The shoes I run in, ran in and revere

All hail the OG Kinvara!

Unless you are a runner who follows in the barefoot steps of Abebe Bikila, chances are that you've put some time into selecting, using and eventually discarding your running shoes. In the ten years since running became an important part of my lifestyle, I've probably owned over 30 pairs of trainers. I still have a lot of them, but quite a few have been donated or trashed due to their condition. I have one pair that I no longer use, but will never give up. Yes, I'm talking to you, original Kinvara.

Now that I no longer spend 2-3 hours a day commuting, I have more time to focus on the details of life. Upping my running from three to six days a week has caused me to pay more attention to my gear. More running means more running clothes and I'm planning to go through my sizable collection of running shirts to see what to keep or donate. Today I took on the easier task of addressing the assemblage of running shoes in my gear cabinet and you can see the results further below.

Over the years I've owned just about every major brand of running shoe: ASICS, Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Saucony, Brooks, along with some less well known brands such as Karhu, Helly Hansen, Spira and Sketchers. Many of these shoes were sent to me by manufacturers when I was maintaining Emerging Runner's sister site, Runner's Tech Review. Some shoes were worn over 1,000 miles, but a couple of pairs were donated after only a few runs.

Right now, I have three categories of running shoes in my house: 1) regular rotation, 2) special conditions and 3) decommissioned. Category three is where I'll be getting rid of some pairs. Going through my shoe collection has caused me to reflect on all my shoes and I thought I'd share those thoughts here.

REGULAR ROTATION

I try to run in a different pair every day because I read that shoes need recovery time too. Happily, I have a lot to choose from.

New Balance Zante 2

Responsive and comfortable

If I ever race again, I'll wear this pair. Low and energetic. They remind me of the Kinvara 5, but feel a little faster.

Brooks Launch 

Smooth and stable

This shoe was a surprise gift from my daughter. They would be a great everyday trainer, similar to the Adrenaline, but lighter.

Saucony Triumph ISO

If the Toyota Avalon was a shoe

When my feet are sore and I have to run, this is my go-to pair.

Saucony Kinvara 5

Light and energetic

I stopped running in these for a couple of years because of heel wear, but now they're back in the rotation. Not quite as peppy as the Zantes, but they are running royalty nonetheless.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

These are the shoes I wear for trails, bad weather or indoor running. I keep two of these pairs in a separate storage area and was too lazy to go get them when I was photographing my upstairs collection.

Spira Stinger XLT

Subtle as a chainsaw

This was a Runner's Tech Review special. Turns out they are pretty decent shoes, but the gimmick (springs in the mid sole) is ineffective. I use them when I run on pavement in the rain. Good traction.

Helly Hansen Trail Lizard

Not a good choice for technical running

Super lightweight and great for racing on hard packed dirt trails. No rock plate so they can be punishing on sharp stones and roots.

Brooks Cascadia 8

Unstoppable

Handles mud, rocks, scree and steep inclines like a Range Rover. Surprisingly runnable on pavement.

Saucony Kinvara 3

700+ miles on the treadmill

This was originally my primary 10K and half marathon shoe. I switched them to treadmill duty when I got the 5s. They still look brand new.

Karhu Fast 2

Alternative treadmill runners

These shoes were incredibly awkward on the road and only slightly better for track intervals. Stiffness lessened with use and they are now a decent treadmill and elliptical shoe.

DECOMMISSIONED

An interesting assortment of the good, the weird and the ugly. Sadly, the shoes with this little guy at the end of the description (🏃) will be recycled because they are no longer runnable.

Saucony Virrata

Minimal and cushy

I really liked these shoes because they were super light and near zero drop from heel to toe. I wore them out quickly because the out sole is primarily blown EVA. Tried them on to see if they were still runnable, but alas, they are done. 🏃

Brooks Pure Drift

Commonly asked at races: WTF are those?

Brooks sent me these as part of a wear testing program. Liked them a lot but wished I'd asked for a half size larger shoe. I thought they were as minimal as a shoe could get and then Saucony sent me the Hattoris. 🏃

Saucony Hattori

Weird but awesome

This is basically a pool shoe with better materials. No cushioning at all, no laces either. Ran a few PRs with them and used them as my daily trainers until I completely wore them out. 🏃

Saucony Kinvara

Perfect

I have never loved a running shoe as much as these original Kinvaras. I wore them out to the point where I risked knee issues running in them for more than four miles. Tried them on yesterday for the first time in seven years and they still feel perfect on my foot. No more running in them but they're staying in my collection.

