Disclaimer: I received a pair of Horizon RTT from Under Armour to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”
Surprisingly enough, dirt and trails are a few of a my favorite things. I say surprisingly because in some ways I am a huge germophobe and if I’m not in running gear, odds are high that I’m in a dress and heels. Get me on a trail though and I turn into a 5 year old and run free. Sometimes a little too free but that’s another story.
When I had the chance to try the Horizon RTT’s from Under Armour, I almost jumped for joy. My current trail shoes were trashed and it had been way too long since I had run recklessly down a mountain. I needed it. Then they arrived and they were so pretty. But hopefully they wouldn’t stay that way for very long, I wanted to get them good and dirty.
Ok, let’s cover the technical details first-
Ok, first impressions.
This is a serious shoe. So much sturdier than my previous trail shoes. How was that going to feel on my feet? Ok, where’s the dirt? 😀 My first run in them was a couple laps around the lake. Not bad, nice traction, good grippy feel, I never felt like I was going to skid out in the loose dirt.
Next adventure- 3 Bridges Preserve, a new trail with a little more zig-zag up than I was expecting. 😛 The shoes felt good, kept me sure footed on the path and helped me explore a little more of what run town has to offer.
Other adventure- An unexpected illness turned a planned Bishop’s Peak hike/run into a calmer ocean trail adventure where I took the shoes over paved paths, hard packed sand, sandy dunes, boardwalk, gravel and roads. No problems at all. And something else I noticed that day? This hike was done with my mother and she had just purchased a new pair of trail shoes that day. Her shoes and socks were full of dune sand when she took them off but mine weren’t!
Overall, I wore the shoes for about 20+ miles of mixed routes and surfaces since I received them. Full disclosure, that unplanned sickness kept me from testing them in my favorite way. My favorite part of trail running is careening wildly down a mountain side in a barely controlled fashion. Yes, people usually look at me like I am crazy but I love it. I need a trail shoe that grips tight so I can run free. Being sidelined kept me from 2 planned mountains. Boo. So as soon as I can run crazily down a mountain, I’ll be back with an add on to this review. And probably a big smile on my face. 😛
That said, I do have some thoughts on the shoe. While the outsole is great for traction, I feel like it is very stiff on your foot. Now maybe I have just become used to a more cushioned shoe lately thanks to my everyday running shoes. I have a tendency for taking the wrong turn on trails and turning a 5 mile run into 9 or 10 and I think more cushion in the sole would be nice. This can also probably be corrected with a good pair of inserts, I’ve just never had any luck with those. We shall see. However I plan on putting in many more miles in these in the months to come. 😀
Want to hear more? Check out these thoughts by other Bibrave Pros-
Tedrick– Lindsey– Jessica– Casey
How do you run on trails?
