Montrail Hurricane Ridge XCR

Montrail Hurricane Ridge XCR

The Hurricane is the waterproof/breathable version of the Leona Divide. With same high-performance trail running features, the GORE-TEX?XCR bootie makes the shoe all the more versatile.



















Today i bring my new(first trial shoe) Hurricane for a "shoe in" test. Need to test out the shoe for upcoming Mount Kinabalu recee trip in July.

Reach Macritchie Reservior at 6:45am, put on the Hurrciane as per normal running shoe. It seems a cozy fit. Put on my MP3 and fuel belt. Did a few stretching and off i go around 7:02am

The aim today is to run the 10.5km route plus the extra 5km route that we did for 25km route. I need to get myself get use to that extra 5km, which is a good tryout on the Hurricane compare to the typical MR 15km or 20km route.

I started off and feel the legs are tired. I think yesterday climbing did have a toll on the legs. I took the northern route and slowly carry my tired legs to the Golf opening area. Took a few slips of the water, slowly make the 2 climbs up the tar road.

I find my legs(toe) are sensitive to the peddles on the ground. Could it be the Hurricane didnt have sufficient cushion? Or is it i get use to the better cushion from other runner shoes? Or is it that the shoe is forming to my feet and need to go through the ceremony?

I turn left and went into the trail. There was quite a few of ups and downs. Too many i would say within such a short distance(around 2.5km). I feel that my feets are slipping forward while running downhill and the toes are hitting the edge of the shoe. Alamak, this is no good. That means i am going to get black toe nails leow. Those who know me, should know that i lost alot of water during run. Hurricane seems to be able to waterproof water from going in and at the same time deny any water for leaving as well. That could mean the insoles are slippery and my feet keep sliding forward.

I keep a conservative pace going up and down the terrains. I start to feel water clog inside the left shoe as continue towards the tar road(next to that ST(Singapore Technology company). Took a water break at the edge of the tar road and U-Turn there instead of running further down(as per 25km route). I has been running about 50mins as i make the U-Turn and make the return trip to the Golf area.

On the return route, i continue to experience feet slipping forward and my rights shoe have become waterlog now. After so many up and down, i finally emerge out of the trail. I meet some veteran runners coming from LP area and we ran together up the 2 slopes. At this point, i feel my left knee are signalling formy attention. Before i make a right turn back on the original 10.5km route. I sat down on road side and put on my knee guard. I continue to push on for the water break at the Ranger station.

After leaving Ranger station, the route will be flat for another 2-3km. It was an easier run. I can feel the water shoes are drying up, not as soaky as i would experience a while ago.

The run from the 2.4km mark back to the Zig-zag bridge is pretty ok. As not much steep downslopes, but i dont feel my feet sliding forward too much.

Finally i reached the end(Carpark) in 1:56 hr. I didnt expect it to take so long, nevertheless i enjoy the run. Just myself and MP3.

I manage to squeeze so much water from the sock didnt surprise myself. When i managed to pour out the water from the shoes DID. I have never experience this before. Is this the norm for trail running shoe? Or is it just me, melting away that is the cause?

I will have to do a bring the shoe for a few trial runs to see how i feel. Maybe i have to tie the shoelaces in another method to reduce the sliding forward. As a whole i am not impressed with the shoe.