Gear Girl visits Goldstream Sports
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Icebug running shoes: All grip and no slip
It’s that time of year. The roads and
parking lots become obstacle courses of glazed iced making walking, let alone
running, feel like you should be suited up in football pads and a helmet.
My go-to winter
running shoe are banished to the closet.
The last time I ran on them, the rubber tread had frozen and when I hit
the black ice on Cushman Street I did a Three Stoogesesque slip in front of a
row of cars stopped for the light. I did
not slide under a car; everyone got a good laugh, but I was spooked.
I figured I was
doomed to run on a treadmill until the ice melted. Then my favorite running
store, Goldstream Sports, gave me a pair of their studded Icebug running shoes
to demo. They are a darling fuchsia, water resistant and have 34 small metal studs
protruding from their tread. Goldstream
Sports carries several different models.
I take the Icebug
Pythos2 for a spin on my hilliest running route, climbing an icy road up a long
steep hill, over some rolling hills on mushing trails and back down on a road
covered in hard pack.
Even the dogs are
slipping on the icy road and I slow down to a shuffle in anticipation. No need.
The cleats dig into the icy crust covering the snow and I power around the
curve. No slip, not a whisper of a slip. I don’t feel the spikes through the
shoes and they are as light as my summer running shoes.
I start down a long hill on black ice,
still no skid. It’s hard to get my mind to trust the information coming from my
feet and I find myself still holding back. Overriding my survival instinct, I open
up my stride and run freely.
These shoes are hot-pink
miracles. I land sure footed with each shoe’s small metal spikes digging into
the ice and giving me extra force as I push off. I feel I am running faster now
than on bare pavement. It feels a little
naughty---like racing on a bike without a helmet---and I love it.
By the end of my
run, I am convinced that every runner in Fairbanks should own a pair of these.
Some cautions are
due. These are not indoor shoes. They
are slippery on tile, especially any flooring with a gloss to it. Also, they
will mark wood floors, so definitely take them off before treading across
anyone’s Himalayan cedar planks.
Also, you aren’t
going to sneak up on anyone in a pair of these. On hard surfaces like asphalt,
Icebugs make a sound similar to a dog with long toenails clacking across a
hardwood floor. I kind of like it.
Finally, they are
on the expensive side. This pair sells
for $165 and they are worth it. Investing in a pair of Icebugs is like buying
insurance to keep you safe until the ice melts. I think of my friend who I saw limping earlier
in the week because she slipped during a run and sprained her foot. The first
big 5k of the season is only two weeks away and it would be horrible to hurt
yourself right before the season. The long days are here and calling us to come
outside and run. These will keep you off your fanny.
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| Goldstream Sports offers free high-tech testing of your running/walking gait so they can recommend the best shoe for you (the studded shoes will rip up the treadmill, so no video testing for those). |
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| Ben captures video of your run on the treadmill with a neutral shoe to observe and analyze your foot-striking pattern; then again with a recommended shoe to keep you running your best, pain and injury free. |
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| Goldstream Sports offers awesome trails for testing out gear and for public use 'cause they're awesome! |
711 Sheep Creek Road
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709
(907) 455-6520
Mon-Fri: 12-7 * Sat: 10-5 * Sun: Closed
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709
(907) 455-6520
Mon-Fri: 12-7 * Sat: 10-5 * Sun: Closed
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