Maand: mei 2019

End of the Dutchtrailrunner?

Hopefully NOT!! But I will be ‘silent’ for a period whilst recovering from a knee arthroscopy … back on the trails in a few months 🙂

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Aim is to enjoy again the trails for hours …

A Dutch song from my ‘younger days’ has a lyric which describes my present status very well:

Je wordt ouder papa, geef het maar toe,

je wilt er alles aan doen, maar je weet niet hoe

(You are getting older dad, just accept it,

you want to do all to stop it, but you do not know how)

Just on the low side of the 50 I ran into serious trouble with my right knee last year August. Basically the verdict is: too much trailrunning and longer distances for my right knee. Probably a combination of feeling great that a trailrun of a few hours went without any trouble, extending the distance to 50 – 60 – 110km …

Result: a right knee which is ‘older’ than I am at the moment.

I had my injuries in the years, big and small: both knees have had a arthroscopy approximately 13 and 8 years ago, my Achilles was not happy with me for a while … but in the end with rest, exercises,operations … and a lot of patience I was able to continue what I like most: run for a few hours through fields, forest, hills and mountains … no stress … no time …just enjoying the views, listen to your breathing / nature / podcast …

I am confident I will be able to do that in a few months time again,but until than bear with me for a ‘silent’ period. My 2019 plans for the Bob Graham Round, London Marathon and Cotswald 100 are still on the agenda … for later (2019??)… when I have reached the other side of 50 – Life goes on 🙂

So NO end to the Dutch trailrunner … just a PAUSE!

Cheers, Geordie

Naked Running Vest – simplicity made perfect

The Naked Running Vest

To be honest, when I first put on the Naked Running Vest it felt a bit ‘strange’, like putting on a female running top. Not there is anything wrong with a female running top, other than most of the time men don’t wear them :).

But I fell in love quickly for the simple reason that it performed as promoted:

Keeping your gear close and secure around your body, no matter if you are bouncing down hill.

The Naked Running Vest follows the earlier Naked Running Band with the same design philosophy:

Simplicity made perfect…

– stretch mess allows your body to ‘breath’ and keeps all your gear close and secure to your body without any zippers, velcro etc –

… that is all there is!

I wrote my experiences with the Naked Running Band earlier in one of my blogs.

So what is it?

The Naked Running Vest easily stores the basic trailrun gear you need for a long day on the trails (see photos in this blog and a small You Tube video):

  • Two front pockets for two softflasks, emergency blanket, first aid and whistle.
  • Two side pockets for energy bars and a hook to secure your car/home key (worst nightmare is to return to your car/home tired & dirty and than realise you lost your key!).
  • One large back pocket to store foul weather jacket and trousers.

The stretch pockets will allow you to take even more. And if you combine the Naked Running Vest with the Naked Running Band you can add even more storage room for softflasks, clothing and running poles for example.

Worth the price?

Is the Naked Running Vest worth $125 / £90 / €110? That is a difficult question. It is made with care and from high quality material. You probably need to invest only once for the rest of your trailrun life. There are in total 12 (!) sizes to have a perfect fit, something I have not seen with any other running vest.

The price is in the same range as other premium trailrun brands like the SALAMON S-LAB Sense 2 for £110. Off course there are also cheaper running vests available starting around £30, you can find these for example at DECATHLON. This may suit your aims, however for me the sizing, breathable material, simplicity and most of all the very secure feeling that everybody remains in the vest without any bouncing around makes it worth the once in a trailrun lifetime investment. I see it as a valuable addition to some other running vests I have and is for sure my trailrun vest of choice for a nice day on the trails – see some other reviews if you want to read more about my experiences with running vest: Trail Belts / Vests / Packs and The Naked Running Band.

You can order the Naked Running Vest online from the USA. The Naked Running Vest and Belt are also available in the UK Centurion Trailrunning shop. Unfortunately there is no real shop available in the Netherlands (yet).

What are your experiences with running vest? Feel free to leave a comment, all experiences add up to that we can make the right choice for what we a re looking for, THANKS!!