Hello all.
Last weekend my friend whipped out a pair of shoes for our run. I’d never seen them before but they looked solid. So I immediately ordered a pair.
They are the Mount to Coast R1. I wish I had a referral link so please sponsor me.
They came in today around noon. So what did I do? I immediately went for a run. I wanted to feel some tempo/aerobic pace and some easy miles. Today’s work:
I went out of the gate without putting much thought into it. I just started running and fell into a groove around 6:45/mile. I felt I could easily hold that pace, but noticed it would take some effort to drop to a faster pace.
I smoothly finished the 5k, then immediately transitioned into 2 recovery miles at round 8:00/mile.
From their website - the R1 is a ‘road running race’ shoe meant for ‘Races of 100 km and above, multi-day races’ and paces between 6-13 min per mile.
Note this is NOT a short distance, and by short I mean sub 26 mile race, shoe.
This is an ultramarathon shoe. But I also take that to mean I can use it for hundreds of training miles at moderate, easy, and recovery pace.
My goal out of buying this pair of shoes was a pair that will last 3-500+ miles and can use for easy training miles.
There are plenty of shoes out there you can use for speedwork and races between 1 mile to 26 miles.
But this is a long distance pace shoe.
My initial thoughts after putting in two types of runs on them:
Wide toe box - I really like being able to splay my feet. They don’t feel cramped, and after long miles I can imagine I won’t feel pressure from my feet swelling.
Double lace system is AWESOME. I love it.
I bought a Size 12 online without trying them on first and they fit perfect. They fit true to size, and I wear the same size (12) as I do in my (now retired) Hoka Clifton and Saucony Endorphin Speed 4.
When I first put them on I felt something like an orthotic in the inner mid foot - it was uncomfortable at first but my feet and the shoes kind of mold to each other - and felt great even after a couple miles.
They are VERY comfortable. I could see myself walking all day in these and still hitting a training run at the end of the day.
I think the all-white is attractive.
Tons of grip around toes from the sole. Even my hokas brand new would slip on smoother surfaces. I felt I could take harder angles at pace and not worry about slipping or hurting myself. This is highly appreciated - because now that my hokas have 400+ miles on them I’m legit scared to take sharp corners.
Brand new they squeak a lot indoors. Has no impact on performance, but something to note.
These are definitely a neutral ride. There is little to no forwards propulsion. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, I think that’s the intent. If you want forward propulsion you get something like my Saucony Endorphin speeds or a shoe with a carbon/fiberglass plate - you get that energy return springiness that’s great for races at marathon or below. Again, these are not speed shoes they are ultramarathon/training shoes meant for hundreds of miles.
Feels SIGNIFICANTLY more stable than Hokas when midfoot striking. In the Hoka Clifton I feel I have to be careful where my foot falls on unstable-ish ground. The high soles felt unreliable. In these I can place anywhere without worrying about rolling my ankle from a thick sole rolling out from under me.
Overall: I really like them. Of course I’ve only had one run in them, and for $160 I’m hoping they last quite a long time. A follow up review may be required but I’ll probably just share on instagram. Now Mount to Coast please sponsor me.