When visiting sad git friends and relatives in urban areas, it’s always a massive valve release to go and indulge in some free running in parks or in my case a cousin’s near empty warehouse with a decrepit basketball court adjacent. To minimise the risk of injury and ensure some decent grip when attempting to run up walls and walk rails it’s bordering on sensible to use the right shoe for the job. The free running world is beginning to be discovered by major brands looking to continue straight line economic expansion; much of the fare they serve up is little more than street wear or cross training makeovers.

KSwiss are one brand who have really thought about the exact demands of parcours but more on them later as they do have a quiet competitor, INOV-8 who have translated their trail running expertise with some positive results into the free running arena.

I have been lucky enough to test drive their F-Lite 301PK parcours, free running and urban adventure shoe.

Out of the box, the 301’s are a half decent looking shoe with an air of the urban artist about them and of course weigh next to nothing. Therein lies the rub, the weeny weight belies the effectiveness of the INOV-8 design. For the urban running warrior, a shoe must provide toe box coverage which the F-Lite does reasonably well using an upward lip from the sole material and a mid strength synthetic toe cap; these elements work well to afford good coverage and a reasonable supprt frame for toe-based swivels and changes in direction.

The cushioning system in the F-LITE is ideal for landing without encouraging stress fractures, it degrades impact gradually so landing is not like smacking into a pillow you actually get the protection you seek without sacrificing a feel for the surface you are working on.

While on the topic of surfaces, the sole of the shoe is a clear non marking compound that has fantastic grip and leaves no mark on any surface whether it be paint or floorboard. Working in unison with the shoes support and cushioning elements, the F-LITE is brilliant at helping you maintain optimal connection with the surface.

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OK it’s that time of year again Down Under when it’s dangerous just walking in the sun let alone ripping into a multi-sport event or trail race. It’s important to sensibly manage any ventures in the heat and ensure you acclimatise first.

Acclimatization is the physiologic and psychological adjustment to a new environment different to that which you live in.

Some of the physiologic adaptations that occur as part of heat acclimatization include: reduced heart rate, core temperature, and utilization of muscle glycogen, as well as increased blood flow to the skin, plasma volume, and work time until exhaustion. Well-conditioned athletes have a higher heat tolerance than sedentary people, as regular exercise creates “internal heat stress” and thus pre-acclimatizes athletes to some degree.

Heat acclimatization usually takes 10 to 14 days, although 75% of the adaptations are believed to occur within the first five days. Exercise sessions during the acclimatization process should be shorter and less intense, gradually building up to normal by the end of the two week period.

It is the process by which the body makes physical adaptations to better respond to physical activity in the heat. It occurs only after repeated bouts of heat stress from training that is sufficient to increase core body temperature and produce a significant amount of sweat.

Heat acclimatization has a number of benefits. You feel more comfortable at a given pace while racing in the heat. Your core body temperature and heart rate for a given training intensity will be lower. The onset of sweating and the amount of sweat produced increases,  improving heat transfer, but the electrolyte concentration of sweat decreases.

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