Hoka Matafe Speed Review – More Grip Than a Grippy Gripping Thin

I’ll get this out the way at the start, I was given these running shoes Free of Charge but wasn’t asked to review them. A random conversation with another member of the #ukrunchat community was intercept by the PR company that HOKA use in the UK and I was offered a pair to try. Would you turn them down?

I have only written a few reviews so apologise if I don’t use all of the correct terminology, but this is just an honest opinion from an average runner.

You may not of heard of the Hoka One One brand, but if you’ve ever seen a pair I’m sure you will have asked the wearer about them. They don’t look like a traditional running shoe and after a few months of use I can confirm they don’t feel like a traditional pair of running shoes. That however is a good thing, but I’ll be honest these aren’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea for several reasons that will become obvious through my review.

Out of The Box

On opening the box the Matafe Speed are a sight to behold. Bright blue and green, with a unique lacing system and that MASSIVE sole. It’s twice as big as a normal running shoe and supposedly designed to given superior cushioning and support.

They look a bit like moon boots at first. The don’t feel like them though.

The Fit/strong

I asked for a pair of size 12, one size bigger than a normal shoe, as I do with all running shoes and this has proven to be the correct decision. The Matafe Speed come with 2 different insoles, giving you 3 options to try out (either insole on its own or the 2 combined). I liked having the chance to make the shoes fit me a best as possible. The toe box is roomy and the lacing system means that you can make them fit properly and be confident that they will stay that way for the entire run.

The feel is where people will either love or hate Hokas. Although the drop is only 4mm the extra height that the midsole gives you takes a bit to get used too.

It’s worth preserving with though and the curvature of the sole makes running feel completely natural.

Performance/strong

I’ve tried to run in the Matafe Speed in as many different conditions as the time of year and the area I live in will allow and have clocked up around 80 miles in weather from bone dry and warm to monsoon and most in between. I’ve covered road, trail, mud and stony/rocky traverse. In all combination these bad boys grip. They grip a lot.

On road they are almost sticky, on mud they sink their teeth in and make you confident in your footing and on trail they cushion the unexpected and deal with the slipperiest of terrain. Most impressive has been when I’ve transitioned from one terrain to another. At no time have I felt less than sure footed and confident to push off.

Given that they are bigger than your usual shoe (regardless of brand) they are a very light shoe. And whilst water resistant rather than waterproof, what liquid they take on is quickly expelled

Conclusion

I would highly recommend that you try these or any pair of Hokas, but they’re not cheap. The Matafe Speed are priced at £135, there are t many shows out there you could wear in all conditions and for any surface.

Are You looking After Yourself? Are You? ARE YOU?

As I write this I’m waiting for the results of some blood tests. After struggling on the majority of my runs for the last 6 weeks, I finally managed to go see a doctor. Having trained for a couple of marathons this year I’ve gotten used to it taking a few miles to get into a run and feel comfortable, but recently its been taking longer and I can’t say I’ve ever been comfortable. Sweating like a pig, heavy legs, irregular breathing and no energy have been the order of the day, weather I’m running 3 miles or attempting 10+. I say attempt because Ive only managed it once since July!

In addition to struggling out on a run, I’m not recovering very well and often fall asleep with in a couple of hours of getting home (if not at work). I’ve changed nothing in my diet or sleep pattern and life is as stressful as it has ever been. The view in the running community was mixed, as you’d expect, but the condense was to MTFU and get to the doctors.

So today I did, with the usual concern that they may not be sympathetic to a runner. I have seen a few doctors when injured who basically have told me that any complaint or ailment is whats expected from running and to stop doing it! Today was different. Even when the answer to the question “Whats your next goal?” was a slightly nervous “Ultra marathons?!” the doctor just nodded and said ‘OK”.

After the normal questions about my training and lifestyle, my blood pressure was 124/86 (good) and Heart Rate 52 (good) and she had no concerns. Her view was that I probably had a low lying bug or virus that my body was getting over/fighting. Routine blood tests are to just eliminate iron deficiency, diabetes and see if there is any infection, but not to worry.