Cascadia 8's take on Stillwell Woods

A happy sight

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.1 miles 

Although I bought my Brooks Cascadia 8's with the intention of using them as casual shoes, I couldn't resist taking them to Stillwell this morning. I have a perfectly nice pair of Helly Hansen Trail Lizards that have been my primary trail shoe over the past few years. Even so, I was curious to see how the Cascadias performed on Stillwell's tough trails.

The Cascadia 8

It's been over a month since I've done any type of trail running, so I was excited to hit the trail head leading into Stillwell Woods. The Cascadia's fit is generous for my shoe size, and I was concerned that it might create some lateral instability. Within a minute of my start, I could tell that would not be an issue.

The first thing I noticed about the shoes was the rock plate that provided less flexibility than the lighter weight Trail Lizards. On the positive side, I was able to plant my foot anywhere on the trail without concern for the jarring impact of roots and rocks. I normally need to step gingerly along certain areas at Stillwell, but the Cascadias absorbed everything in their path.

I didn't get adventurous enough to test vertical ascents out of the Viper Pit today, but I had no problems with the steep, scree covered sections that I encounter along my usual loop. Once I became confident that the Cascadias could handle any terrain, I shifted focus from watching the trail to enjoying the sights. That nearly cost me a face plant when my toe caught a high root and I almost went down. I was glad to have quickly restored my balance and suddenly grateful for the substantial toe guard.

The temperature was a few degrees higher than yesterday, but the tree cover kept me cool throughout the run. The Stillwell caretakers had recently trimmed the high grass adjacent to the single track that runs around the open field. That was great. When that grass gets high, it presents a real tick concern.

Overall, I ran easy and kept my heart rate between 81-84% of max. It was nice to be back in the woods and I appreciated the way the Cascadias performed. I'm thinking about adding more trail runs to my schedule while the weather remains cool. It's been a long time since I ran the Dirty Sock course in Babylon, so that might be a nice change of venue for my next outing.

I got my signed release form in the mail from my doctor yesterday and I'm now able to use my company's fitness center. Not that I love treadmills, but they have very nice equipment. Best of all, they have showers, so no more post-workout towel downs with Wet Ones, like I used to have to do at my old office.

Stillwell trail run, frozen paths and a near collision

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.9 miles

I was hoping to get a trail run in over my last vacation but the timing never worked out. I did manage to cover a lot of miles during my time off, but the only time I traveled to run was the Hangover Fun Run on New Year's Day. I was determined to get back to Stillwell this morning, where I did my first trail run of 2013.

It has been cold all week and today was no different. I dressed for freezing temperatures, including a base layer under my running pants. I was glad to have layers top and bottom when I stepped out of the car at Stillwell Woods to start my run.

The trail head and the main trail leading from it were covered with ice. I needed to step carefully as I made my way to an interior trail. There were a number of mountain bikers getting ready in the parking lot and I wondered how they'd fare on the slick and frozen surface. I never did see a biker on the path today. Perhaps they rethought their workouts after seeing the condition of the trails.

I wore my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards that eat up rough terrain. Their only shortcoming is the lack of a rock plate, which is normally a non-issue. Today it would have been provided great benefits, as the interior trails consisted of mud that was grooved by bike tires and refrozen as hard as rock. I needed to watch the trail closely to avoid slipping on the uneven surface.

About half a mile into the woods, I detected movement behind me. Thinking it might be bikers I moved to my right and soon saw two runners passing me on my left. There was no courtesy "Thank you", which is fine, but I would have liked to know there was a third runner trailing behind them. I had just started to move back to the center when the third runner came along, and we almost collided. People generally say, "On your left!" in those situations but these guys were jerks.

I did my usual loop a couple of times and noticed that, in the short time I'd been running, the sun had started to melt the ice. What had been frozen earth became soft and slippery mud and I needed to adjust for that. I saw a few people out walking with their dogs but no other runners today. I completed my second loop feeling like I'd worked fairly hard, even for a run that didn't quite go four miles.

