The Altra Lone Peak trail shoe has climbed into a niche of the trail running market that very few if anyone has yet to explore:

• zero drop (same sole height between the heel and midfoot)
• extra roomy forefoot
• cushioning and protection
• bringing un-sexy back

Altra is small Utah based company (their story) that delivered its initial zero drop road shoes early in 2011 and the Lone Peak late last Fall. I purchased a pair of their trail tread in early December and have scampered over 100 miles on…

technical terrain

groomed terrain

walked on water…didn’t work…still fun

enjoyed some of this during the middle of my trail adventure

Before we get to my thoughts on the ride, let’s learn a bit more about this unique pair of trail running tread.

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Last weekend saw a full two days of running delite at The Duel up in Wichita Falls, Texas. This event was formerly called the Wee-Chi-Tah Trail Run but with the expanded running lineup this year, a new name was created. Saturday was the big trail running day that included a half marathon, marathon, and 50 km ultra.

While a new name, the trail scamper still took place on the locally popular Wee-Chi-Tah Trail.

Results

Trail On! (Photo: Copyright Richard Carter)

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Wispy clouds, dry temps reaching low 70s, groomed dirt-lovin’ trails, and views…oh the views at the Big Bend Ultra which celebrated another great fundraising event for the Friends of Big Bend on January 15.

Sunrise at Big Bend National Park (Photo: Courtesy Big Bend Ultra Run / bigbend50.com)

Run a 50 km, 25 km, or 10 km point-to-point dash within the beautiful grounds of Big Bend National Park located in southwest Texas. A net downhill course that doesn’t require any big climbing gears or a significant amount of technical concentration which allowed runners to soak up the surrounding natural environment.

Results

The fun begins! (Photos: Courtesy Big Bend Ultra Run / bigbend50.com)

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On January 8th, over 120 played on the tame but wet trails at Brazos Bend State Park in southeast Texas, for the second annual Brazos Bend Keep on Truckin’ Trail Run. Run a half mary, full mary, or go ultra on the 50 km course.

The main loop is a 13 mile figure-eight that leads you along the park lakes and through scenic hardwood forests. All distances use the same main loop but the ultra folks add an additional 2.85 miles to each loop on some rollin’ terrain.

Special thanks to Carl Bergman @ PR Photo for the provided photos you see below.

Results

Suman Vasireddy enjoying the morning in the half marathon. (Photo: Copyright Carl Bergman / www.backprint.com/prphoto)

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This year marked the 10th running of the Texas rock-littered trail scamper that has been given many a colorful name by those that have survived its terrain, but it is officially known as Bandera (2012 Results Summary). This year saw 11 runners reach some pretty impressive mileage milestones on this course. We are talking about 500 km and 1000 km of Bandera goodness. This small group of runners are from Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and as far as New York!

Runner on his way down the back-side of a "Sister" at Bandera. (Photo: David Hanenburg)

Who are these people that just can’t get enough of this course?

Check it out!

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To kick-off the new year, 14 spunky trail running souls enjoyed a day on the Albuquerque, New Mexico trails for the Foothills 50 km FA trail run. Sections of trail were a bit moist but not sticky. Wet feet were a possibility along with sections of snow covered trail. Smiles were close to a guarantee.

(Photo: Courtesy Perky Garcia)

The full course was an counter-clockwise loopy out-and-back combination. The course traveled within a 100o feet…up, down, and around. (course profile)

Results

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UltraRunning magazine put together a panel of 22 race organizations from across North America to submit ballots for the 2011 runner of the year, performance of the year, and age group performance of the year. TALON athlete and races were mentioned which was kind of cool.

The TALON highlights…

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