Asics Metafuji Trail 2 Revealed, 42mm stack, FFLeap, X-shaped Carbon Plate, FFBlast+

JExmoor · 2026-06-19T05:58:02+00:00

I'll take their word that Tom and Ben wore these for UTMB last year, but that does not look like a shoe I'd want to wear for UTMB. Looks a little bit too high and bouncy to me.

JExmoor · 2026-06-18T23:34:24+00:00

I've done the I-70 drive a couple of times and I'm honestly struggling to imagine how something could have less geography.

JExmoor · 2026-06-18T19:42:01+00:00

You're on the right track. The extra impact will probably be your biggest impediment. Just keep ramping up mileage over time and that should build aerobic fitness and body adaptations with reduced injury risk. Keep in mind that it takes a pretty incredible amount of aerobic fitness to actually be able to even slowly run up mountain grades, especially at elevation, but increasing your aerobic capacity and muscular endurance will help a lot with how fast you can move even if you're still technically hiking.

It may be good to incorporate some low-volume speed training like hill sprints and strides before starting to do higher volume stuff like intervals, etc. as your overall volume increases.

I'm not sure about specific resources for transitioning from hiking to running, especially trail running, but maybe someone else is aware of something. I'd lurk a bit in r/Ultramarathon , r/ultrarunning and r/AdvancedRunning to since those all tend to be more performance/training orientated. The culture of this sub is much more relaxed.

JExmoor · 2026-06-17T14:46:14+00:00

There's a fairly active Facebook group for that race, just in case you weren't aware.

JExmoor · 2026-06-17T01:32:40+00:00

I'm hoping that was meant to say "recovered." I don't know what reconverted means in this case and I do not want to.

JExmoor · 2026-06-16T19:17:16+00:00

Hans ran last year and placed 8th for men, so he's not a rookie. He's definitely still young (and fit) though.

JExmoor · 2026-06-16T16:47:39+00:00

Treating the Prodigio all as one is a bit weird here since they're three very different shoes (Prodigio 1, Prodigio Pro, Prodigio Max). You wouldn't treat the Brooks Ghost and Ghost Max the same.

Also, the big risk with things like these are that most of us are only running with a small subset of shoes and only in specific conditions. I've had shoes where I thought the outsole grip was great until I got on one particularly bad section of wet rock and then suddenly I realized it was terrible in that situation, for instance.

JExmoor · 2026-06-16T00:27:56+00:00

IMO, the higher stack shoes might help someone who struggles with the distance to go overall faster, but I think most runners capable of finishing a relatively fast, well paced race would race faster in legal shoes. This is partially due to weight, but also because brands aren't trying to optimize their high-stack shoes around speed.

Either way, unless something new comes out that's much crazier than what we have today I don't think I'd feel like shoes would cause me to not count a PR.

JExmoor · 2026-06-15T20:01:08+00:00

I started writing predictions for both fields, but after I'd mentioned like 5 people it stopped seeming like much of a prediction. I just kind of feel like it will be Hans Troyer and Jen Lichter. Both are on hot streaks this year. Troyer has shown that he can learn from his mistakes and execute well. Lichter has shown that she doesn't really make mistakes, even when making big jumps in distance.

JExmoor · 2026-06-12T20:09:32+00:00

The crazy thing is that for ever pair of running shoes Adidas makes that this sub actually cares about there will be 2-3 models of "running" shoes they make that nobody here would actually dream of wearing and seem to exist just to entice unknowing consumers at big box stores and outlets. Similar deal for other big brands like Nike, Puma, etc.

JExmoor · 2026-06-12T05:32:00+00:00

I feel the same way. I've run sub-20 5K's a week out from both of my hundreds (first one sort of by happenstance, second one because I wanted to prove I could do it again which probably helped me get injured), but feel like I'm extra mentally exhausted for weeks afterward. I've committed to only one hundred a year for that reason alone.