Overall, it was a decent trail run. My last trail run went poorly (at Caleb Smith) and I appreciated the difference. I'm not sure where I'll run tomorrow, but today I'm happy to have had another great experience in the woods.

A difficult run on a cold winter's day

H/H Trail Lizards -- great on snow - not so much on the road

Today's run (street): 3.8 miles

My streak of energizing, feel-good runs was broken today with a 3.8 mile run that felt much longer. I was surprised to hit the wall so hard on this relatively short run. Learning from yesterday's experience, I wore my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards because there is still much snow and ice (and ice covered snow) on the roads. Things started out well, I moved right along, hardly slowing down for the snowy-icy patches. The Helly's provided great grip and stability over these areas for the most part though there were some spots that I preferred to dodge rather than run straight though.

My first hint of trouble happened on my first turn into the westerly winds that made the 18 degree temperatures feel much colder. I really wished at that moment that I'd worn my balaclava. On top of the force of the wind, the touch of my glasses against my face grew increasingly uncomfortable. Once I turned another corner that problem fell away and I felt like the worst was over since my body was warmed up, making straight-on winds less of an issue from that point. That much was true and I progressed well but I started to get tired as I neared the 25 minute mark. It may have been the cold or the fact that the Helly's don't run very well on pavement but I began to experience signs of bonking.

My level of effort (using the Daily Mile 1-5 scale) moved quickly from two to three to almost four in a period of five minutes and I decided to re-point my route back towards my home. Despite this difficulty I forced myself to maintain a reasonably fast cadence and came in with a respectable mid-9 overall pace. The runs today and yesterday were not typical street runs as the snow, ice and slush made them more trail-like. Perhaps it was the harder work coming from running the Trail Lizards on the road instead of the trail where they shine. It doesn't matter why, only that today's run was tough and hopefully the next one will be better. Even as I slogged through the difficult last mile I thought to myself how much I loved this crazy sport.

Breaking 9:00 at Stillwell on my pre-birthday run

Today's workout (trails): 3.9 mile at 8:58/mile

I was concerned that between Friday's long run in the city and yesterday's brisk run in the neighborhood that I'd be too tired to do much in terms of a workout today. A year ago I ran my first race, the 2009 Marcie Mazzola 4 mile run. I didn't place in my age group that day but I walked away with a prize nonetheless. It was a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant which I won because I had the closest birthday to race day. Tomorrow is my birthday but we're celebrating it today because it's the weekend. There's lots going on today so I decided to indulge in a trail run before things got too busy. Yesterday's overcast weather had transitioned to sunny skies by 8:00 AM today and the cool dry air made for perfect running weather.

I've become familiar enough with Stillwell to navigate it in a semi competent way. Between my basic knowledge of the trails and the direction of the sun I can usually make my way around without getting too lost. I successfully found the Black Trail this morning and followed it for a while. As I ran through switchbacks and roller coaster elevations I recalled that we traveled that way along the Xterra race course. I eventually reached a fork and had to choose a direction. I noticed a couple of runners a few hundred feet ahead so I began to follow them. There were lots of runners and mountain bikers on the trails today and everyone I encountered was friendly and polite. I caught up with the two runners ahead and passed them quickly. A few minutes later I came around a bend to find about six other trail runners who may have been waiting for the two that I'd just passed. We all said hello as I passed and I heard one of the woman say "I don't think I could keep up with him." Ha! If she only knew.

I wore my new iPhone armband which is better made than its predecessor but I had trouble getting it tight enough on my arm. I do have some upper arm development but this holder seemed like it was made for bigger biceps than mine. I used MotionX to record my path and I'm always surprised when I see where I ran versus where I thought I ran. I didn't go as far east as I planned but I covered a lot of ground north to south and finished with a loop around the open field trail. I ran faster than usual for a trail run and I noted again how well my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards handled all types of rock, scree, roots and sand without a problem. I've done a lot of running over the last week and I feel very good about my performance. Tomorrow is the Boston Marathon. I'll enjoy that vicariously on my rest day.

