I was inspired to renew my vows with my number one trail shoes this evening. Cheesy? Duh. But one day you, too, will find that perfect pair of shoes with which to share the trail and will feel compelled to share just how you feel. Love is precious, so I'm getting up on top of that mountain and shouting it out to the world (blog-land)!
Dear La Sportiva Wildcats (aka Sporty Cats),
I promise to always share the trail with you, through thick and thin, wet and dry, singletrack, fire road, crushed limestone and the occasional paved road (but not too much road because that's just wrong).
Through the good times and the bad, victories and defeats, you will always be my number one trail shoe. Look at you, with your perfect autumn/Halloween colors, you are all but begging me to lace you up and take you for a spin. How adorable are you?!
My very first pair of Sporty Cats were there for me along that winding and rooty trail in Huntsville, Texas, through all those tough long training runs at Palos and Waterfall Glen, through the seemingly endless stream crossings out of Twin Lakes, up and over Hope Pass in Winfield, Colorado. You shared the triumphs with me, and you hugged my feet tight as I swallowed the bitter pill of my first DNF ever. You were there for me, and held up at the seams (literally), draining quickly and allowing me to run (and death march) with dry feet.
Sporty Cats, you always seem to know just what I need, when I need it. My (nearly) blister-free feet thank you each time I lace you up, and my Drymax Max Pro socks are the perfect compliment to your slightly wider toe box, snug heel cup, sewn in tongue and ballistic rock shield.
I pledge to always reach for you in times of trail runs, to believe in your ability to get me to the finish line, wherever it may be. Your low weight and cushion-y sole make my heart sing. I look forward to sharing the next trail with you soon and placing you in my shoe closet alongside my very first pair of trusty Sporty Cats. Don't worry, you'll get your 100 mile fix soon, too :)
Love,
Paige
Thank you Wilderness Running Company for continuing this love affair. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a pair of Sporty Cats in their life :)
Crash, out.
3 comments:
Great post Paige and I want to thank you for recommending the Wildcats quite a few months ago (I am a lurker), and was looking for a new trail running shoe and clicked on the link you had for the Wildcats and the Wilderness Running Company and figured what the hell. They look nice and was happy to see rave reviews from you so I bought a pair. They are the only trail running shoe I wear now besides my Vibram Treks, but when it comes to rugged trails, the wildcats are awesome and the only thing I trust as I am a total clutz!
Glad to see you are renewing our vows with them. ;-)
Yay!!! I am so glad you like them, too, Kim! It's tough to find the right shoe, so when you finally do you gotta hold onto them and hope they stick around awhile!
The only downside I've encountered is that their trail life isn't quite as long as some of my other shoes (~300-320 miles); I was warned about this when I was first researching new shoes. But, they get rave reviews in every other department with me :)
I've neglected my trail shoes for far too long. It is time to recommit. Or at least come up with something nice to say to them.
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