Product Review - Saucony Kinvara

For the past several years my race shoe of choice has been the Brooks Ghost / Launch.  My feet have always received quite a beating on race day and I attribute that mostly to running in wet, heavy shoes and socks for 26.2 miles.

This year, I was willing to try something new.  I wanted a shoe that was light weight and would drain/breath a little better.  I have always shopped at my local DSW because 1. I’m a cheap bastard.  2. I have no issue sporting last years model.  All that said, I found a pair of Saucony Kinvaras that fit like a glove, were feather light and best of all, were only 40 bucks!  Score!

Oops, nip slip!

I had done a ton of research about the Kinvara and was a little concerned about the minimalist make up, low rise and acclimation period that most people had warned about and had had issue trying to convert too quickly.  Over the years I’ve converted myself to being a fore foot runner so I felt that it was possible to make the change.  I still approached with caution and ended up putting more miles on these shoes prior to a race than ever  before (almost 50).  By working into them over 4 weeks with numerous mini runs (2-4) miles, come race day I was confident that it was the right choice...or at least that I wouldn't rupture my achilles!

I race with thin little sock liners that don’t absorb water and provide the perfect amount of protection from friction.  Also, as with all of my shoes, Xentex are my laces of choice!!

Drill holes and durability concerns evident

Another thing that I did, on recommendation from slowtwitch was drilling several tiny holes through the sole of the shoe to further enhance drainage.  My neighbors already think I’m crazy but I further confirmed this by also placing a bucket of water at the end of my driveway and on several training runs, upon passing my house for another loop, I’d step through the bucket.  This allowed me to further test sock absorption and shoe drainage as well as toughen the feet for race day.  Train like you race, no?

We Tradin' War Stories

Race day came and went.  The Kinvara’s are badass.  They are by far the lightest shoe I have ever worn.  There is a consequence for that though and half way through the race my quads and calves were feeling pretty beat up.  I attribute some of that to the lack of fore foot cushioning but also to the 112 miles I tackled hours before.  The great thing though is that my feet never felt water logged, nor sloshy. 

I swear this really is after the race!

 After the race my feet were in great shape!  I was so astonished that I actually took a picture and a month later am even posting it on my blog for all to see! 

I think the Kinvaras are a great race day shoe.  They’re feather light, breath well and with a little help drain well too!  The soles are not very durable to really hold up to the rigors of training miles but that's mostly due to the light weight nature and my fore foot, supinating run style. I’m not 100% confident that I would use them again for a full distance race, my quads really did hurt that bad on race day….I wonder if with a little more cushioning I could have minimized my run/walk breaks over the course of the 26.2 miles.  But one thing is for sure, if you're a racer looking to fly and you want to go minimal, I'd definitely recommend the Saucony Kinvaras.