaded all the time.

Scott Hindrup, also using a Fastpack30, nearing the summit of Mt Tyndal

We had a bit of cold drizzle while ascending Mt Tyndal, and nothing inside the pack got wet, so the light weight nylon must be fairly water resistant.

I loved this pack, and could easily have taken a few more nights food and a couple of extra bits of clothing without space being an issue.  A great pack if you are doing 1-3 night trips where you want to move fast, or if you need a lot of gear for a day trip in the mountains.  It also has 2 ice axe loops which I didn’t get to try out, but could also be used for trekking poles.

Shop for the FASTPACK 30

50+ km in the first few days of the Hoka’s touching down was enough to know a few things- 1- the feel/ride of the shoe was like nothing I had used before, 2- unfortunately the Mafate Speeds were a touch too narrow around my small toes. This made longer test runs in the Mafate a no go, but I was still able to out and about quiet happily for 1hr runs in them.

Outer sole- Once I got past the massive oversized midsole (around 2.5x more than a “normal” shoe), the first thing that jumped out at me was the aggressive outsole of the Mafate. They are very much a trail shoe, with an outsole that reminded me of the Salomon SLAB Soft Ground. Having run mostly on soft, winter effected trails, the outsole and lugs are holding up well. I also used them on pavement and rocky trails and they seemed fine for all this terrain- not so aggressive they are terrible on the road, but enough they hold their own on all but the muddiest of trails.

The midsole is, well they are Hoka’s! Disguised within the midsole is a minimal drop of just 4mm, this combined with the 30+mm of cushion under foot make for a unique, but smooth ride. On the first dozen or so run’s I did I found myself spending the first 15mins of the run looking at my feet, so unique the shoe felt. Once I settled in I soon forgot and enjoyed. It was fun running hard downhill with so much underfoot, but when trails got technical I did lose confidence. I think over time I would get use to it, but I always felt like I had so much shoe under me, something could snag or get caught up on the rocky outcrops I was running over.

The upper, other than being a little narrow for me, is well made, lightweight, and breathable. It has a seamless overlay, with the “Monomesh Debris Screen”, which works great at keeping out unwanted dirt, rocks and mud. The standard “Race Lace” that come in the Hoka shoes are average at best- quick, but hardly effective. I was told a few years ago by a Hoka rep the first thing you do with a pair of Hoka’s is remove these! Not sure if it would be the first thing I did, but Hoka does include an extra pair of laces with each shoe if the “Race Lace” is not to your liking.

So, would I buy a pair of Hoka Mafate Speed for myself? No, but that is primarily because of the fit. Not because I don’t like the shoe or the concept, quiet the opposite. At a time when barefeet and minimal was all the rage, a few crazy Frenchmen went off in a totally different direction, that has started a whole new way of looking at shoe design and left many a “Clown Shoe” basher now looking like a clown.

I could definitely see a pair of Hoka’s (that fit me right ) being of value on my shoe rack, if I had room! Many folks claim these to be a game changer recovering from injury, recovery runs, long runs, and even for bigger/heavy set runners.

Hoka One One- Now available in New Zealand

Heading up “The Big Walk” at The Buffalo Stamped with La Sportiva Helios on.

I finally got my feet in a pair of their shoes- the 200gm Vertical K- on the Friday afternoon before this year’s Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon and happily raced in them the next day. I was impressed to say the least. My next pair was the original CrossLite- my lead in time for these was a bit longer, 5 days I think before I laced them up for the Motutapu Adventure Run. Again I was impressed and before I knew it I had my 3^rd pair of La Sportiva shoes for the summer- The Helios. The Helios arrived the Tuesday before The Buffalo Stampede Ultra and were my first pair of La Sportiva’s I received for free from La Sportiva here in New Zealand, as a sponsored runner- yeah I am sponsored by La Sportiva- so take my review of the Helios with a grain of salt if you must.

After my experience with the Vertical K I had no issues jumping into my biggest goal race of the year, Australia’s first ever Sky Running Race, The Buffalo Stampede with what was for me more or less an untested shoe. I knew the 74km, 4500mD+ out and back course had a wide variety of underfoot conditions- fire/dirt road, single track, steeps, mud, rock and paved road.