11 days to go before the XTERRA Trail Run

Helly Hansen Trail Lizard

I am eleven days away from my next race and I'm looking forward to the event. This upcoming race is different from any I've raced before, including my previous trail race, the Dirty Sock 10K. The March 7th XTERRA race at Stillwell Woods presents conditions that will challenge runners at every step. Unlike a road race where the streets are wide enough for bunches of runners, Stillwell has a lot of singletrack paths that barely accommodate one person. I don't know exactly how the course will be routed but there are some significant drops and climbs in those woods. On the bright side, if I am able to keep up with the other runners I may have my first experience running at Stillwell without getting lost.

I haven't been able to train on trails since my adventure at Muttontown Preserve a few weeks ago. Since then there's been too much snow and more coming this weekend if predictions for a Nor'easter are accurate. I've been relegated to the treadmill except on days off so I'm under-trained for hills. I ran 2.4 miles this morning at 9:17/mile. The guest room was warm and I wore my Atayne shirt that I love but it's slightly heavier than my other short sleeved running shirts. Together they contributed to a sweaty but pleasant run. I had the TV on so I could catch some highlights from last night's Olympic games while I ran. I'm hoping that I can get outside this weekend for some hill training or do some elliptical sessions at a high resistance level. Otherwise I'll just need to manage my way through the race with my present state of conditioning. I'm also wondering what the Stillwell course will be like if there's a ton of snow on the ground. I'll be wearing my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards, my most capable trail runners. I'm hoping they'll be enough shoe for the day's conditions.

Helly Hansen Trail Lizards are also good for snow shoveling

I fibbed a little in yesterday's post when I said I didn't like shoveling snow. I actually like it a lot. My technique is not unlike LSD running and when I get into the zone I often find the orderly progress relaxing. This morning my wife and I came out to a foot or so of snow that had accumulated after the 3" we'd shoveled last night. In about an hour we managed through it. The biggest challenge was finding places to put the snow that we lifted off the driveway and walk. There was a lot to displace.

We have guests coming over for brunch a little later this morning so I'm glad to have got some exercise in beforehand. I was happy to do some upper body work as well. I wore my Helly Hansen Trail Lizard running shoes while I shoveled and found them to be remarkably comfortable as well as very stable in the slippery conditions. The shoes don't have any water proofing but the snow is dry and fluffy so that wasn't an issue. I'm really tempted to go out later for a run in the neighborhood with the Trail Lizards. I'll hold off for now because there are still snow plows on the road and I don't want to have to dodge them, especially with no sidewalk escape route. If I don't make it outside I'll consider an elliptical session or perhaps a workout on the treadmill. I can always look out the window and enjoy the snowy scenery.

Happiness on the Stillwell trails

Click Replay to watch my route animated

I was bound and determined to break out of my neighborhood for a run this weekend. Yesterday's run was great but I've been missing the trails a lot. This morning I headed over to Stillwell Woods for a change of pace and I figured that a few hills could only help my conditioning. For those not familiar with Stillwell, here is a nice pictorial that I found online. The weather was beautiful, mid-40's with sun and no wind. I set out with only one goal: to go farther north than I'd ever gone before on that course.

Stillwell is a dense collection of tracks with many turnarounds and many technically challenging ascents and descents. There are lots of areas within the preserve that have different surfaces (sand, rocks, dirt/mud). I don't have the greatest sense of direction but I can guess fairly accurately based on the position of the sun and the time of day. At least I thought I could. I consciously focused on my start position in relationship to where I was headed. The trails split often and taking a left fork will often as not wrap around and take you completely in another direction after a few hundred yards. Despite my guess that I was heading northeast, I was on a southeast vector until I recognized a trail and changed direction.

Eventually I headed east and north and achieved my original goal. I chose a number of single track trails that I would have avoided in the summer because of the narrowness and overgrowth. I encountered some steep rocky hills that my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards dispatched with ease. It was quite by accident that I came so close to the northeastern corner because I thought I was heading back to my point of origin (west) as I made my way east. I stopped after about three miles to let a bunch of mountain bikers through a tight area and I checked my compass to discover I was far off from where I expected to be.

After heading back I reached the large open field that sits west of the treed majority of the preserve. After all that dense woods and uncertain navigation it felt like I was on a plane that had broken through heavy cloud cover to reveal the airport below. I felt so strong and energized that I ran past the exit to the athletic field in favor of tearing across the open field for a mini-cross country run. I ended up running around that open field one more time and I used a runner in the distance to pace me until I exited where I'd originally started. In all I covered a little less than 5 miles and still felt like I had more to give. I'm really fortunate to have an amazing place like Stillwell so close to my home.

