One of the crappy parts of being banged up is watching the seasons change while you’re stuck running the same routes. I’ve been dealing with so many nagging injuries that most of my runs have been relegated to the track or little out-and-backs near my house. Anyone coming off an injury knows the terror of venturing too far from safety.
My current injury happened on the trail. Having something go awry on a run stinks anywhere, but when the walk of shame becomes the hike of shame, it adds an extra degree of difficulty. Just getting back to basecamp can make an injury worse. Today I felt healthy enough to return to the scene of the crime and get some trail miles in.
The last time I was there, everything looked different. I missed watching the leaves change before the trees discarded them all over the trail. I hurt my hammy in mid-July, and somehow my trail runs went from tank tops to gloves without the payoff of actual normal fall temperatures. Still, miles on the trail will always beat 20 laps around the track, regardless of the temperature.
Another exciting part of today’s run was my footwear choice.
I’ve had a pair of the Kiprun KipSummit Max sitting in my office since spring, waiting for their turn. I hadn’t pulled them out, even when healthy, because of their fit. They might be the best-looking trail shoes I own, but every time I tried them on, my feet immediately told me no.
Having the world’s ugliest feet, complete with the evidence of decades of running, my shoe choice is often dictated by much more than where I’m running. Despite being my size and looking plenty wide, the KipSummit Max always bothered my bunions. The upper felt too unforgiving to give me confidence to take them for a spin.
I tell customers at the shop that if you can feel it inside, you’ll feel it outside. If standing in a shoe bothers me before I’ve taken a step, I have no confidence it’ll feel better a few miles in. I’m also not a fan of counting on a shoe’s upper to loosen up. If it’s going to work for me, I want it to work from the first step.
The KipSummit Max is billed as the trail version of the KipRide Max, Kiprun’s beefy trainer. What’s frustrated me is that I have no width issues in the KipRide Max. So the fit difference has been doubly annoying. Not to mention, they’re freaking awesome looking. At the store, they’re picked up frequently based on appearance alone.
Since my mileage has been well below normal, my feet seem to have calmed down some. When I went to pick a pair for the day, the siren song of the KipSummit Max called. I was thrilled to stand up in them without immediately needing to rip them off.
Still, I could tell they’d have to be reserved for extremely happy-feet days. Even with my bunions calm, the shoe’s depth was an issue. My feet felt cozy, but they were also pushing against the top of the upper. The KipSummit Max has one of the poofiest tongues I’ve ever felt. I actually had a hard time tying them, and looking down, my feet almost appeared waterlogged.
What the KipSummit Max lacked in width and depth, it made up for in comfort. Walking around reminded me why I like the KipRide Max. I bill the KipRide as our softest shoe that still has a pinch of pop. The KipSummit felt the same: extremely plush cushioning without being so soft that it feels sluggish.
Truthfully, that had been another hesitation. Even if I could tolerate the fit, I worried the shoe wouldn’t be much fun to run in. Soft is great, but the loop I typically do on the trail is arduous enough without having to work through a squishy shoe. The balance of cushion and bounce gave me a real sense of why this shoe has been a sleeper hit among Kiprun’s first wave of products in the States.
A few weeks back, Blandine L’Hirondel won the famed UTMB wearing Kiprun shoes, and since then, we’ve seen a nice uptick in demand. At the shop, the KipSummit Max quickly became our most popular Kiprun model.
The nice thing about today’s route was that it gave me a full range of data. The Shark Loop, which I named for its abstract resemblance to a shark on Strava, packs 1,000 feet of elevation into six miles. There’s a steep rocky section, a stream crossing, muddy spots, and plenty of turns. If a shoe has a flaw, the Shark Loop tends to expose it.
Through all of it, I came back to the car unable to pinpoint a single performance issue. Not only did the shoe have the pop I was hoping for, but it also handled getting wet wonderfully.
The stream crossing is massive, with ankle-deep water for several steps. Worse, it occurs precisely at the halfway point, so the wrong shoe can make for a lousy second half. The KipSummit Max seemed to expel water quickly, and I never felt soggy, even with that extra-padded tongue I’d assumed would act like a sponge.
When I got back to the car, the only downside was that my Achilles felt a little more sore than I would’ve liked. It’s something I’ve also noticed in the KipRide Max. Even with a moderate 6mm drop, the heel feels a pinch softer than I’d prefer. I don’t notice it during the run, but I suspect that softness makes my Achilles work harder than it wants to.
The conundrum is that I don’t have enough extra room to add a firmer insole for a little more stability. So, much like waiting for my bunions to calm down, the KipSummit Max will have to be saved for days when my Achilles isn’t bugging me. I swear, I long for the days when I could just run without so many pre-run body checks.
One last note: hell of a value. At $150, with a Vibram outsole, water-resistant upper, and beautiful design, it’s tough to beat. If you have the right foot shape and are looking for something to wear on the trails for runs or hikes, it’s a great option to check out.
I hope I can keep my injuries at bay long enough to get more miles in them before the trails turn to ice, as they often do for a few months each year.
Thanks for reading.
TO PICK UP A PAIR – https://shop.runmoore.com/shop?search=kipsummit