With a catalogue weight of 230gm, a 4mm drop and a light weight upper they are light on the foot and have  a ”race” feel to them, but offer much more in the mid sole than many other shoes in this range. The mid sole is probably the biggest standout feature of the shoe, with the wave like “MorphoDynamic” midsole. While the midsole/outsole have pretty minimal traction I have found the “waves” offer good grip in soft/muddy conditions. La Sportiva do soles- that is one of their things- ask any climber about the quality of the La Sportiva rock climbing shoes.

If you want a nice photo of the Helios then click on the link below. I like to see a shoe 4 months on and how it is holding up. This is after some fun on muddy Port Hills trails.

I have to be honesty, I kind of expected the upper of my Helios to take a hammering at the Buffalo. I guess they did, but they came through surprisingly well, even more surprisingly they are still holding up really good now, 4 months on.

One of the biggest reasons for me being happy to jump right into the Helios for Buffalo was the roomy toe box. In the past I have had toes mashed and squashed in narrow shoes over the course of 8+ hours, resulting in puffy feet and a lack of toe nails. Not the case here, but I could see someone with narrow feet finding them “sloppy”.

I guess the only real issue I would have was with the foot bed bunching under my toes. We had to get the Helios sent in from La Sportiva in Australia, and while my Vertical K’s in 43.5 fitted nicely, only 43 and 44 sizes where available. Being an ultra and possibly in the heat, I went with 44. The extra room was great for my toes, but with wet shoes on steep descents I got the foot bed bunching. Luckily it seemed to work itself-flat as I ran on, and ended up not being a big issue.

I could also see possible issues for people running hard on really rocky terrain, as there is no rock plate in the forefoot area of the Helios. But in saying this I did race with the Vertical K (very very similar shoes) at the Northburn100 21km and Routeburn Classic, with no real issue.

The La Sportiva Helios will soon be available in New Zealand, most readily from The Frontrunner shops (and possibly the BCR Trail Shop), and I recommend giving them a look if you are after a neutral,  all-round work horse trail shoe, suitable for a wide variety of trails/conditions – training or racing.

Check out La Sportiva’s full Mountain Running Range

Tailwind Endurance is a relatively new product on the market and I have to admit to not giving it too much attention when I first seen it hit the market. I have had mixed results with “liquid” fuel in the past and generally use gels, the occasional jelly snake/chew chomp thing and water. And coke- of course! My interest in Trailwind increased when Matty Able sang its praises pre Northburn100 and again when friend and fellow Team Fartleck member Bernard Robinson said he used it.

Then I was sent a few samples and asked to review Tailwind- which was great, who doesn’t like trying new stuff?! Except it was post Routeburn and I have done next to nothing for the past month!  Step in Bernard- Bernard is training hard for Ultra Trail Mt Blanc later in the year, logging some big training sessions, and has lots experience with Tailwind already. Below is his take on Tailwind Endurance-

Are you one of those people that start your race feeling like a world champ then only to have this crushed when you start consuming lolly water or gels that would cause your average Ant to go into a frenzy of ecstasy with all the sweet tasting sugar!!

So once you have had enough of consuming your allowable daily dosage  in the first two hours what then! You know you need energy but cannot stomach it any more. Does this sound all too familiar!!

Well it has been for me for many years struggling to find the key to nutrition and admittedly it will differ from person to person but I would like to say I have found the ‘Meaning of Life” and it comes in a packet, TAILWIND!! OMG, Finally a drink that may just blow you away, it ticks all the boxes:

Bernard stomping his way up the “Golden Stairs” at the recent TNF100, fuelled by Tailwind.

After reading many reviews on the web with people stating they only use the drink and no food for Ultra Marathons seemed a little far-fetched.  But you don’t know unless you try for yourself.  Needless to say I think most of the reviews are on the mark. I have been out for several  long runs up to 8 hours and Tailwind is really all it is cracked up to be. It is not very often you can say that you are hanging out to drink more of this stuff on your sessions.

I could keep writing and say how well this has been working for me but that may get boring,  so instead get hold of your local dealer and try it yourself, I would hazard a guess you may be pleasantly surprised! And I have very impressed with the local supplier who was excellent to deal with so it has been a win win on all avenues.

http://www.tailwindnutrition.co.nz/

Note- I have used it a few time snow and so far so good- as Bernard says, pleasantly surprised!- Grant.

After about the 2nd (of now around 25) such posts on the Tarawera page I said “Grant, you should sit down and write the definitive guide to choosing the right pack/hydration solution” . I then quickly realized I couldn’t give a definitive answer to what my cell number was, so answering peoples questions on pack advice would be a stretch. Hmmm, what to do with this pressing 1st world, middle class problem…..

