I successfully ran the 100+ mile “Hundred in the ‘Hood” PCT Ultra 100 Miler trail run this weekend, wearing the new Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek.  I completed in just over 23.5 hours, earning a belt buckle for a sub-24 hour finish.  A race report will be posted soon!

I sent this out Sunday to some of the barefoot/minimalist running mailing lists I am on.  I share it here as a fitting first post on my blog about going the distance minimally:

I did my ~10 mile run today wearing my new Treks.  A wandering 2 hours on the network of trails in the Marquam Nature Park in Portland, Oregon.  Full of hills, mud, rocks, lots of single track trail, and one stretch of large-rock strewn “road”.  The VFF KSO Treks were pretty amazing.  I could feel the trail under foot, but I didn’t have to worry about it every step.  My feet could behave as feet, but with seemingly no threat of feeling the jabs of the rocks beneath them.  I was actually a little concerned - I was able to tune out a little too much.  I noticed my form slipping a bit, and was aware that the beefier sole would do nothing to prevent catching my toe on a log like I did on my last long trail run.  I wish I had enough time to train in the Treks to have that reduced awareness catch up with me so I don’t have to learn the hard lesson on my long run next week. I’ll be reminding myself to stay focused, and won’t be listening to an audiobook as I was today.

I climbed up to the highest point in Portland.  I never felt a lack of traction in my other VFFs but could tell I had greater traction in the Treks.  I jumped on and over a log blocking the path, and my foot slipped a bit.  That never happened in my other VFFs.  It seems the Treks sacrifice a certain amount of the dynamic grip I’ve come to enjoy for the static grip of their increased tread.  About 7 miles into my meandering run I reached the top of Council Crest, took in the view, and then bombed down the 3.2 miles of trail to my car.  I haven’t been able to bomb down a trail like that since I wore traditional shoes.  It was fun.

I fully expect that this will translate into improved performance on my race.  There is a significant amount of energy that is available for running that was previously going into caution on every step.  Part of me missed that awareness, and I am unsure if I’ll be trading out my Sprints and KSOs for Treks on all of my runs.  But for next weekend’s 100 miler, it seems like a godsend.