Peter Stuart's 8 Running Things I Loved in 2018!

Article by Peter Stuart

Best Overall All Purpose Running  Shoes

New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon (RTR review)

Skechers Performance GoRun Ride 7  (RTR review)

Each of these shoes was a huge surprise to me. I’ve never really enjoyed a Skechers Ride before and the Beacon was a brand new shoe that I heard almost nothing about before they landed on my doorstep. Both are bouncy, light, fun to run in and are joyful to rack up the miles. The smile factor is huge. I really can’t decide which of these two shoes I prefer. The Beacon is a hair firmer and has a slightly more supportive upper. The Ride is ridiculously light and bouncy. Both are great examples of this golden age of running shoes I feel we’re in—light with plenty of cushion and pretty darn durable. I received both to review and then purchased a second pair of each of them. Each of these shoes got over 500 miles on them this year. 

Best Race Shoes

Skechers Razor 3 Hyper Burst (RTR review)

Man, oh man. This is great shoe. Skechers has used a new foam, called “Hyper Burst”. It’s not quite as ‘different’ as the Vaporfly, but it’s some amazing stuff. The Razor 3 is super light, decent to run in at any speed, but absolutely FLOATS when you speed up. I’ve run 20 mile workouts in them without any problem and lots of speed work and track work. They’re more durable than I thought they’d be at first as I’m up over 100 miles on them with very little outsole wear.  

Nike  Zoom Vaporfly 4% Flyknit (RTR review)

I just raced in the Vaporfly again. Man, they feel different, they’re super-fast and the Flyknit really helps get them locked down. That said, I’d probably race the Razor next time, because the combination of the stack height and the soft foam leave me leaning too far over on cambered roads or towards the end of races. 

More Great Stuff I Loved in 2018

Hyperice Hypervolt Vibration Massage

If you feel like pummeling your muscles with a soft hammer, this thing is the business! Four different heads and a quiet motor make this a great way to sit and watch sports while you self massage. It ain’t cheap, but it’s great. 

Trigger Point balls

I love the new foam balls by Trigger Point. They’re pretty inexpensive, get places a foam roller can’t and are light enough to take anywhere. 

Plantronics Backbeat Fit earphones 

These just work. I’ve tried several other models this year, but keep returning to these as they let in some outside noise and are perfect for running. 

Stance Socks

Stance thin socks are terrific. Just enough compression to keep things tight and fresh, great colors and comfortable. 

Peter Stuart's Run Bio
My running career got off to a slow start…in high school I was told I ran like a race walker and was thus relegated to race walking on the track team. I got back into running about 15 years ago and then into triathlon. Triathlon really rekindled my love for running, so about two years ago I hired a coach and really focused on the half and full marathons.  I broke a bad habit of putting in tons of moderately hard miles (and no or hard ones) and after plateauing at 3:25 (with some disastrous marathons in there), this past year I brought my marathon under 3:00 and my half under 1:25. Along the way I’ve developed a bit of a shoe problem.

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Thanks for Reading Road Trail Run in 2018!

What were your Running Favorites of 2018?

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Jeff Beck's Road and Trail

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Dominick Layfield Ultras

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