Testing Out The Brooks Pure Grit

My earlier introductory post to the Brooks' Pure Grit can be found here.

As mentioned earlier, the good people at Brooks Malaysia were kind enough to gift their Blogs with Brooks' participants a pair of Pure Grit each. With August and September being crazy busy for me (with work and TMBT training), I didn't have a chance to take them out for a test ride til November.

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I've worn them twice, the first was in October for a 14km run within FRIM. I found some bloodsuckers leeches on my left ankle.

And proceeded to screech like wussy lady.

No fault of the shoes, I'm sure!

I probably stopped too long along Dream Trail.

The shoes were very confortable.

As my run was broken into 2 segments, the first along Dream Trail and the latter at Mountain Bike Track / Tongkat Ali Trail, I didn't have much time to pay attention to my shoes.

So I figured I'd require another visit to FRIM in this lovely magenta/fuchsia/ what-colour-is-this pair of shoes.

I made my way to FRIM once again on 11th November 2012, this time with the prime objective of paying attention to the feel of the shoes.

Did I tell you that I really love the colour of the shoelaces...

They're so vibrant!

*admires shoelaces*

I've never really enjoyed the beginning of the Mountain Bike Track because it's intensely quiet and flat. Or perhaps it's just a matter of warming up the muscles and my body feels rather sluggish.

Chugging along the way, I noticed a few things about the shoes.

They were really light. :)

They wrapped my feet in a snug fit.

I could feel the unevenness of the ground every now and then but the Brooks' DNA soles were cushioned enough to protect my soles from any harm.

Once you've reached the Mountain Bike Track signage, head straight towards Steroid Hill / Tongkat Ali Trail. (If you're not sure where you are, you'll see a huge group of mountain bikers gathered and casually resting on your right.)

A swift change of the ground leads you up a gravel path.

Elevation is about 140-150 metres. Depending on my mood, I'd jog-walk-jog-walk up or should I be lazy, I'd just walk up the path.

The shoes were sturdy enough on gravel.

Reaching the end of Tongkat Ali Trail, you'd have an option to run along the trail up to Salem High Country or climb up a path which was readily created by someone (I'm not sure who) amidst the tall trees.

Anyway, the path was rather muddy but not slippery. I tested the shoes' grip, making sure I wouldn't slip and I was pleased that they were doing just fine.

Some of you may have already heard of horror stories regarding the shoes' lousy grip where runners were slipping and sliding on slippery roads and floor, and I was pretty concerned that I would be one of the casualties to report such an incident.

I was expecting Ewoks to pup out from the horizon.

Upon reaching the peak, I took a few deep breaths before making my way down the same path again.

I checked my shoes every now and then, making sure that mud would not cling to my outsoles too much.

I made sure I was very careful when going downhill.

Check out the clump of mud.

And see those little steps? I made sure I secured my foot firmly to each step before going down!

So what do I really think about these shoes?

At that moment, I could only surmise these points:
Breathable.
Flexible, yet supportive.


Other reviews:
Moving On AC
Tristupe.com

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Bikernate
The Runiverse
TriBomb