Mercedes Marathon Expo Preview, Installment KARHUUUUUUUU!

KARHUUUUUUUUU!! I like saying it just like the Yahoo commercial! While Karhu has been on our shelves for 6 years now, we still get at least one customer a day who still has not heard of the brand. So, here are a few tidbits for ya. Karhu is a Finnish brand and has been around since 1913. Paavo Nurmi, "The Flying Finn", wore a pair of their spikes during the 1924 Olympics, in which he won 5 gold medals.  Karhu is the Finnish word for bear. That's all I got for now!

 

Karhu's main footwear technology is called Fulcrum, and it helps to move your foot forward more efficiently, decreasing braking forces and lowering vertical oscillation, no matter your footstrike. Add a sweet looking and comfy upper to that, and you've got a great feeling, functional running shoe! 

 

What to expect at the expo?  Well, I'm going to start with the best deal! The Flow3 Fulcrum (pictured above) is being discontinued, so you can expect an extra, special deal on these! It's a perfect, lightweight trainer with a very responsive ride, lower profile and a virtually stitchless, breathable upper. For those of you not ready to make the leap to a full on racing flat, here's your shoe! 

Fluid3 Fulcrum

Now, on to the current product! The Fluid3 Fulcrum is a lightweight, everyday, Neutral trainer. The combination of an injection molded midsole and firmer compression molded fulcrum truly makes for a fluid transition from heel to forefoot. 

Fast4 Fulcrum

OK, my personal favorite, which should have no bearing whatsoever on the shoe you decide to try on or wear! The Fast4 Fulcrum is Karhu's plushest ride, BUT, as the name implies, it has a fast feel! What I mean by that, many higher end, neutral shoes have a clunky feel with all the bells and whistles attached. Karhu simply added a little extra on the heel to soften that initial impact and the firmer Fulcrum definitely smooths the transition through your gait. On the latest version, Karhu also added a few overlays to the upper, improving the fit!

 

On to the Support models! Unlike traditional posting in other support shoes, Karhu uses their proprietary technology, Fulcrum, to firm up the medial aspect of the shoe to help control over pronation. The two models pictured above, Strong4 and Stable3, provide a mild to moderate amount of stability, with the Strong4 offering quite a bit more cushion for those heavy heel strikers. 

What else? Well, I don't mean to brag or anything, but in 2012 Karhu had a national sales contest called Karhu Madness! AND who won? The Trak Shak, of course! Other than telling me that sales associate, Jake Kidd, is an exceptional sales person (this contest earned him the nickname "The Karhu Kidd"), it also tells me, Birmingham loves some Karhu! So, stop by, chat with Stacy and Meagan, and try on a pair of Karhu's Mercedes-Benz Marathon Weekend!

Mercedes Marathon Expo Preview, Installment Numero Dos!

The next brand I want to write about, gracing us with their presence at the Mercedes Marathon Expo is Mizuno USA!! This brand is going through some pretty major and exciting changes for 2014! It all started back in July with the release of the eagerly anticipated, and shoe I ran in this morning, Wave Sayonara! The name is a reference to a discontinued and popular shoe the Wave Good-Bye and it features not only Mizuno's new midsole technology, U4ic, but also a seamless upper design that has created a new look for the entire 2014 line! I currently have 180 miles on a pair. They are lightweight, responsive as hell and surprisingly well cushioned for what seems like a thin midsole.

Mizuno Wave Sayonara

One word to describe Mizuno's 2014 line, FEATHERWEIGHT (see how I did that there with two words making one ;))! They have made it a goal to be the lightest brand across the board, so whatever shoe you see as a particular style's competitor, Mizuno's version will probably be lighter, AND while they're cutting weight on their shoes, they also trimmed some fat in the line, losing four styles (Alchemy, Elixir, Nirvana, Precision) we carried and replacing them with only two new models (Sayonara and Paradox).

 Two shoes drive Mizuno's running footwear line, the Waver Rider and Wave Inspire, both of which are brand new for 2014. By losing some stitching and overlays on the upper, sculpting the lateral side of the forefoot for a smooth touchdown, and upgrading the midsole material to the new U4ic foam, both the Inspire 10 and Rider 17 lost about an ounce, improved on heel to toe transition and became more responsive than previous models. While both styles are considered high mileage, everyday training shoes, they are also a great option for the weekend warrior not quite ready to pull the trigger on a racing flat! 