Sluggish Barracuda

The first thing I'll say about my tough time on today's run at Stillwell is that it's not the fault of my shoes. Yesterday I bought a pair of Adidas Response 15's at the Adidas outlet store for a mere $33, thanks both to a discounted price and an additional 20% discount coupon we had. I tried some other Adidas shoes while I was there and was very impressed with the AdiStar Ride which I would have scooped up for $71 with discounts were I looking to replace my Brooks at this time. I was very unimpressed with the Mega Bounce which may have been the worst feeling high end shoe I've tried in a long time. The Response 15's fit me very well. I love my NB 460 trail shoes but they are 1/2 size too small which only becomes a problem on runs longer than 5 miles (Like Sunday's 10K) when they encroached too far onto the tops of my toes. I was excited to try the Response's today and they felt good the entire run.

I began my run with an experiment - my goody bag from Sunday's race contained a sample of Max Muscle Barracuda energy drink whose website describes it as a "uniquely formulated energy supplement designed for an extreme energy rush."

I'm not sure if that's true, I guess I felt some heightened energy at the beginning of my run but I'll attribute that as much to having new trail shoes as anything else. I made my way into the woods and followed the trails northeast, cutting over to a very narrow path with plant growth that barely provided room for a single runner. It was here, about eight minutes into the run, that I noticed that I was already feeling tired and I hadn't even taken on the toughest parts of the trail. When I did reach the first abrupt incline I looked for an alternate path that was less steep because I didn't feel I had the energy to take on a 10% grade. Left with no choice I made my way up and determined that the Adidas's were no match for the Helly Hansen Trail Lizards that would have (and in fact had) dispatched this hill without a problem. The Response 15's did fine but I could sense a lack of support on the tougher climbs.
Overall I thought the Response 15's felt great and very comfortable. I think they would have been perfect for the Dirty Sock race course that was primarily flat.

I headed back after completing 3.4 miles at a 9:51 pace. It wasn't the best run I've done at Stillwell but it was a workout. I'll continue to run with the new Adidas shoes on trails but I'll probably switch off with the Helly's at Stillwell from time to time. I'm thinking of keeping the NB's in my office for occasional runs on the bridle trail in Central Park. I guess I've already assembled a fairly large collection of running shoes but for $33 how could I resist buying something that Runner's World called a "best buy"?

First impression - Helly Hansen Trail Lizards

I've patiently waited all week for the opportunity to try my new Helly Hansen Trail Lizard running/hiking shoes so I put them to the test this morning. We will be posting a full review in the coming weeks on Runner's Tech Review but I'll give some first impressions here.

Today's run was at Stillwell Woods Preserve that has many different trail conditions and surfaces. I started with a run across grass from where I parked my car to the trail head and noted that although I'd requested size 10.5 shoes they seemed very roomy in the toe box and at the heel compared with my Brooks, New Balance and Asics shoes that are also in that size. The generous toe box didn't concern me. I'd rather error on the side of it being too large versus being too tight. The heel was a concern because of stability and slippage that could lead to blisters. It wasn't pronounced and I had good socks so that didn't prove to be a problem.

I followed the paths I knew but quickly found myself in unfamiliar territory. I skirted some big muddy sections then came upon some steep inclines with large rocks and I put the shoes to the test. The challenge was well met, no issues with traction. I would have liked more support and snugness around the back but the shoes themselves felt more stable than I'd expected. I can also see using these shoes for straight trail hiking. I dodged a number of bikers along the way and encountered some very rough terrain with pronounced inclines and declines, the surface often consisting of rough sand and rock. I had no trouble with that but the shoes really felt good when I found a trail of hard packed dirt. The running there was a pleasure and I think these shoes compared favorably to the New Balance 460's in that respect.

