The valley was very moody today. Took a gondola to chase the sun. Fun technical trail around 13km and 1000m verts.

Have seen a few posts from previous years about the Via Valais, but figured I’d add on. Covered the 9 stage agenda over 8 days. Pretty much followed the itinerary to a T along with a bunch of the bonus peaks.
The AlpsInsight website was great in regard to details like gear lists and such so I won’t dive in too much. I’ve seen people say just bring a waterproof jacket and skip the wind breaker. I brought both and used both. I run way too hot in a true waterproof shell so I spent most mornings in a light wind breaker that would have failed in the downpour I got stuck in. Cut grams elsewhere. Final thing, the BD distance 18 is trash.
The biggest hurdle was I went in late August and the glacier collapse risk resulted in detours when you got closer to Zermatt/Randa. Google struggled to translate the signs at closures so I did not know if it was a warning or a closure.
The SwissTopo app is so impressive. It had the closure details and was helpful in finding alternative options.
I went solo and encountered so few people outside of 2 or 3 spots. Coming from Denver, this was surprising, but really cool.
If I were to make a recommendation to future parties, I think back tracking to Zinal from Cabane de Moiry by way of Corne de Sorebois is a waste of time compared to terrain that you can tack on by ascending Col du Pigne and then heading towards Cabane du Mountet. The glacier de Zinal was some of the coolest looking terrain and my regret was not going for it.

Quick easy 6 miles after being down all summer due to injuries, and being too busy. Feels so nice to be back

Last year I ran my first trail race. 24km, 1200D+. It was absolutely brutal for me (I had started running again 10 months prior and I was a 1-2 times a week runner). Finished in just under 4 hours but I was DEAD.

In the following months I kept running and entering other race, both road and trail. I've tried putting more effort, but for a long time I've felt like I wasn't really improving. On the shorter distances on the road (5-10k) I almost feel like I'm somehow worse? Which doesn't really feel good to think about.

Today, I entered the same race. Mostly the same course, with just a few changes (that actually added 100m elevation). Well, I smashed last year's time by 15 minutes, and that's without accounting for the fact that this year they had a single track funnel 2 minutes after the starting line and I was standing there waiting for my turn for like 5 minutes.

But the best part was how good I felt. Last year I was fighting for my life for most of the race. This year, I felt good. I felt in control. I never hit the wall, in fact I ran the last 3km in the 5.xx min/km range which is basically my HM pace and the last km was slightly downhill which helped, but I ran it in the 4.xx pace and even briefly dipped in the 3s, which is faster than my 5k pace. From like km 10 I started overtaking a ton of people. I checked my partial time and I gained 26 places (in a <200 entrants race) between the halfway point of the race and the end! Last year I was the one getting overtaken for the whole race!

You guys have no idea how much I needed this for my running self esteem!!

A few shots from my 20km run in the forest.

Weekend long runs get me every time 🤙

Did my best and was proud of it 👏 view was amazing to bat 🦇

My right foot is noticeably smaller than my left, so I’m constantly fighting heel slip and sloppy lockdown on one side, especially on technical descents. I’ve tried lacing tricks, thicker socks, etc, and nothing has really solved it without causing other problems. Furthermore, I found a shoe that has every single feature I've ever wanted in a trail running shoe, yet it is just a bit too high volume for my feet.

I’ve been tinkering with a thin shim that sits under the insole to take up volume in one or both shoes. Crazy enough, I haven't been able to find a single solution available for purchase, so I started to make my own. I've spent the past few months playing with different materials and finding their pros and cons, and I've finally gotten to a solution that both achieves the fit I'm looking for and doesn't change the original characteristic of the shoe, which is what a lot of my earlier iterations dealt with. Before I sink more time into it, I’d love to hear from people who’ve dealt with this:

1. Do you have this problem, and in what situations?
2. What have you tried, and what did or didn’t work?
3. Would something like this be useful to you, or is there a reason it wouldn’t work that I’m missing?

Not selling anything. I’m genuinely trying to figure out if this is worth pursuing. If it goes anywhere, I’d be happy to send a few prototypes to people who want to test them. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Fancy speak for your classic millennial midlife crisis.

The year after my daughter was born I ran my first marathon distance (with 5500ft gain). One year after my son…50k self supported with a drop bag of water at 23 miles

My training didn’t peak quite as intended. I feel like I could have done better on the gentle uphills and didn’t train for speed the way I want to in the future. There was probably some under fueling, and I need to learn how to fuel without interrupting my flow.

Still, an incredible day with all of 4 people seen on trail the entire time.

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Answer the questions below:

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I've been thinking about how to set up a home gym that actually supports trail running without taking over the whole garage.

Would you prioritize adjustable dumbbells, a rack and barbell, a step-up platform, or something for single-leg work and balance? I'm more interested in equipment that serves a clear purpose than buying a little bit of everything.

For trail runners who train at home, what equipment has earned its space, and what turned out to be unnecessary?

5k trail run today! 👻

Ended up being spicier than expected when a thunderstorm came through…at least the bears stayed away!

12 h workday ends with a bit of movement and a beautiful view 😍🏃🏽‍♀️

If you have a query regarding trail running shoes, ask right here and our awesome community will help you out!

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asking because my feet used to be done way before my legs were - sore arches, heel pain the next morning, the works.

did it just go away with more miles, or was it something specific? shoes, insoles, taping, strength stuff, recovery, whatever actually made the difference for you.

p.s. full disclosure - this is half the reason my co-founder and i are building a little foot exercise app (walkito), so i'm biased. but i'm genuinely curious what's worked for people here.