Nate Sanel just posted reviews of the Hoka Rapa Nui Tarmac 2 and Rapa Nui Trail 2 over on his blog. I hope to get a pair of these to try as my first Hoka (I have the Mafate but only ran in it once – not bad, but way too much shoe for me), […]
Dirty Runner: Skechers GoRun Ultra Review
December 16, 2013 By 98 Comments
One of the best things about writing this column has been the opportunity I’ve had to build personal relationships with shoe companies. The one that I work with the most is Skechers. By now I should not have to convince anybody that they are a “real” performance running shoe manufacturer, so I won’t… For me, […]
Dirty Runner: Pearl Izumi EM N1 Trail Shoe Review
August 15, 2013 By 2 Comments
I’ve been struggling to write this review. I received this pair of Pearl Izumi EM N1 Trail shoes in May and have run 111 miles in them so far (Disclosure: These shoes were sent to me free of charge as a media sample courtesy of PI). I love these shoes, but when thinking about what […]
Biker Nate Crushes the Vermont 100 Endurance Run!
July 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I met Nate Sanel several years ago in a somewhat fitting setting – he was running across the state of New Hampshire with his friend Sherpa John Lacroix. At the time I’d never run with an ultrarunner before, and the concept of running longer than a marathon seemed a bit crazy to me. John and […]
Dirty Runner: Altra Lone Peak 1.5 Review
July 9, 2013 By 7 Comments
A short time ago I received this comment posted (anonymously) on my blog about which shoe I was going to use for the MMT100: “Why is the Lone Peak 1.5 your “weapon of choice”?. The company’s customer service told me it’s not functionally different than the original, which you seemed to pretty much trash in […]
Dirty Runner: La Sportiva Helios Trail Shoe Review
June 12, 2013 By 6 Comments
I must confess that I have never run in La Sportiva shoes before this pair of Helios arrived at my door. Although the Vertical K interested me, I read that the toe-box was quite narrow. Since I have always enjoyed shoes with large toe-boxes, I just never gave them a chance. When the Helios was […]
Dirty Runner: Montrail FluidFlex Trail Shoe Review
April 29, 2013 By 19 Comments
If you’ve read any of my past reviews you know that I have a certain ideal shoe that I’m searching for. My perfect trail shoe would be one with a minimal upper that fits like a glove over the forefoot, a wide toe box, excellent drainage, great grip, soft ride, 0-4mm heel/forefoot differential, and enough […]
Dirty Runner – Patagonia Evermore Trail Running Shoe Review
March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I recently received an email from Patagonia asking if I would like to review their new 4mm drop lightweight trail shoe, the Patagonia Evermore. I was excited at the prospect since I had spotted a glimpse of the shoe a few weeks earlier and it had sparked my interest. (Disclosure: this pair of shoes was […]
Dirty Runner: A 37 Mile Run Through the Desert
February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
On January 23, in the midst of another cold weather patch, I posted the following on Facebook. “I’ve never minded winter before, but I have found myself today fantasizing about running all day in the warm woods. I have a lot of airplane miles, where should I go?” A lot of great suggestions came in […]
Dirty Runner: Brooks Pure Grit 2 Review
February 11, 2013 By 14 Comments
Yes, the traction is better! End of review. Ok, all kidding aside, I’ve been looking forward to testing the new version of the Brooks Pure Grit since I saw pictures of the new tread pattern. What was not immediately apparent when I first saw those pictures was that a few other changes were made that […]
Dirty Runner: Altra Torin Shoe Review
January 29, 2013 By 29 Comments
In 2011 I decided to tackle six 100 mile races in a single year. One of the biggest sources of stress leading up to the first race was deciding which shoes to wear. I had recently discovered Altra, and had fallen in love with the Altra Instinct. After completing the Western States 100 in the […]
Dirty Runner: Wildlife Encounters on the Trail
January 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
A lot of runners who have never ventured into the woods seem to have a fear of what might lurk amongst the tees. As a trail runner, I often get asked about what sort of wildlife I encounter while running out in the forest. For my first post as “The Dirty Runner” I’m hoping to […]
Introducing Nate Sanel – The Dirty Runner
January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
After 4 years of managing, editing, designing, and writing Runblogger entirely on my own, I’ve decided in 2013 to enlist a bit of help. One of my limitations is that I don’t run a lot of trails (at least not yet). I hit the trails behind my house on occasion, but rarely for long distances, […]