Her advice was to continue with the reduced training for a couple more weeks, then steadily increase until I felt well enough to get back to my pre marathon, training routine. Plenty of variety of training was also advised as well as taking my heart rate when i woke up as an early indication of future issues and to take a Vitamin D supplement.

All in all barring a shock when I get my results, it was a worthwhile visit and I now know which doctor to see with any running related problems. It did make me think whether I was looking after myself as well as I could? Was I doing all the right things to help me achieve my goals and stay healthy?

Training

I like to think I generally train smart. I like to mix things up, varying the types of runs I do and never do a hard session on consecutive days. I like to cycle and know that it has helped my running considerably. I know though that I need to do more for my overall strength and conditioning, particularly with longer distances in mind. I have the core strength of a wet tissue. B-

Recovery

I could do more post run, but do always stretch. I rarely have any sort of recovery protein shake mainly because I just don’t understand the benefits well enough and wouldn’t know which was the best type to use. It may help to explore this area more, but I think I’ll look at the other bits first. C

Maintenance

Until recently I have had at least 1 sports massage a month since Jan 2013, I like the pain!. Finances have meant I’ve not had one for 6 weeks, but my body is holding up at the moment. I have a foam roller, but don’t use it enough. Mainly because I don’t find it very easy, I should try harder though.

I used to stretch daily after a shower or bath (when muscles are warm), but again I’ve let it slip. I also know there are lots of exercises I could and should do to keep things in good order, but don’t. C-

Diet

Could be better. I don’t eat badly on the whole, but could eat more Fruit & Veg. My portion size is pretty good and I eat a lot less crap then I used to, but do have the odd small (massive) lapse.

The doctor suggested a Vitamin D supplement and I have tried to take regular vitamins etc before, but I’m not very good with routine and it never lasts more than a week or two. Interestingly the doctor did say I could take a larger, weekly dose of Vitamin D so I’ll give that a go. She suggested that between October and April we don’t get any Vitamin D from the sun and are all deficient. C-

Sleep

This varies between 6-8 hours a night, but I always feel tired when I get up and it takes me a good 30 mins to feel “normal”. So I suspect that its the quality of my sleep rather than the quantity. I used to use breathing strips and should use them again as I’ve always struggled to breath through my nose.  B-

Overall

Like most reports I’ve ever had I think the conclusion is “Matt knows whats required and has all the tools and intelligence to do well, but doesn’t give 100%. Could do better” Essentially, my diet needs some tweaking, I need to get back to some good maintenance habits, add some strength work to my training and improve the quality of my sleep.

What about you though? Have a look at these 5 areas and ask yourself if you are doing enough to look after yourself. Be honest and see what small changes you can make for the better.

Kit Review – Brooks Cascadia 9, OMM Kamleika II Race Jacket & Ultimate Direction AK Race Vest

In my Endure24 Race Report I mentioned buying 3 bits of kit that I found essential for the race and all of which performed excellently. Here I review each of them briefly.

Brooks Cascadia 9 Trail Running Shoe – RRP £109 Paid £83 ratrace.com

I bought these shoes 2 weeks before Endure24 as my Adidas Kanadia TR6 had a large hole in them, which would only worsen in the expected conditions (OK they were much worse than expected.)

I am an Adidas fan and was looking to buy another pair of Kanadia but the Cascadia 9 had received a good review in Outdoor Fitness Magazine. From what I understand previous incarnations of this shoe had been ok, but not for serious trail runners. These though have been completely redesigned and the review and an offer in the RatRace Store persuaded me to give them a go.

I’m not going to list all the specifications and technology in these shoes, you can do that here. Instead I’ll give you my experience of using them.

My first couple of test runs in them were a couple of jaunts at Greenham Common, which is a mainly dusty/gravelly/stoney route and the Cascadia performed well. I had bought a size larger than I actually am and this proved a wise decision. There is plenty of room in the toe box and the shoes were comfortable throughout the short run outs.