Women's Wave Inspire 10

Another update not to be ignored came in November with the latest Wave Creation 15! The Trak Shak hasn't necessarily been a fan of this shoe in the past. It's predecessors were a little heavy and kind of stiff. NOT ANYMORE! The Infinity Wave plate is more flexible and the new U4ic midsole material helps the Creation drop some L-B's! Add in a redesigned Dynamotion Fit upper and you got yourself a $160 shoe that might feel just as good at 400 miles as it did at 10! 

Wave Creation 15

OK, flat feet! Listen up! As I mentioned earlier, Mizuno discontinued four models we carried, one of which was the Wave Alchemy, a very popular, lightweight, control shoe. I'm not trying to get anybody's feathers ruffled here, cuz we ALL know how runners are when a brand drops a shoe they loved, but this one, I'm OK with. The Wave Paradox is labeled a support shoe from Mizuno, but with a straighter last and full length Wave plate adding to it's stability, the Paradox will work for many who need a maximum amount of control. Oh, it comes in at under 11 oz. for the fellas and under 9 oz. for the ladies! 

Women's Wave Paradox

So, be sure to stop by and say hey to Meghan and Matt from Mizuno and check out the 2014 line! Who knows, maybe they'll give you one of these frosty pint glasses out of which you can "hydrate"!

Mercedes Marathon Expo a Preview, Installment #1

It's the most wonderful time of the year! LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA!! Yes, Mercedes-Benz Marathon Weekend is next week, and we at The Trak Shak are PUMPED! All of you returning customers and/or participants already know what to expect from The Trak Shak booth at the St. Vincent's Health Systems Health and Fitness Expo at Boutwell Auditorium on February 14 and 15, but I've decided to give everyone a few previews. The absolute, very first thing everyone should know is, Mercedes Weekend is The Trak Shak's apparel winter clearance! That means, ALL apparel is HALF PRICE!! It is a perfect time to replace that 10 year old CoolMax shirt!

 The second thing everyone needs to know, our gracious and hard working reps from most of our footwear brands make their way to the 'Ham and man stations within our booth to answer questions you may have about their brand, help you get fitted properly, and basically help us out cuz quite frankly, we need all the help we can get! AND to add to the excitement, the new year usually brings new styles in footwear, so these reps will be showcasing the latest and greatest from their respective brands! Oh, and all footwear will have a special discounted expo price!

 

I'll start the preview with the brand I wore on my run this morning, Brooks Running! Brooks Running catapulted themselves to #1 in running specialty retail a couple of years ago and in 2014, there's no reason to think they'll lose that spot. I'll start with the new. The shoe I ran in this morning is their latest creation, the Transcend. Brooks exhausted all biomechanical research and development to release this maximum "float" shoe. The Transcend has new technologies like Guide Rails for support, Super DNA for maximal, plush cushion, and Ideal Pressure Zones to help disperse pressures from impact more evenly. My take after 6 miles, tons of cushion, but not so soft you sink into the shoe or lose feeling the surface, very smooth heel to toe transition, very comfy upper, the color just feels good on my feet ;)) AND can take the beating of running downhill in Vestavia VERY WELL!

 Now, on to the updates! We will have the latest release of the PureProject Collection, Brooks "minimal" line of footwear, which includes the Pure Connect 3, Pure Flow 3, and Pure Cadence 3. Updates include, across the line, improved fit and comfort, a redesign of the Nav Band to improve functionality and comfort, and repositioned, more lateral, Toe Flex (split toe) for improved feel and alignment at toe off.

 The latest update in their core line is the Ravenna 5! Ravenna 1 thru 4 have been pretty big hits, and I expect the same from 5! Updates include a new full ground contact outsole which improves feel of the running surface, an extended, Segmented Crash Pad and an adjustable saddle wrap that helps to improve fit from heel to midfoot!

I've gone this far and have yet mentioned Brooks' most popular and The Trak Shak staple styles, the Adrenaline GTS 14, Ghost 6, Glycerin 11, BEAST and Ariel. The Adrenaline was updated in November and updates to the others are forthcoming.   

So, there you have it! The first installment of The Trak Shak booth preview! I hope you enjoyed!