I had a very small compass (the face was smaller than a dime) so I needed to stop a few times to get a read. I spent some time getting lost and with the hills I got very tired and took a couple of short rest breaks. At one point I crossed paths with a mountain biker who was also a bit lost so I looked at the compass and sent him toward the difficult trails that he wanted and headed off to complete my run. As I exited the trails I ran on grass but then cut over to the pavement to get a feel for running on the street. Here I saw a big difference between these shoes and the NB's as the Helly Hansens are clearly made for softer surfaces. I ended up running 5.2 miles, much of it up steep trails, and the Trail Lizards handled it all competently. The big test was how I felt after the run and I was happy to note there was no foot or leg pain and my biggest current concern, a slight groin pull, felt much better at mile 5 than it did at mile zero. Trail running is clearly kinder to my body than street running but I love them both. I'll be writing more about the Trail Lizards, my next test will be to face them off against the NB 460's over similarly rough terrain.

Helly and Moji

In the last couple of days I've received some cool stuff to test. Yesterday I got the Moji-To-Go that, according to the site, is "a thermally insulated stainless steel canister that keeps the Moji Cold Cell at its optimal cooling state for 4 - 6 hours." This solves a basic problem with the Moji Knee: how do you keep it frozen for hours while you are running in a remote area? AG is putting it to the test between soccer games and trail running and we'll be reporting on that on Runner's Tech Review soon.

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Today we received our Helly Hansen Trail Lizard running/hiking shoes to test on the trails. They certainly look great and I couldn't resist trying them on between meetings. They feel very responsive off the heel and I can't wait to introduce them to dirt this weekend!

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This morning I did a Central Park run around the lower loop and a couple of paths inside. Covered 2.15 miles at an 8:49 pace. Not a bad way to start a busy Tuesday!

Hitting the trail - literally

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It's a beautiful 4th of July Saturday and I'm doing today's post from the back yard. Before our big cookout, my wife and kids have set up a tarp on the lawn and are doing an art project with pasta. Something to do with creating stamps that look like fireworks. It looks like fun.

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I've been busy over the last two days. Yesterday afternoon I did a short run through the neighborhood, covering 3.18 miles at a moderate pace (9:18). I did about half this run along the outside roads that frame my neighborhood. One road (the sidewalk really) has so many patches of dirt that it's almost a trail. The other outside road cuts east along the north side and has a hill that looks difficult to the eye but is fairly modest when you run it. I wanted to keep this run short because the previous day's OCA trail was a fairly hard effort. I came home from my Saturday run and immediately changed into swim shorts and jumped in the pool. I was so hot that it took about a minute in the cold water before I actually felt cooled off.

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I wanted to run Stillwell this weekend. The Bethpage trail run last weekend and Thursday's OCA run have really got me excited about that aspect of the sport. I cannot wait until I get my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards to test. Until then my New Balance 460's continue to impress, a great value for the money.
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I headed over to Stillwell Woods Preserve this morning and set off on the trails with the intention of expanding beyond the primary loop that I had previously run. I had looked at the area on Google Earth to try to understand the trail layout and I traveled south off the main trail until I started encountering some large muddy patches that were somewhere between the size of a puddle and a pool. I edged along the side of those until I reached a fork where, in one direction, the trail seemed to drop off the face of the earth. I suspected that trail was favored by extreme mountain bikers so I chose the other way and traveled along a series of narrow but interesting paths until I found myself facing a hill that made the ones in Brooklyn and Washington Heights look modest. No matter, I attacked it and did fairly well but with the tree cover I was somewhat disoriented in terms of direction. I picked another trail and ran for about 10 minutes in perfect conditions where I saw and heard a number of animals.

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At one point I began encountering bikers which made me nervous due to the width of the trails. I was hoping that I was going in the right direction, based upon the sun I knew I was traveling west. I crossed paths with another runner and immediately came upon some mountain bikers who yelled a cheerful hello. I was feeling good about this run, taking in the cool air, the sun and the interesting sites when I suddenly found myself face down in the dirt. I had tripped on a root that ran across the path and I landed on my forearms which took most of the impact. I stood up and established that I was bleeding and scraped up but nothing seemed broken. I continued for another mile and left the trail, making a loop around the soccer fields before returning to my car. I ended up running 3.61 miles at a mid 9:00 pace. Surprisingly good considering the hills and the falling incident.

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When I got home my kid's faces said it all. My daughter immediately grabbed the first aid spray and my wife took a picture of my damaged body. After a shower I saw that it was all superficial cuts and scrapes so I started thinking about a Bethpage run tomorrow. Stillwell is an interesting and different experience from Bethpage but both are awesome. This trail running is great fun and it seems to be a good way to run without generating leg pain.