The lacing system looks pretty standard, although the laces are laced through the tongue twice and this does seem to give some extra confidence that the shoes won’t slip.

So I headed in to Endure with confidence in my new purchase, but the conditions would give them a real test. As the rain came down the route became extremely difficult in several sections. Large puddles formed, wooded areas became boggy and several hills resembled rivers of chocolate custard.

I can say that the Cascadia handle them all very well. Firstly as you would expect when going through a puddle they took on a lot of water, but they expelled it again very quickly and at no time did I feel like there was an excess slopping around inside the shoe. 

Its fair to say that I am not the most confident of runner on uneven and difficult surfaces, but I felt a lot more confident wearing the Cascadia. Again I can’t underestimate how difficult the conditions were and although my feet could slip in different directions the shoe would find grip pretty quickly and I never actually felt I was going to go down.

In thick mud the shoe remain securely attached to my foot and never felt like it could be yanked off and on the tarmaced sections they were as many road shoes. I think the biggest plaudit I can give the Cascadia is that I managed 45 miles in them without having to change socks and without any rubbing or blisters. If you are looking for a pair of trail shoes I cannot recommend them highly enough and I certainly can’t wait to give them another run out.

OMM Kamleika II Race Jacket – RRP £159 Paid £129 wiggle.co.uk

I’ve bought loads of “waterproof” jackets over the years with varying success. They basically fell into 2 categories, those that kept the rain out, but made me overheat so much that the sweat meant I was wet anyway or those that kept me cool, but kept the rain out as long as it wasn’t to hard and lasted less than 5 mins. What all these jackets had in common was that they all cost less than £50, in most cases much less!

Having spent a bit of time with people who take there kit very seriously and competed in events spanning several hours I knew that if you want the best kit very rarely can you get away with skimping on the cost.

So with this in mind and the weather report for Endure24 showing periods of heavy rain forecast, I knew I needed a jacket that would perform. After a bit of research it came down to a choice of 2 and I plumped for the OMM because I knew someone else who had one.

I started the race wearing the jacket, but as it had stopped raining and the June sun was shining I had to take it off after a couple of miles as I was getting warm. The Kamleika II is very thin and very light so folding it up to fit in my race pack was easy.

It wasn’t long before the rain returned and boy did it return with a vengeance. Luckily I was undercover when it first started so was able to get the jacket on over dry clothes. As I headed out into the torrential rain I quickly realised my purchase was a good one. There was no way the water was getting in, yet as I ran along I remained cool. 

The hood can be tightened to fit the largest or smallest of heads and the peak at the front stops water dripping into your eyes. 2 large pockets mean you can carry some essential kit or OS maps.

Essentially you get what you pay for.

Ultimate Direction AK Race Pack RRP £85 Paid £74.80 wiggle.co.uk

There are more and more race vests like this coming on to the market as more people attempt the move in to Ultra Marathons and Endurance events. As I knew I could visit my tent at the end of each lap I didn’t need a vest that could carry mountains of kit and food.

A Twitter friend had recently bought one of the larger Ultimate Direction race packs and so I decided to give them a go. The AK is their smallest offering and comes with 2 600ml bottles, has 4 pockets at the front and a main compartment for kit or a reservoir.

The 2 larger front pockets are described as smart phone pockets, but my iPhone 5S didn’t fit, but that wasn’t a concern they came in plenty hand to hold food. The water bottles are good and seal well. The teat/nipple you drink through is interesting and needs to be pulled up to be able to use properly. Something that several reviewers on the wiggle site hadn’t worked out! 

The vest comes in 2 sizes S/M and M/L. Im a 44in chest and the M/L fitted well and larger person would also have no worries. The 2 should straps and comfortable as are the chest straps. Most importantly with hydration systems is the amount of “bounce” you get. The AK had none, even when the bottles were full.

At night the back is highly reflective and received several comments from fellow runners as they passed. Another piece of kit I would highly recommend.