La Sportiva re-visited

We tried a few models from La Sportiva a few years back with minimal success so when I had the opportunity to try out the Fireblade I wasn't overly optimistic. In the interest of an open mind, I gave it a shot and put several runs on it. It fit great but was a little clunky from heel to midfoot and plenty stiff. I didn't order them at the time and went back to running in other shoes. However, over the next several months I found myself wearing the Fireblade more and more for everything from walking to the grocery store to climbing Black Butte with the family. I had to admit that I loved this shoe even if it wasn't my favorite running shoe. Now you can find both the men's and women's versions here at the FootZone. In the meantime, I've put a few more miles on it. It still isn't my favorite running shoe, but it feels pretty good now that it's broken in, and it is my choice for climbing one of the Sisters or just spending time on my feet. It's low profile but suprisingly substantial underfoot and the upper is very secure through the heel and midfoot while allowing for toe room (unlike some of our previous attempts with La Sportiva). So who would run in it? A midfoot striker who wants a lower profile, solid feeling, durable trail shoe with a substantial and great fitting upper. But a lot of runners might find this is the perfect shoe for not your everyday run. Cheers-Teague

Teague goes to Washington

My week began with a morning run at our nation's capitol. I'll be the first to revel in a secluded trail run vs. an urban jaunt, but running past the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and walking through the Vietnam Memorial was awe inspiring. I went to Washington DC on behalf of the Oregon Natural Desert Association to lobby for the proposed Badlands Wilderness Area. Senator Wyden has sponsored the bill and we we're there trying to keep it moving forward to hopefully be passed before the end of this legislative session. I PR'd in # of consecutive hours spent in a suit, and found out you can just wander through the halls of congress (after you've passed through security). I traveled with Brent and Gena from ONDA and Stan Shepardson who has practiced medicine in Bend for more than 30 years and served on the Board at St. Charles for several more. Unquestionably the best caveat from the trip was a run I did with Stan where I learned that he ran hurdles at University of Oregon under Bill Bowerman. He swore he wasn't any good and said that he wished he'd been able to read that "Men of Oregon" book before he went there because Bowerman proved to be such an enigma. I just loved hearing about it and really gained respect for all my companions on the trip. I won't bore with my ramblings on government and my initial impressions of DC but it was certainly inspiring on some levels and frustrating on others. I didn't have much time to see the sights so the early morning exploration runs were great. Cheers-Teague

Mud n Blood

Just returned from a very entertaining cross country race called the Mud n Blood out at Shevlin Park. Kudos to Muffy Roy and Summit XC for hosting a great event. There were actually five events and with each, the women started 31/2 minutes ahead of the men. The results go by however you cross the finish line. It started with an open event that SuperDave and I both participated in. Next were the Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and finally, Seniors. The course was great with a couple water crossings, a log jump, and a really steep, short climb/scramble. It was fun to run but certainly better to watch all the high schoolers. They really give it everything. I watched dozens of them take an un-intentional crash in Tumalo Creek while pushing it throught the last crossing and to the finish line. A mini amphitheatre formed and filled with parents and students on the West side of the creek to watch the show.

The run had a little nostalgia because this is basically the old Shevlin Scramble course that Tate Metcalf and I started and put on for about 5 years. I was responsible for encouraging others to run it and pretty jazzed to get out there and experience it myself. Tate moved to Sisters and I kept it going for another year before Parks and Rec took it over for a year. After that, Jon Meier gave it a few more years. Now, Muffy and all those volunteers have turned it into something with more life than it ever had. Great to see. The sad news is that Parks and Rec plans to cut all events at Shevlin next year so be sure to speak up if you have an opinion. Cheers-Teague

Dirty Dozen

Hi all, I hope the last days of August are treating you well. We are about to embark on the event frenzied month of September so eat a big breakfast and get ready to race. There is at least one event in Central Oregon on every weekend of September. That is why I decided to move the Dirty Dozen to the relatively slow month of October. Hopefully this will mean a course that is a little more packed and a nice cool day to tackle this hills of Wanoga snow park.
For those who have never done or heard of the Dirty Dozen here is a brief description. This year there will be three choices for you to race. The 6 mile Half Dozen, 12 mile Dozen and a two person relay. The course is two mostly different loops so those who opt for the full dozen will be treated to some different terrain. The last mile of the dozen is the same as the last mile of the half dozen. As for the terrain the course is wide double track with some pretty challenging climbs. The longest climb is from mile 6-8 on the full dozen course. The rest are relatively short but steep climbs. Some great views are available from the course so keep your eyes open while your racing to take in some great shots of Mt. Bachelor.
So come out and and get dirty in October and have some fun. Entries can are available at the Footzone and can be dropped of there as well.

Hope to see you out there,

dave

Tanya and Jeff in Penticton

Sitting here with my coffee and the paper this morning thinking about the FootZone's own Tanya and her husband Geof as they're peddling their bikes at Ironman Canada. Send them some energy for this massive endeavor. Cheers-teague You can track them at www.ironman.com It's Tanya Littlehales and Geof Hasegawa.

fz hash take two

The second version of the fz hash brought more than 50 of you out to enjoy a warm evening scouring the streets of Bend in search of those little spots of flour. It all ended up at the Downtowner where the cool beverages made it all worthwhile (as though it weren't worthwhile already). Thank you for coming and look for one more. Soon a central oregon hash group will continue independently of the FootZone so if you're interested send your email address with the subject "hash" to teague@footzonebend.com

Bmc/FootZone at Cascade Lakes Relay

Congrats to the BMC/FootZone team at the Cascade Lakes Relay last weekend. By all accounts they had a great time and ran really fast. We really appreciate them sporting the FZ name. Sounds like this relay might be a nice addition to Central Oregon running. In the last picture left to right: Jeff Caba, Michael Dennis, Ryan Rein, JJ Howard, Andy Martin, Ahna Jura, Ryan Shaffer, Katie Caba, Kory Bright, Jill Gozdowski, Laura Fritz and Jen Sventek. Good people, good runners, good fun. Cheers-t