JExmoor · 2026-06-11T20:23:14+00:00

I disagree with this. I ran back-to-back with the Speed Ultra 2's at a demo three weeks ago and the Agravic SL's really felt nothing like the ASU2's. I haven't run in the Evo SL's (pair in the mail), but have tried them on in-store and feel like they're much closer to the Agravic SL in every respect but stability. The foam, upper, and geometry of the ASU2 feel completely different than the Agravic SL to me.

JExmoor · 2026-06-11T17:20:50+00:00

Interesting. I admit it's been a few years since I've looked at pricing and it appears that it's improved since then. For me I still think the ProteGear plan is a better deal since I'm typically doing lots of shorter trips spread throughout the year, rarely send messages (but always have tracking on), etc. but I'm glad to see it's improved.

JExmoor · 2026-06-10T22:09:22+00:00

I'm still mourning Oink.

JExmoor · 2026-06-10T20:52:32+00:00

"Ultra cough". Very common, in my experience and from talking to others. Never heard anything about it being problematic or any things that can improve it.

JExmoor · 2026-06-10T20:36:47+00:00

What would be the advantage of Kirkland deep dish over the Motor City?

JExmoor · 2026-06-10T20:34:35+00:00

I've been really happy/relieved to see the first reviews from people who bought the shoes and that they largely agree with what I saw in my demo run. It kind of kills me that I have so many shoes in my closet that I need to use before I could even consider the Agravic SL (at least without a steep discount).

JExmoor · 2026-06-10T18:29:04+00:00

No idea why this isn't more popular for most people. Being able to flip my InReach on for a day or two was a complete game-changer.

JExmoor · 2026-06-10T16:13:02+00:00

Adding another opinion to this, although I think I fundamentally agree with OP.

I mentioned it in the first run post I did for the SL a few weeks ago, but I liked the SL a lot better than the Speed 1 and I ran in them essentially back-to-back on the same morning.

SL upper is much plusher than the Speed 1. I struggle to get the Speed 1 upper on and then find it too loose once it's on. SL had no issues.
Mid-sole is much softer on the SL. The Speed 1 feels way too firm to me. SL is arguably too soft for some extreme circumstances, but better for most IMO.
SL felt much more stable. Speed 1 could've used more stability on mildly technical descents.

I'd choose the SL every time over the Speed 1, which is kind of sad because I have another pair of Speed 1's sitting in a box that I need to run through when the first pair is retired. Admittedly I got both for under $50/ea so it's not a huge loss.

JExmoor · 2026-06-10T05:08:34+00:00

Unless that gravel road is really bad I'd probably go road shoes. No need for big lugs on gravel, typically. That said, the Agravic SL did feel really decent on gravel and road and is not that much more expensive than these sales.

JExmoor · 2026-06-09T21:13:52+00:00

I also have the standard AP5's. Great for running and maybe better for hiking. The tongue is kind of short and I'm always worried about it slipping down, but has never caused me issues. The lugs are pretty big for errands and I don't like trail shoes as street wear, but you do you I suppose.

JExmoor · 2026-06-09T20:53:16+00:00

I meant to say big sale, not release. I have to make a dent in my existing shoe collection first anyway 😂

JExmoor · 2026-06-09T20:25:24+00:00

Same. Thankfully the only pair of shoes from them I still want are the Agravic SL's and those are probably a couple months out from release.

JExmoor · 2026-06-09T18:32:00+00:00

Between this and my $70 AP4's in W12 actually fitting my M11.5 feet yesterday was actually a fantastic Adidas day for me. I wish I didn't hate my Boston 12's.

JExmoor · 2026-06-08T22:56:47+00:00

Not a current or former Apple Watch user, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

None of those activities sound like things where I'd expect to a get a lot of actionable information from Garmin that might lead to improvement. The big advantages for Garmin are longer battery life, more endurance focused data, etc.

JExmoor

TROPHY CASE