Lucky living with a toddler has seen me rediscover my love for colours, shapes and lines (and my crayon skills are really coming along I might add), so a flow chart seemed like the right way to tackle this.

A few notes on the flow chart to keep in mind- I have only noted 3 brands- if I was to note every brand make and model I would still be making it. Plus the 3 brands listed are (in my opinion) leading the way. They are Ultimate Direction, Salomon Running and UltrAspire.

• Salomon Running has (for a while now) been making vests that have the best design and best materials. I have heard people slagging the Salomon Vests, until they try one on….
• UltrAspire is pretty new, but has the main man that started Ultimate Direction (and Nathan) behind it and they are making great gear and are hugely popular!
• Ultimate Direction has come back big time with the Signature Series Vests and Jurek Collection. Hands down the most popular products on the BCR Trail Shop. UD has the Salomon features, but at an UltrAspire price.
• What I have left out- well the HyrdraPak E-Lite Vest at $99 is probably your best value “small pack”  and I should have included this. I have heard a lot of good things on the newer Nathan stuff- I haven’t seen the newer stuff so don’t know. Going off the older Nathan products I didn’t feel the need to try and stock it in the BCR Trail Shop. Camelback- it pains me to even type the letters in sequence to make the word. They are massively popular- why? Really, does anyone know why? I am sorry, but I just can’t see any redeeming feature of their packs or bladders*. Put it this way- if you choose a Camelback I will not think less of you as a person, but I will think less of the decisions you make. Prove me wrong! I would love to see a offering from camelback that stacks up against my top 3 brands  listed above!
• *Bladders- 1st up- they suck. 2nd- they suck. Slow, painful and unpredictable (“I was sure I had more water in my bladder…..” have fun uttering that as you are running out to Awaroa). Bottles- in your hand, on your waist, or on a vest are quicker, cleaner and you can easily keep track of how much fluid you have.
• But, if you must use a bladder, get a HydraPak one! There is a reason that UltrAspire, Salomon and Ultimate Direction all use HydraPak bladders (all be it branded with their own logo). Pretty much all UltrAspire packs come with a HydraPak bladder, some of Salomon’s and you can by UD bladders to fit the Signature Series vest.

You can shop packs and hydration HERE on the BCR Trail Shop.

Hope this helps!

We now have “100 Reasons” available in the BCR Trail Shop- just in-time for you to watch before the 2013 race on May 19th (which will see Ryan, Vajin and a host of others line up again). We also have this excellent review on 100 Reasons by Rob Mattingly who raced the 2012 TNF100.

A lot of people who run, me included, find it hard to explain exactly why we do it or what we get out of it.

To call a film about a running race ’100 Reasons…’ is therefore quite a brave call. It’s even braver when the race in question is The North Face 100!

This is a tough race! 100 kilometers is a long way, particularly when it is up and down some big hills. Whatever level of runner you are, when you stand on the start line, you know it’s going to hurt. As you’re climbing Nellie’s Glen or slogging up Kedumba in the dark, you know it is hurting. If you stay unbroken and get to the end, you know it did hurt.

Does the DVD get this across? Absolutely! You see the excited anticipation at the start; the pain on competitors’ faces during the race and the tears and joy at the finish.

In terms of giving a feel for the race, the film does a lot more than that.

In 44 minutes it obviously can’t show all of a course which takes some people over 24 hours to complete. However, as with the actual race, there is a flavour of everything – roads, trails, meadows, stairs, rocks…

There are also great views of the stunning scenery. The Blue Mountains are not a World Heritage site for nothing!

The interviews with runners at all levels highlight the humility of the elites, the determination of everyone to achieve their goals and the emotion involved. (They also give some of the 100 reasons!)

So what are the reasons to watch this DVD?

If you’re a trail runner looking for a new challenge, will it inspire you? I think so – it made me regret not signing up again for this year.

If you run already, but are looking to step away from road running, it shows what trail running is all about.

If, like some of the people interviewed, you are just after a whole new challenge, then it may be that 100 REASONS THE NORTH FACE 100 helps you find it.

Whoever you are, check out the DVD, get out running and come and join a bunch of people on a great day out in the country. Like everyone featured in the film, you will get what you came for!

Buy 100 Reasons DVD HERE